Things I probably should've done instead of write this: finals prep. Oh well...

Blaine was standing outside his apartment and fumbling for his keys when an absolutely piercing shriek made him jump.

"Someone help!" came a yell from the apartment across the hall. The door opened, revealing Hot Neighbor Kurt in nothing but a short, silk bathrobe.

Blaine had to bite his tongue hard enough to bring tears to his eyes.

"Blaine, right?" Kurt asked, a little hysterical. "Are you busy right now?"

"No, no, I'm totally free," Blaine said, scooping up his keys before taking a step closer to Kurt. "What's wrong?"

"There's a giant spider in our bathtub, and I just - I can't -" Kurt said, shuddering once in a way that made Blaine have to fight down the urge to hug him. "Can you get rid of it? Please?"

"Of course, Kurt," Blaine said, daring to run a hand down Kurt's arm comfortingly. "I'd probably react the same way if there was ever a bee in my bathroom."

"Thank you," Kurt said, looking truly relieved. "I owe you one."

"It's really not a problem," Blaine said. He caught Kurt's eye for a moment, irrationally feeling like something was zinging between them.

"I suppose I should show you in," Kurt breathed. He pushed open his apartment door, revealing a chicly designed living room.

"Oh, wow, this looks fantastic," Blaine said, wandering in behind Kurt. "I assume you decorated it?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" Kurt asked, visibly pleased.

"You're always so well-dressed, so I just," Blaine cut himself off, blushing as he realized how stalkery that sounded. "I mean, I notice you in the hallways, I'm not like looking through your peephole-"

"I get it, Blaine," Kurt said. "I'm glad someone appreciates my style."

They shared another shy smile before Blaine mentally shook himself.

"So, that spider?" he asked, not wanting to read too much into the situation. The Jeremiah incident had made him wary of trying to interpret others' intentions.

"Oh God, it's probably crawled up to the ceiling by now," Kurt said, shuddering again. "But you can't kill it."

"Not that I would've anyways, but why not?" Blaine said curiously.

"It's my roommate Dani's pet," Kurt explained. "Normally he stays in his cage, but she must not have fastened it right after feeding him this morning."

"Gotcha," Blaine said. "I'll capture the little guy, no problem."

"I dunno if I'd call him little," Kurt said dourly, pushing back a privacy curtain and motioning for Blaine to go ahead.

"How big can a spider - oh my God," Blaine said, walking over to the tub and taking a glance. "That's not a spider, that's a monster!"

Kurt looked antsy. "Are you still gonna be able to capture him? I totally understand if you can't, really, it's not a-"

"I can do this," Blaine interrupted, taking a deep breath. "Do you have a Kleenex I could use?"

"Yeah, here." Kurt handed Blaine a tissue. "Good luck! He's not venomous."

"Oh thank God," Blaine muttered. He bent over the tub and laid the tissue in front of the spider, chanting "C'mon, c'mon - there!" as the arachnid wandered forward and onto the paper. Blaine scooped up the tissue as gently as he could, cradling the spider in between his palms. "Show me where his cage is?"

"Follow me," Kurt said, stepping back with a smile and leading Blaine out of the bathroom. "I apologize in advance for anything you see in Dani and Santana's room. They aren't always good about cleaning up after their...alone time."

Blaine carefully avoided looking at anything but the floor and the cage as they entered the other room, not wanting to see anything that could spur on inappropriate thoughts. "Stay!" he told the spider once he lowered it into its cage. "Good boy."

"Aaand he's trapped," Kurt said, flicking the lock mechanism on top of the cage. "Thank God."

They walked back out of the room, coming to an awkward halt near the kitchen.

"I guess I should-"

"Would you like to join me for a drink?" Kurt said, talking over Blaine. The hopeful smile on his face made Blaine's heart soar.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd love that," Blaine said, smiling back. "Do you want to - um -" he gestured toward Kurt's body lamely.

"Oh! Right, I'm not dressed," Kurt said, coloring slightly. "I'll go put on some clothes, if you don't mind waiting for a second?"

"Do you mind if I use your freshly de-spidered bathroom?" Blaine asked, a matching blush appearing on his own cheeks.

"Go right ahead," Kurt said with a smile.

Blaine was washing his hands when he heard Kurt's voice on the other side of the partition. He leaned closer, wondering if he was speaking to him.

What he heard put a huge smile on his face.

"Seymour is getting a huge treat for this later," Kurt was saying to himself. "Without him, I never would have had a good reason to invite Hot Neighbor Blaine in for a drink."

Blaine tried to keep a straight face as he waited in the kitchen for Kurt to reappear, but to no avail.

"What's with the grin?" Kurt asked, looking adorably bemused.

"I'm Hot Neighbor Blaine?" Blaine repeated, still smiling away.

"Oh my God, you heard? Crap, that was probably so creepy, I understand if you want to leave," Kurt said rapidly. "I swear I wasn't trying to like lure you in just to have my wicked way with you or anything."

"Kurt, it's fine," Blaine said once Kurt took a breath. "I may or may not refer to you as Hot Neighbor Kurt in my head."

"So you're saying…."

"That I'm not at all upset with this turn of events," Blaine finished. "And I really would enjoy having that drink with you."

"Then I'll get the glasses," Kurt said with a bright smile.

"And I'll be on the lookout for more spiders. Or does your other roommate have a pet snake you decided to unleash as well?"

Kurt's faux-scathing look was the cutest thing Blaine had seen all day. At least, it was until Kurt responded to Blaine's offer of dinner out that weekend with an excited, surprised smile and an enthusiastic "yes!"

Blaine made sure to wear his Halloween bow tie with tiny spiders on it that evening, laughing when Kurt greeted him with a smack on the arm and a snicker of his own.