Fields of Summer
A/N: a short scene I imagined between Kurt and Walter in the days after the elevator from episode 605
Kurt and Walter's third date wasn't at Breadstix, or any other restaurant or cafe. Kurt hadn't wanted to risk another visit from Sue.
So here they were, at the Lima community Art Gallery, looking at the latest photography exhibition, a collection of summer scapes. The prints were huge, mounted sparsely across whitewashed walls. They invited the observer to get lost.
Kurt was lost.
"The fields look endless, don't they," Walter spoke
softly to avoid an echo from his voice. "They look so warm in that late afternoon light."
Kurt's eyes were unfocused as he gazed into the picture. He'd noticed the warmth. He could almost feel it on his skin. It broke his heart to remember how that felt. He willed the image to pull him in, to make him warm. It nearly worked.
"Kurt?" Walter reached out to Kurt, touching his arm. "Hey there where have you gone?"
Kurt sighed and closed his eyes, again losing the warmth. He turned and glanced quickly at Walter, a slight smile on his face, and started moving towards the door.
The small sculpture garden outside was a cool mix of granite pieces, pools with water lilies and deep green hedges. It was calm and smooth. Kurt sat on a stone bench in front of the largest pool, and wondered if a frog might appear on one of the lilypads if they remained still and quiet.
"I can't believe I've never been here," Walter sat next to Kurt and watched the pond with him. "It seems so…"
"Still," Kurt finished the sentence, then laughed. "That's silly, there's probably a hive of activity going on under the water. We just can't see it."
"Hmm," Walter nodded, looking ahead. "Sounds familiar."
"I'm sorry," Kurt turned quickly to look at Walter. "I know I'm brooding a bit. I guess I'm in a bit of a weird mood today."
"I was talking about myself actually," Walter said. "I was always this beacon of composure, the man I was 'meant' to be for my family. Their rock. All the while I was frantic under it all, trying to find a rock of my own."
"Did it feel cold?" Kurt asked. He didn't quite know what he was asking, but he asked anyway. He looked back over the water.
"It was… calm," Walter found there word he was looking for eventually. "So calm I thought one day I might actually stop moving at all, without ever giving this life," he waved his hand around, "without giving *life* a chance."
They sat in silence a little longer. It wasn't uncomfortable, just contemplative. Kurt knew why he felt cold. He also knew why the warmth of the image inside had both pulled him in and torn him asunder. He just didn't know what to do about it.
"Are you having second thoughts about our friendship?" Walter's voice tried to maintain the benevolent air of someone who didn't mind too much which way the decision went. Tried.
"What? No!" Kurt wasn't even lying. He was having second thoughts about another friendship. Second thoughts about a lot of things.
Actually, he realized he *was* having second thoughts about Walter. Second thoughts about that friendzone. Maybe they could have that warmth together. The warmth he craved.
"I…" Kurt turned and held Walter's gaze, feelings his breaths shorten. He didn't say anything else. He chased the warmth.
It was different. Walter smelled different. He sat higher than Blaine, making the angle of their kiss different. He didn't kiss as desperately as Blaine, but the hesitancy was sweet. He didn't make Kurt quite melt like Blaine had only a day or so ago, but there was definitely some fluttering in his stomach.
It wasn't bad. It was nice. It just… It just wasn't Blaine.
Walter had pulled away and was looking into Kurt's eyes carefully. He bit his lip, looked down, and then away, across the water.
"You know the warmth of those fields?" Walter squeezed Kurt's hand. "That's what you should chase. That's what I've been dreaming of all my life."
A/N: To be clear, pretty sure these two decide to be friends only ;)
