Full disclosure: Kurt is eighteen and a graduate by the time he and Blaine kiss, while Blaine is done with his student teaching by then. Hopefully I've negated any shady power dynamics this way.


Kurt couldn't help but bounce on his feet as he waited in line at the Lima Bean that morning.

It's the second semester of senior year! Just 90 days, and then I'll be heading off to New York, he thought giddily, knowing he had a ridiculous grin on his face but unable to make himself care. I can practically see McKinley in my rearview- whoa.

His internal monologue cut off when he noticed that the guy in front of him was actually the hottest person in Lima, if not the entire godforsaken state of Ohio. He was sporting far too much hair gel, sure, but somehow it worked with his preppy, colorful look.

"Sir. Sir, may I help you?" the barista asked, her impatient tone breaking through Kurt's hazy thoughts.

"Oh God, sorry. Could I get a grande nonfat mocha, please?" Kurt said, feeling himself blush a little. He paid and headed down to the end of the counter to wait for his drink. As he walked, he noticed something on the cute guy's messenger bag that almost made him do a double-take.

"Does that pin on your bag have the letters for Delta Nu on it?" he asked, hoping the man wouldn't think he was being too forward. "That's fantastic, oh my God."

"You know what that's from?" the other man said, shooting Kurt a smile that made him go weak in the knees.

"I'm a bigger fan of the musical than the original movie, but I still doubt I'm the only person who's heard of Legally Blonde," Kurt said, smiling back.

"You'd be surprised how many people in New York think it's a real Greek organization." The man stepped forward to retrieve his coffee. "I'm Blaine, by the way."

"Kurt. You're from New York? I'm so jealous!" Kurt heard the barista yell out his own order and moved to take it, grabbing a paper sleeve as he did.

"I'd love to tell you more about it, but I don't want to be late for my first day of work - or, well, it's more like an internship, I guess. Would you like to exchange numbers?"

A cute college guy is asking me if I want to exchange numbers? What, am I gonna say no to that? Kurt thought. Out loud, he managed a breezy "Sounds great!"

"Wonderful," Blaine said. He put down his coffee, fished out a pen from his bag, and scrawled some digits on a spare napkin. "Feel free to message me whenever, I'll be sure to silence my phone before I head in!"

"Good luck!" Kurt called after him. He quickly input Blaine's number into his phone before heading out to his car, not wanting to be late for class in his final semester. Not that his teachers would mind - being a straight-A student had its perks, after all - but he wasn't about to ruin his streak this late in the game.

He felt like he was floating as he entered the building and got ready for the day, dizzy off the feeling of flirting with someone who was a) interested and b) not immediately looking for a quick fuck - his one trip to Scandals had been unpleasant, to put it mildly. Kurt had to shake himself a little as he approached his locker.

Okay, Hummel, focus. You know Richards isn't above giving a pop quiz on the assigned readings from break, he told himself. He took a deep breath, grabbed his copy of The Kite Runner, and headed to Mr. Richards' first hour AP Lit class.

"Rachel! You will not believe what just happened to me at the Lima Bean!" Kurt said, dropping into the open seat near his friend. They were a couple rows from the front and dead center, far enough to avoid accidental teacher spittle but close enough that the back row jocks couldn't harass them all period.

"Did you get another free cookie?" she responded, straightening her hot pink notebook, folder, pen, and highlighter on her desk before turning to him.

"No, better. I-"

"Okay, guys, let's get started," a suspiciously familiar voice broke in. "Mr. Richards managed to come down with the flu last night, so they brought me in to keep you from going all Lord of the Flies on each other. I'm Mr. Anderson."

Kurt's spine stiffened, making Rachel give him a concerned look. He waved it off before turning to face the front of the room, where coffee shop Blaine was sitting at the teacher's desk, looking just as stunned as Kurt felt.

Oh dear God. I've been flirting with a teacher!


Kurt was still in shock when he got to his "free" third hour. He collapsed into a chair in the teachers' lounge, hoping to any deity that may or may not be out there that no one would need a pass delivered that day, because he wasn't sure if his addled brain would get him to the right room.

Of course, Blaine - or, well, Mr. Anderson, but Kurt knew him as Blaine first - would choose that moment to enter the room.

"Oh Jesus, am I hallucinating now?" he said, skin paling. "You're a real person and not a product of all my first-day jitters, right?"

"I'm a real student, Blai - Mr. Anderson," Kurt said, rolling his eyes a little. "Sorry. Didn't mean to call you that."

"Hey, I've managed to bump into you three times now," Blaine said, coming to take a seat at Kurt's table. "I was beginning to wonder if I was living some weird school-themed version of A Christmas Carol."

"Do you drop literary references in all your conversations?" Kurt asked, smiling in spite of himself.

"I'm trying to gain as much teacher cred as possible," Blaine replied, smiling back at Kurt. "And it's okay that you almost called me Blaine, Kurt. We met under some unusual circumstances."

"You can say that again," Kurt said under his breath.

"It's kind of weird hearing anyone here call me Mr. Anderson, honestly," Blaine said, evidently missing Kurt's remark. "I mean, I haven't even graduated college yet. Hell, I only turned twenty a couple months ago."

"Wow, I guess there are only like two years between us - I'll be eighteen before graduation," Kurt said, trying to do the math in his head quickly. "Weird how you're already working on a career while I'm just working on getting through physics."

"Oh, education's just my minor," Blaine said. "I'm a music major, but my parents told me I needed to do a teaching degree as well so I'd always have a back-up plan."

"And you said you were in New York, right?" Kurt asked, intrigued. "You must be from around here, then, unless your professors were trying to punish you by sending you to Ohio for your student teaching."

Blaine laughed, a bright sound that Kurt instantly wanted to hear forever. "Yeah, I'm from Westerville, but none of the schools there were hiring. McKinley was the closest option, and it's saving me a semester's worth of rent money, so…."

"Things could be worse," Kurt finished, letting out a brief laugh of his own. "So, uh, where do you go to school, if you don't mind me asking? I've been accepted at Tisch and NYU, but I'm hoping I make it through the NYADA audition rounds, honestly."

"Really? Break a leg," Blaine said enthusiastically. "I actually go to NYU myself, since it has both the programs I'm doing - NYADA's not interested in churning out future teachers, if you hadn't noticed."

"I had no clue," Kurt teased. "Yeah, thankfully my dad's really supportive of me going into theater. I mean, it was a little hairy at first, especially when he thought Beyonce was one of my friends from glee club, but I started educating him on music released after 1987."

"That's hysterical, oh my God," Blaine said. "How'd he take those lessons?"

"He loves Bruno Mars, interestingly enough. But he's also helped me learn about all the great classic rock artists, so it's been a good mutual experience. My Stevie Wonder solo last year killed."

"Wow, I wish I could've seen that," Blaine said, leaning in slightly closer. "Even just to know what to prepare for when we inevitably go up for the same role in the future."

The wink Blaine punctuated his reply with nearly landed Kurt on the floor. "I have a video if you're really that interested, Mr. Anderson." Kurt started digging his phone out of his bag.

"Um. Would you mind - you can just call me Blaine when we're not in the classroom, you know. As long as you're comfortable with it!" Blaine said quickly. "I'm obviously not going to force you to use my first name, but since we're so close in age and I'm not a real-"

"Blaine," Kurt interrupted, smiling. "I don't mind just calling you by your name, as you can clearly tell. I'm kind of glad you offered, honestly - I get the feeling we're going to meet up a lot, since I always spend my free period in here if I'm not running passes, and I'd feel awkward trying to start up a conversation with you if I had to keep calling you Mr. Anderson."

"That's why I offered," Blaine said, looking relieved. "I want there to be as equal of a footing as possible."

"And I'll try not to slip up and call you Blaine if you ever sub for another one of my classes," Kurt said. "I feel like it's usually the freshmen who have the most missing teachers anyways - and probably for good reason - so the teachers' lounge could be where we interact the most."

"Oh God, I just subbed for a freshman class last period and wanted to gouge my eyeballs out with a protractor," Blaine groaned. "Have fourteen year olds gotten more annoying since I was their age or am I just getting old?"

"Probably both," Kurt said teasingly.

"Hey, you're closer in age to me than them!" Blaine said, pouting.

"Christ, that means I'm getting old too. I'll be on the lookout for gray hairs immediately."

"That's it, I'm withholding all my audition tips from you," Blaine said, pulling away from the table a little. "I've heard some rumors about what Madam Tibideaux prefers, but if you're going to be a jerk…."

"Whoa, hey, what I meant to say was you're incredibly youthful and the freshmen here just suck," Kurt said, holding up his hands in mock-surrender. "Now tell me how to impress La Tibideaux."

"Well, first of all," Blaine began, just in time for the bell to ring for fourth period.

"Raincheck?" Kurt asked hopefully, gathering up his bag and books.

"For sure. I dunno when I'll be back, though," Blaine said, grabbing his own things.

"Believe me, at this school, the teachers try to get out of as many days of teaching as possible. I'm sure you'll be back tomorrow," Kurt said, heading for the door.

"Then I'll hope we have a matching free period again. See you later, Kurt!" Blaine said as he turned toward the science wing.

"Later, Mr. Anderson!" Kurt replied, consciously keeping in mind his surroundings.

Dear God I hope he's back tomorrow, he thought as he walked to lunch. Suddenly this last semester is looking even better than planned.


Kurt got his wish. In fact, he managed to score an entire two and a half weeks of coinciding free periods spent mostly with Blaine (there were a few hall passes to deliver, naturally) before Blaine finally had to teach during third hour.

"Ugh, what am I gonna do now?" he muttered, hoping his whininess wasn't too obvious to any passersby. "I can't keep streaming that bootleg of Cinderella without Blaine - he'll kill me if I get ahead of him."

"Porcelain, where's your boyfriend?" Coach Sylvester yelled from the doorway, apparently having paused there as she walked past.

"What?" Kurt said, confused. Outside of a burgeoning crush he'd never admit to on Blaine, he was as free of any romantic entanglements as always.

"That Burt Reynolds lookalike you've been cuddling with in here since classes started," Coach said. "His teacher finally wise up to him skipping these past couple weeks?"

"His teacher - Coach Sylvester, Mr. Anderson is a teacher here. Well, a sub," Kurt said, hoping he wasn't blushing too dark. "So he's definitely not my boyfriend."

"Really? I'll be damned," Coach said, looking stunned. "College kids are looking younger and younger these days, and I'm only twenty-nine myself."

Kurt tried to keep his expression from betraying skepticism.

"Anyways, you just do your thing, Porcelain. As long as it's consensual, I don't care what you do in here." Coach walked off with that remark, leaving a bemused Kurt to sit and mull things over.

He's a teacher, Kurt thought, not wanting to even whisper the comments for fear someone else would pass by. Maybe not my teacher, but still a teacher! And you don't even know if he could have feelings for you - he might just see you as a friend. Or worse, a student he just happens to hang out with when he's free. Don't fall too hard for him, Hummel. Don't do it.


Kurt did it. Against his sterner thoughts, he kept falling harder for Blaine every time they managed to meet up in the teachers' lounge over the course of the semester. How could he not, when Blaine shared so many of his interests and was good-looking to boot? Blaine had even been in the audience for his NYADA audition, cheering louder than Rachel when Kurt absolutely nailed his performance of "Being Alive."

"That was amazing, Kurt, oh my God," Blaine had said as he approached Kurt in the hallway outside the auditorium afterward. "You're so going to get in, I just know it."

Blaine had opened his arms as he finished speaking, and Kurt had moved toward them without thinking, until they both froze, just inches away from making contact.

"I. Um," Kurt had said, caught between wanting to move away and wanting to bury himself in Blaine's neck so he could catch a better whiff of his sweet-smelling cologne.

"Again, great job," Blaine had replied stiltedly before backing off, hustling away like the building was on fire.

Kurt had obsessed about that incident for weeks. Had Blaine wanted to hug him? Had he misinterpreted that arm motion entirely, thinking Blaine was going for a hug when he was really going for a stretch? Those auditorium chairs could get uncomfortable after a while, Kurt knew.

Whatever the case, Kurt had to finally decide to pretend that moment in the hallway had never happened, if only so he and Blaine could go back to having their usual, free-flowing conversations in the teachers' lounge. As the calendar got closer and closer to graduation, Kurt and Blaine spent more time talking about things Kurt had to do in New York.

"Oh my God, Callbacks is the best karaoke bar, you need to go there," Blaine said a couple days before commencement. "Everyone from all the theater departments in Manhattan hangs out there to scope out the competition and try to outsing one another after a few drinks."

"Do you ever perform there?" Kurt asked, intrigued.

"I've been known to take the stage after a few too many margaritas," Blaine said cagily. "Tequila gets me in the mood for Katy Perry songs."

"I have to see that for myself."

"I'll just have to encourage you to sing with me, then," Blaine said. "Hopefully you'd be too embarrassed to post videos to YouTube if I drag you onstage beside me."

"We'll see about that, Anderson," Kurt said with a smirk.

"I'm holding you to that, Hummel," Blaine fired back, making Kurt shiver.

I can think of other things I'd like you to hold me to, he thought, almost against his will.

Thankfully, the bell rang before Blaine could ask about Kurt's reaction, separating them until the commencement ceremony a few days later. Kurt was going to be busy with marching practice, while Blaine had a sudden influx of classes to sub for as more and more teachers got spring fever. Before Kurt knew it, he was standing onstage in the auditorium one last time as Principal Figgins read off his name from the list of McKinley High's graduates of 2012.

Once the ceremony was over, Kurt was intercepted by Blaine before he could find his father and Carole in the crowd.

"Hey, Kurt. You mind stepping away from the fracas with me for a sec?" Blaine asked, looking shy.

"Of course, Blaine," Kurt said. "What's up?"

"Well, uh, first I'd like to say congratulations," Blaine said, shifting a little on his feet. "You've made it out of high school and you're going to NYADA in the fall, which is pretty impressive, you know."

"You flatter me," Kurt said, gently teasing. "But thanks. Was that all, or…?"

"I. Um. I don't know how to say this, really," Blaine said. He took a deep breath before continuing, "Okay. So, at the beginning of the semester, I met this incredibly cute guy in a coffee shop, and was definitely planning on asking him out again until I discovered that this guy was also a student of mine, so that plan wasn't going to work out. I still thought he was attractive, though, and I couldn't help but get to know him over the course of the semester, since we managed to have the same free period a lot of the time. I even tried to hug him once, but I didn't want to cross any boundaries and freak him out."

"Blaine," Kurt breathed, feeling his brain start to short circuit.

"And now I just want to tell him that I managed to fall head-over-heels for him as we got closer, and I'm hoping he'll let me take him out sometime next fall, and not because he thinks he owes me after being his teacher, but because he maybe likes me too," Blaine said, slurring his words together a bit in his haste.

"He does," Kurt said, tearing up a little. "He really does. He might have been trying to suppress a crush on you since the day you met, just so you know."

"Really?" Blaine asked. His eyes met Kurt's, and the hopeful expression there nearly made Kurt fall over.

"Really," Kurt confirmed. "He's kind of interested in kissing you right now, honestly."

"But the other people around us-"

"I'm not a student and you're not a teacher here anymore, Blaine, and I'm already eighteen. What are they going to do to us?" Kurt said, knowing what concerns might be holding Blaine back.

"You make a good point," Blaine said, and before Kurt could reply, they were kissing. Kurt felt Blaine's hands knock the mortarboard off his head as they sunk into his hair, and he was sure his own arms were wrapped almost painfully tight around Blaine's shoulders, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He couldn't really care about anything except how right Blaine's mouth felt against his own.

"Oh my God," Kurt huffed out once they had to come up for air.

"You've got that right," Blaine said, sounding just as breathless.

"I know I need to go find my dad, but I kind of don't want to stop kissing you," Kurt said, blushing slightly.

"What if we go find him together?" Blaine asked, taking Kurt's hand in his and squeezing it. "As long as you're okay with that, that is."

"I get the feeling he's going to need to get to know you," Kurt said, squeezing back. "After all, there are a lot of places you need to take me to in New York."

"Wherever you want to go, I'll gladly come along," Blaine said, smiling brightly at Kurt.

Kurt couldn't help but kiss him one last time before diving back into the crowd to find his father, Blaine firmly in tow.