Hummingbird Heart

AU where Blaine is a famous musician and Kurt is his costume designer/make-up artist

Inspired by the song Hummingbird Heart by Charlene Kaye

Blaine sighed and leant his guitar on the couch in his dressing room. Life on the road could be lonely; there was nothing he liked better than performing on stage, but afterwards the loneliness could sometimes be overwhelming.

"Blaine, are you ready for me to start your hair and make-up?" Blaine was interrupted from his miserable pondering by the one person Blaine called a friend on his tour, his costume, hair and make-up manager Kurt. Blaine's crew was filled with talented and professional people he got along with, but he never considered any of them as his friends, except Kurt.

"Yeah, I suppose," Blaine replied as he sat in front of the mirror, ready for Kurt to work his magic.

"You ok, Blaine? You seem glum today?"

"Yeah, I think I'm just tired. The middle of the tour is always where I get tired."

"Alright," Kurt said uncertainly. Blaine was wary about hiring Kurt at first, but a few days after the tour began he decided it was one of the best decisions he'd ever made. Not only was Kurt the single most genuine friend he had there, Kurt was good at his job. Kurt always knew how to gel Blaine's hair perfectly, not an easy feat considering how curly it could be. Blaine was hesitant about wearing make-up, but Kurt knew how to apply it so that it wasn't obvious he was wearing it, yet still stopped him from looking washed-out in the stage lights. Another useful skill in Kurt's repertoire was his talents as a tailor; everything Blaine wore on stage fit perfectly.

"Five minutes, Blaine." A stagehand knocked and called through the door as Kurt was finishing up with dressing Blaine. It was never awkward between them, though Blaine did catch Kurt gazing at him a longer than necessary when he was changing.

"Good luck out there tonight," Kurt smiled as Blaine grabbed his guitar and rushed out the door.

"Thanks," Blaine called back over his shoulder. He could hear the crowd cheering from beside the stage. He could never get over the rush of hearing a crowd chant his name, every person in that venue was there to see him perform. Nothing could ruin that feeling.

OoOoOoO

"You're amazing, did you know that? Talent's pouring out of your ears and thousands of girls are lining up to meet you. What more could you want?" Kurt had waited in the dressing room for Blaine after his show.

"Thanks, Kurt," Blaine smiled.

"No, but really, you have it all Blaine. I don't think you see that sometimes," Kurt sighed and sat on the couch.

Blaine echoed the sigh and sat on the stool in front of the mirror. "I don't, Kurt; I have a lot but I definitely don't have it all. I have a successful music career that I'm extremely thankful for – don't get me wrong – but I'm not calling the shots; my parents are. The only time they actually put any effort in towards me is when they can make money out of it. Sure that sea of faces out there goes crazy for me at shows, but then they go back home and get on with their lives. Just like everyone else, they move on. They leave Blaine to be "fine" by himself." Blaine pulled his feet up onto the stool and rested his forehead on his knees.

Kurt was surprised by this outburst – Blaine always seemed so appreciative and humble, but this was a side to him Kurt had never seen before. Kurt's comforting instinct took over and he rushed to put his arms around Blaine, to do whatever he could to console his friend. From this close he could hear Blaine mumbling to himself but couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"Oh Blaine," Kurt squeezed his friend around the middle. "What are you mumbling?"

Blaine raised his head and Kurt released his arms from around him. "Look at the crowd, they love you now, but come the morning you'll be left for dead. It's a lyric I've had in my head, but I can't fit anything else with it." Blaine gritted his teeth, "Writer's block is the last thing I need right now!" He stood up abruptly and began pacing the room.

"Whoa Blaine, honey, calm down," Kurt walked over to him and grabbed both of Blaine's hands in his own. "Calm down, Blaine. I'm right here, and we're going to address each of your problems together until you feel fine about them. Then we'll get back on that bus and drive to the next town full of people who are getting excited that Blaine Anderson is playing for them."

"Thanks, Kurt," Blaine exhaled and looked into Kurt's eyes. "I'm sorry for venting all my frustrations at you, but you're probably the only person here that actually cares."

"I really do care, Blaine. Now, your first problem was that your parents are calling the shots, wasn't it?" Blaine nodded. "Well what can you do to fix that?" Blaine shrugged slightly. "I'm sure if you sit down and talk to them they'll come to a compromise. Surely they can't be that unreasonable?"

Blaine scoffed. "You haven't spent too much time with my parents then."

"Okay, so, maybe they aren't the best parents, but we'll just have to make do with what you've got. You said money's all they care about, so why don't you explain it so they see what they benefit from it? They'll probably compromise with you then." Blaine nodded slightly, still not convinced but wanting Kurt to continue. "The next thing was the sea of faces moving on, wasn't it?" Blaine nodded again. "These people are coming out to see you, Blaine. They are paying money and giving up their time to see you play. These people have bought your music and your merchandise – they love you Blaine, they aren't moving on any time soon. The crowd certainly love you now, but who says you can't live forever – in their hearts at least. Blaine, they love you and they aren't going to forget about you. And Blaine-" Blaine looked up at the sound of his name and Kurt locked their eyes together, "-you're doing fine by yourself. Not many people could do what you've done, and especially not on their own."

"Kurt… wow, I'm touched, really," Blaine was strapped for words. Actions speak a louder than words so Blaine followed his impulse and closed the distance between him and Kurt, touching their lips together in a gentle kiss. Blaine pulled his head back to see Kurt's reaction. Kurt's mouth was agape and his eyes were wide in shock.

Brilliant, Blaine thought, the one and only friend he had on tour and he just went and screwed it up. Was there anything he did that didn't end up backfiring on him? Blaine tried to stand up, eager to escape the awkward situation he'd created, but two hands grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down. Kurt's face was blank until Blaine reached eye-level again and a he saw a grin spread across his face. Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine tenderly on the lips, shooting down any doubts he'd just had. It was soft and marvellous, Kurt's lips tasted wonderful and Blaine was struck dumb again with delight.

"So," Kurt interrupted, a shy smile still in place, "back to the bus then?" Not waiting for Blaine's response, he dragged him out of the room by the hand.