Author's Note:This is a short oneshot dedicated to lostinfictionalworlds for her birthday. Enjoy!

Prompt: someone left me a rose backstage after opening night and I have no clue who it is because I'm not even an actor? I'm just on set…AU

Chapter 1: An Admirer

"Kurt, the backdrop is coming loose again. Where's the staple gun?"

Kurt couldn't answer because his mouth was full of pins, but he reached behind him for the staple gun and handed it to Sam, who thanked him and sprinted to the backdrop to secure it before it could fall on the actors.

Kurt went back to hemming the lead actor's pants and then taking in the waist of his jacket.

"All done," he said at last. "You can take off your costume, but be careful, there are pins everywhere!"

The guy shrugged off the jacket and hung it over the back of Kurt's chair, and then gingerly wriggled out of the pants, folding them and handing them to Kurt.

"Thanks," Kurt said. "I'll make the adjustments tonight, and then the costume should be perfect. Make sure you're here on time tomorrow, though, so that I will have time for last-minute changes if necessary."

The guy, who was by now putting his regular clothes on again, wiggling his tush invitingly in Kurt's direction, turned around and nodded. "I will, I promise. Thank you, Kurt."

Mr Great Tush shot Kurt a dazzling smile before he left, and it took Kurt a full minute to shake off the effects it had on him and get back to work.

Right. Rachel.

"Rachel! Come and try on your dress!"

Rachel, who was schmoozing with Jesse, the director of the play, giggled at something Jesse had said and didn't budge.

"Rach! Any day now?"

Still no reaction.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, if you do not want to go on stage in your undies tomorrow, get here this instant and try on your costume!"

Kurt yelled this loud enough for everyone to hear, and the stage hands and actors all sniggered.

Rachel's head snapped up, her mouth a thin line. She whispered something to Jesse and then came towards Kurt.

"There was no need to yell like that!" she snapped.

"Oh, yes, there is. I've still got plenty to do before opening night, so I need you to hurry up and put this on! You can get your flirt on after."

Rachel huffed, but took off her blouse and skirt to slip into the dress, sweeping her hair out of the way so that Kurt could pull up the zipper.

"Hmm, I'll need to take in the bust area and the waist."

Kurt busied himself pinning the dress until it fit like a glove, and then helped Rachel out of it.

"Okay. Send me the ensemble actors, please."

Rachel huffed again. "What am I, your errand girl?"

"Yes. I don't have the time to go running after everyone who needs a costume. Bring them to me."

Rachel took a deep breath and then yelled, "Ensemble cast! Come fit your costumes!"

Kurt winced, but he guessed his ears ringing was a small price to pay for the rest of the cast hurrying towards him and eagerly trying on the clothes he handed to them.

Kurt went on pinning, and in two cases taking out the seams, for quite a while yet, and then sent everyone off while he stayed and headed to the sewing machine. The thing was ancient, and Kurt swore under his breath each time a needle broke, but he managed to get most of the work done before he started to yawn so jaw-breakingly that he knew he had to call it a day.

Sighing, he stood up and stretched to work the kinks out of his back. It was after midnight already. He should have adjusted the costumes way earlier, but he'd been kept busy prompting actors that kept forgetting their lines, painting backdrops, making props, fixing several spotlights that needed new light bulbs, and on one occasion even looking after the child of a cast member. The list of tasks he had to do was never-ending.

This was not what he'd hoped for when Rachel announced she'd signed the both of them up for theatre camp during summer. He'd been counting on getting a speaking part in the play. After all, he could act, he could sing and he could dance. And quite well, too, even if he said so himself.

But when Kurt had auditioned, Jesse had taken one look at him and frowned, and Kurt's stellar performance of "I'm the Greatest Star" had only made the frown deepen. By the time Jesse had yelled "Next" without even acknowledging Kurt, it had been clear that an ensemble role was as much as Kurt could hope for.

When the cast list had gone up, it had proved to be even worse. Kurt was nowhere on it. He hadn't even gotten a small, non-speaking role. Rachel, of course, was lead.

Kurt had been furious, and had stalked to Jesse to ask his money back. "You can't call this theatre camp when I won't even get the chance to act! What am I supposed to do for two weeks, huh? Sit around and watch those lucky enough to make your list though they don't have half of my talent?"

Jesse had quirked an eyebrow at Kurt. "Didn't read the brochure, did you? If you're not cast, you're crew. You're going to be helping with the lighting, the sound, the costuming, the backdrops and anything else we need done. That's part of theatre just as much as acting is."

Kurt had shot Jesse a death glare. "Do I look like I signed up to do menial work?"

Jesse had just shrugged. "Somebody's got to do it. You'll learn fast enough. Sam will teach you. He was here last year, too. Sam!"

A tall blond Adonis had sauntered up to them. "Yep?"

"New blood for your crew," Jesse had told him.

"Oh, nice," Sam had grinned, and had clapped Kurt on the shoulder. "Come on back, I'll show you the ropes."

Kurt, blinded by Sam's pearly whites, had put up no more objections, and had let himself be led backstage. Now, a week and a half later, he could wield a staple gun like a pro, recite the whole play from memory and knew the lighting and sound plan forwards and backwards, timing the dramatic spotlights and sound effects to the very second. Well, it wasn't what he'd signed up for, but it might come in handy someday, right? And getting to spend ten days with a Nordic god who worked shirtless and kept climbing on ladders so that Kurt could admire his firm ass from up close, well, that was a definite perk of being a crew member.

Kurt smiled to himself, thinking of Sam. He was straight, of course, but he didn't seem to mind or notice Kurt ogling him, and he was friendly and funny.

I've had worse crushes…

Ten minutes later, he slipped into the room he shared with three other guys from theatre camp. He always made sure to be the first to leave in the morning and the last to arrive at night. He had no idea if his roommates were homophobic, but he reckoned it was better to be safe than sorry. He was too tired to go shower or do his skin care routine, choosing instead to just flop onto his bed, pull the covers over him and drift off to sleep.

Though he'd gone to bed late, he woke up at seven, like clockwork, and went to take a shower. Just as he'd stepped back into his room with a towel around his waist and was bending over to pick out a change of clothes from his suitcase, he heard a groan from one of his roommates.

Kurt quickly looked around, but everyone still appeared to be sleeping. He hurried to get dressed, though, and made his way to the campus café for breakfast.

Just when he was paying for his mocha and blueberry muffin, he heard a cheery voice behind him. "Hey Kurt! Can I join you for breakfast?"

Kurt turned around and saw Mr Great Tush, again with a blinding smile, the likes of which ought to be forbidden so early in the morning. "Uhm, hi. Actually, I'm heading backstage, there's still plenty to do. Your costume's ready, though, so if you have a minute, pop in to see if it fits like it should now."

He didn't wait for Mr Great Tush to answer. He just grabbed his drink and his muffin and headed out.

"Okay, I will!" he heard behind him. It sounded less enthusiastic than before. No doubt, Mr Great Tush was in need of coffee too.

The day went by in a whirlwind of activity. Kurt adjusted the rest of the costumes, had everyone try them on again, and then did the lighting for the dress rehearsal, while Sam did the sound.

The dress rehearsal was a disaster. Everyone was so nervous that they kept forgetting their lines and needed to be prompted, and the singing sounded flat. Halfway through, an ensemble kid bumped into the tower with a balcony Kurt and Sam had constructed out of wood and painted cardboard, just when Rachel was at the top. The tower fell over, and Rachel shrieked and fell, too. Mr Great Tush tried to catch her, but was knocked off balance. Result: the tower was ruined, Rachel sprained her ankle, and Mr Great Tush hit his head and blacked out.

Kurt hurried to the dorm kitchen and grabbed two packs of ice cubes from the freezer and two towels. On his return, he handed one to each of the injured actors and then helped Sam reassemble the wooden tower as best they could, which took the rest of the afternoon.

Jesse had thrown out the ensemble kid, who had no lines anyway, and spent his time alternating between yelling at everyone, pacing the room and doting on Rachel, bringing her tea, a scarf, painkillers, bandages and ointment for her ankle and a vegan salad.

Rachel was in tears because her ankle hurt and she could not stand on it, and kept whining until Kurt told her to please stop.

"There's no need for you to stand, Rach. Every scene that has you standing can be done sitting. We have this sofa backstage that we could put on stage for you. And for the tower scenes, we'll just darken the stage before and after and Sam will help you up and then help you down again. And we'll make sure you can sit in the tower. Okay?"

As soon as the tower was up again, now with the addition of a bench for Rachel to sit on, they practised Sam lifting up Rachel and putting her into the tower, and then taking her out again. And if Kurt kind of salivated over Sam's muscles flexing, well, he was sure everyone was too preoccupied with saving the play to notice.

The last hour before opening night, Kurt checked everyone's costumes one last time and then did the main actors' hair and make-up. The ensemble had to fend for themselves, he just didn't have the time.

Five minutes before the play was to start, he slipped backstage, gave Sam a thumbs-up and got ready to do the lighting.

This time, everything went swimmingly, and nobody seemed to notice Sam helping Rachel in and out of the tower. The applause was enthusiastic and went on for a long time, prompting Rachel to stand up anyway and curtsey, only wincing a little as she did so.

As soon as the audience was gone, Kurt and Sam tidied up the auditorium, and then Kurt headed to the sewing machine to fix a tear in one of the costumes. He was surprised to find a flower next to the machine. A red-tipped yellow rose. It wasn't a prop. It was a real flower.

"Hey Rach! Is this yours?" Kurt yelled, but Rachel was already gone, probably taken to her dorm room by Jesse.

Kurt sighed and carefully put the flower on a spare chair before threading the needle of the sewing machine for his repairs. He'd get it back to Rachel later.

"It's for you, Kurt," a soft voice said, and Kurt jumped in fright. He turned towards the voice, and it proved to be Mr Great Tush.

"Don't sneak up me like that, for Pete's sake!" Kurt snapped.

"Sorry… I just wanted to say… The rose is for you. Not for Rachel."

Kurt gaped at Mr Great Tush, who blushed and lowered his eyes, and oh wow, how had Kurt never noticed what beautiful lashes the guy had?

"You… Why would you give me flowers?" Kurt said at last.

Mr Great Tush chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? I like you, Kurt. I've liked you from the moment I saw you. Only… You never seemed to see me. I thought maybe you resented me. 'Cause I got the lead. I saw your audition, Kurt, and you MOVED me. You were so right in calling out Jesse for not casting you. You ARE better than the rest of us combined. You deserve better than to work backstage."

Kurt looked at Mr Great Tush with wide eyes. "Uhm…"

"So I've been trying to get your attention, but you never even noticed me. That's why I thought this might be a nice gesture."

Mr Great Tush picked up the rose and held it out to Kurt, who hesitated, and then accepted it. A warm feeling spread in his chest, and he felt the corners of his lips tugging upwards.

"Thank you."

Mr Great Tush beamed, another of those smiles that left Kurt breathless. Why HAD Kurt never noticed him? He was stunning! He was also… speaking, so Kurt had better listen. "Would you… Would you go out with me sometime?"

Kurt huffed out a laugh. "Yeah. Yes. Sure. If you tell me your name first."

"Oh, you don't…? It's Blaine. Blaine Anderson."

Kurt tucked Blaine's arm into the crook of his elbow. "Well, Blaine, I know it's late, but I'm hungry for a milkshake and fries. Let me take you to Marie's Diner, and we can play Twenty Questions. Does that sound okay?"

"Perfect," Blaine purred, and he kissed Kurt on the cheek. "Lead the way."