Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing.
This is for Emserai who wanted some insight into how Blaine went from "I'm not for sale" in Season 3 to being perfectly at ease with stripping for a calendar. I hope my little head canon makes sense (because although Glee doesn't seem to give a crap about continuity, I do). There are heavy allusions to a conversation between Blaine and Tina that happened in the Sadie Hawkins ep of my fic "Tell Him That I Miss Our Little Talks" – if you haven't read this beforehand you may be confused in some parts.
Tina watched as the Glee guys laughed and congratulated each other after their mash-up of 'Hot in Herre' and 'Centrefold'. Blaine was among them, grinning at something Jake had said and Tina couldn't help but smile wistfully at how happy he looked. She couldn't wait to see what he looked like on this calendar (not that she'd ever tell him that) – she had no doubt he would look incredibly sexy.
That last thought triggered a memory for Tina of something that Blaine had said to her a week ago before the Sadie Hawkins dance, causing her to frown. While she wished she could just ignore it, the part inside of her telling her to be a good friend was loud and insisting she talk to Blaine. So when the bell rang signalling the beginning of lunch, Tina stood up and headed towards Blaine.
"Hey Blaine, can I talk to you for a second?" Tina asked.
"Sure Tina," Blaine replied, turning his smile towards her (and Tina tried hard to ignore how her stomach swooped at that).
Moving back over to one of the seats, she waited for Blaine to join her and the others to leave the room.
"What's up Tina?" Blaine asked.
"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with this whole calendar thing," Tina said.
Blaine cocked his head to the side. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"I remembered what you told me last week – about how you could never do the stripping thing like Sam, and I just wanted to make sure that you weren't uncomfortable about doing this. If you were… well, being one of the few people to know your past and everything – about the names the people in your old school used to call you and all that, I hope you know that I'll completely understand if you don't want to do it."
"Aw, thanks Tina," Blaine said, smiling fondly at her. "But you know what; I am actually fine with it surprisingly. Maybe it's because I know we'll be doing the shoot in front of a small group of friends instead of a large group of strangers – I'm still not sure if I'd be able to do that. Or maybe it's because we're only going to be shirtless which won't exactly be a first for me considering I spend a lot of the summer months wearing only shorts." A look of horror crossed Blaine's face. "It is only going to be shirtless right? There's not going to be like, a conveniently placed gift for Mr December or something?"
Tina chuckled. "No, nothing like that. Shirtless is as far as we're going."
Blaine sighed in relief. "Good. I mean, it does feel a little weird that there will be people who are going to be ogling our pictures – I think it would be a little too much if strangers could see me… well in a way that really only Kurt has ever seen. And as for what the guys in my old school used to call me – even though it still hurts sometimes to think about it, I've essentially moved on from that time in my life. I learnt a long time ago that nothing they ever said to me was worth more than a grain of salt."
"But you are okay with it right? I just don't want you to feel like you're selling yourself out or anything like that."
Blaine smiled as realization dawned. "Is this about what I said to Sam last year?"
Tina nodded. "I know you said you didn't mean it but…"
Blaine placed a comforting hand on Tina's arm. "Look, for me there is a big difference between what happened last year and doing this calendar. I was never angry at Sam for him wanting to be sexy in a performance. Like, if a performance requires someone to act sexy, then cool. I mean, you remember when Kurt did his audition for NYADA – that was so hot. With those gold pants, and the dancing…"
Blaine's eyes quickly developed a far off look, so Tina snapped her fingers in front of them. "Back to the point Blaine."
Blaine blushed. "Sorry. Anyway, like I said, I have no problem with being sexy in a performance, but what Sam suggested last year – he didn't want to be sexy because the performance called for it, he was suggesting using sex as a way to try and win the competition, basically using our bodies as a way to get cheap points when we should have been relying on our talent to win. To me, that was selling ourselves, whereas doing this calendar is more like… donating to charity."
Blaine folded his hands in his lap, watching as he absently twiddled his thumbs. "And besides… I heard that Rachel is considering going for a role in New York that requires a topless scene, and it made me realise something. If I want to be a performer one day – either on Broadway or as a singer – and I somehow manage to get even an iota of success, then something like this; a sexy shoot or whatever, may well one day be in the cards. Like it or not, that's just the way this industry works. I mean, I'll never do anything that I believe compromises what I believe in, but I realised earlier that maybe I need to re-evaluate what exactly my boundaries are. And a shirtless photo shoot…" Blaine shrugged. "It honestly could have been a lot worse."
Blaine playfully nudged Tina's knee with his own. "So don't worry about me – I'm fine," he said with a teasing grin before standing and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I love how you were concerned about me though. You're a really good friend Tina – the absolute best."
With a little wave and a smile, Blaine left the choir room and a blushing Tina behind.