"Lucky"
Klaine Bingo Prompt: Birthday
Summary: In which Blaine can't help but feel lucky on his birthday, no matter how many times his luck seems to slip up.
Note: Dedicated to Trufflemores on Tumblr because she's sick and she needed some comfort fic.
Blaine had always been an early riser. He never liked to wait until the sun was already up. He liked being the first to get up and get ready to face the day, and he always found a quiet sense of peace in watching the sunrise. He loved the early morning because it was the only time of day that he didn't have to worry or stress about anything in his life. He could simply be, with no responsibilities and not a care in the world. He had always enjoyed waking up.
Kurt, on the other hand, despised waking up. He never appreciated being torn away from his dreams or from his bed, especially if it was before 9 a.m. He would admit, at least, that it was considerably more enjoyable waking up to his fiancé every morning, but he still preferred to cuddle in and hide from the rising sun a little longer.
Blaine knew this. He prided himself in knowing and adoring each of Kurt's quirks, habits, and preferences. That's why, when he woke up to find Kurt already up and about in the kitchen at 5:42 a.m., he was surprised, to say the least.
"Babe?" he drawled sleepily, rubbing his eyes as he shuffled into the kitchen. "Why are you up so early? It's like…" he yawned, losing his train of thought for a moment, not bothering to look at the clock to check exactly what time it was. "Early," he finished, earning a soft chuckle from his fiancé.
Smiling, Kurt shut off the stove and served up some eggs, sausage, and cronuts for the both of them, speaking as he did. "Well, I knew you'd be up early, because you're always up early, so I decided to wake up even earlier. I made you breakfast. But it was supposed to be breakfast in bed."
Blaine grinned sleepily, walking up to Kurt and kissing his cheek. Resting his hands on Kurt's waist, he pulled his fiancé closer and nuzzled the curve of his neck. "Mm, thank you."
Kurt smiled, loosely draping his arms over Blaine's shoulders. "What's up with you this morning? You're usually the one who's all wide awake and cheery."
Blaine shrugged, laughing a bit as he looked up at Kurt. "Well, it is six o'clock in the morning," he teased.
Kurt rolled his eyes fondly, gently pushing Blaine into a chair at the table. "All right, all right. Less talking, more eating. I made your favorite kind of cronut."
Blaine's eyes widened excitedly. "You made these? Have I mentioned recently how much I love you?"
Kurt laughed, scrunching up his nose as Blaine shoved half a cronut in his mouth all at once. He didn't say anything, though, considering the occasion.
By the time they finished eating, Kurt had reached his excitement-withholding limit. Grinning, he exclaimed, "Happy birthday!" and grabbed the brick-sized box sitting on the chair beside him. Blaine's expression softened and he scooted his chair closer to Kurt's.
"Kurt, you didn't have to get me anything," he said, trying to act sincere though his joy was too hard to hide. "I mean, I would've been happy just spending the day with you and nothing else. And it's almost Christmas. You didn't have to spend any—"
"I didn't," Kurt was quick to assure him, smiling brightly and scooting even closer. He slid the box across the table and urged Blaine to open it. "I promise I didn't spend a dime."
Blaine bit his lip, failing to suppress a smile. After a moment, his face split into a grin and he tore into the wrapping paper quickly but carefully. He untied the ribbon that was wrapped around the box and peeked inside before opening it all the way. Before either of them said anything, Blaine threw his arms around Kurt's neck. "I love it." Just as quick, he pulled back and stared at Kurt with wide eyes. "But how—"
"I made it," Kurt said, answering his question before he could even ask it. Blaine smiled, letting out a soft puff of breath and tilting his head fondly.
"Thank you," he said softly.
Kurt blushed just so beneath Blaine's loving gaze, but his excitement was too much to bear. He picked up the delicately sewn bowtie and held it up to Blaine's collar. "It's perfect," he decided, grinning. Blaine covered Kurt's hands with his own and moved the bowtie so he could get a better look at it. It was dark forest green with tastefully aligned stripes of sparkling silver fabric, tilting just slightly to the right. It really was fabulous.
"I love it," Blaine said and wrapped his arms around Kurt again.
"You already said that," Kurt told him, smiling into Blaine's shoulder and hugging him back.
"Fine. Then I love you."
"You already said that, too," Kurt said with a laugh. "I love you, you dork."
"I know." Blaine pulled back, looking determined. "I think that everyone in Central Park needs to see this work of art."
"The bowtie?" Kurt asked, laughing a bit in disbelief. "Please."
"Oh, no, I meant this," Blaine said in mock-seriousness, gesturing to himself. Kurt dissolved into giggles, then, and leaned in to kiss Blaine, cupping his cheek gently. Blaine smiled into it, humming and pulling back. "Let's go for a walk. What do you say?"
"I say… I want to show off my handsome fiancé on his special day."
They walked halfway around Central Park before their noses were thoroughly rosy and their ears were visibly frozen. They decided to make their way to the nearest coffee shop, stepping inside and grabbing an empty table. It was a booth so they weren't shy in cuddling up beside each other and falling into their own little world in the corner of that little shop.
After sipping hot chocolate until it was too cold to retain its deliciousness, they made their way home. They'd only just heard the chime of the bell at the top of the doors when they were both sent sliding to the ground in a cold puff of snow. Kurt was the first to slip, taking Blaine with him since they were so tangled up together.
"Ouch," Blaine said once the shock of falling had passed. They shared a look, realizing how ridiculous they looked sitting side-by-side and hand-in-hand on the frozen sidewalk, and promptly burst out laughing. Only when an irritable passerby shouted at them to get out of the way did they stand up and continue their journey home, giggling sporadically all the way back to the apartment.
Their noses were even redder and their ears were even chillier by the time they slid the loft door shut behind them. Blaine, sneezing into his coat, seemed to have gotten the worst of the biting weather.
"Honey," Kurt said, concerned. He took Blaine's coat and hung it on the rack before taking his freezing face between his hands. "Maybe it isn't the best day to be walking around. You're freezing."
"I'm fine," Blaine said, smiling. "Besides, you're even redder than I am."
Kurt scoffed. "Only because you're so tan. I go from Casper to lobster in approximately point-six seconds."
Blaine cooed sympathetically, leaning in and kissing Kurt's nose. "I know, babe. You're still undeniably adorable, though."
They spent the next few hours cuddling in their bed, deciding together that it was much too early to be awake on a Saturday. They were disrupted only by the hooting and hollering of their little group of friends arriving for Blaine's birthday party—the hoots and hollers were mostly Sam's doing, to be perfectly honest.
The party began to wind down after an hour or so, with everyone a little tipsy from the wine. Presents had been given and Blaine felt warm as he sat on Kurt's lap on the couch and visited with his friends. Blaine was pleasantly buzzed, looking around at his little family and smiling as he remembered each of the presents they'd brought. Rachel gave him her old karaoke machine—Blaine knew it was more of a present for herself considering the three of them lived in the same loft, but he appreciated the effort anyway. Santana gave him twenty bottles of hair gel, to which he laughed sarcastically and pretended not to smile. The fact that he'd worked his way into her good graces enough to be mocked so fondly meant a lot coming from Santana, and he loved her for it. Sam and Mercedes combined their efforts and gave him some new video games. Sam insisted it was his birthday present and his Christmas present, because "Dude, Christmas is in, like, a week."
When everyone asked where Kurt's present was, Kurt replied, "I gave it to him in private." That received a chorus of whistles from the group and a declaration of "Wanky!" from Santana. Kurt just rolled his eyes and Blaine giggled, climbing into Kurt's lap and nuzzling into his neck.
And that was how they got to where they were now, chatting amicably around the living room; smiling, laughing, and generally enjoying each other's company.
Sam was in the middle of telling an incredibly exciting story about the modeling agency when Santana suddenly excused herself, making her way out onto the fire escape. While everyone else continued on with their conversations, Blaine couldn't help but notice that she looked upset. He leaned in close to Kurt's ear and whispered, "I'm gonna go check on her. Don't move."
Kurt smiled fondly and kissed his cheek before his fiancé stood up and followed Santana. She was just getting off the phone when Blaine sat down beside her. She looked over at him, looking more tired and vulnerable than he'd seen her in a long time. He frowned. "What's wrong?"
She sniffled, dragging her palms across her cheeks to wipe away the tears. "I'm a mess. I'm sorry."
"Hey, no, it's okay," he promised. He wrapped one arm tentatively around her shoulders, relieved when she leaned gratefully into the embrace. "You can tell me."
"It's Brittany… She—she's in the hospital. She sprained her ankle. You know how I told you she's been doing all those auditions to be a backup dancer? Well, this was supposed to be the one. She was so excited about it. But she made one wrong move and her ankle totally gave out on her. She… the doctor said she'll be fine in a couple weeks, but she's devastated. And I can't even be there for her because she's all the way in Florida."
Blaine squeezed her shoulder, furrowing his brow thoughtfully. "What if I told you that I could have you on the first flight tomorrow going to Miami?"
Santana sat up instantly, staring at him with wide eyes. "You're not serious." She continued to stare at him. "Holy crap, you are. Anderson, I think you've really lost it this time."
"Hey, hear me out," Blaine said, chuckling. "It's not a big deal. My parents gave me this huge check for my birthday and Christmas, so I can definitely afford it. I don't need all that money. But you need to go see Brittany."
Santana, for a change, was speechless. She just kind stared at him in shock, seemingly torn between accepting and refusing to take the money. When she finally did speak, it was with one of the softest smiles he'd ever seen cross Santana Lopez's face. "Thank you, hobbit."
Blaine laughed. For her, name-calling was a show of affection… most of the time. He hugged her, smiling. "I guess you better start packing."
"Did I mention that you're insane?"
"Maybe once or twice," he teased. When they pulled apart, she was still smiling. It was then that Kurt found them, urging them to come inside before they caught a cold.
Santana told everyone that she had to go, and Blaine slipped his credit card into her purse as she was leaving. She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking. "You really trust me with that?"
Blaine laughed. "Go crazy, Satan."
She rolled her eyes, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.
"You know," Kurt said, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around Blaine's waist, "I don't think that you're supposed to be the one giving out presents on your birthday."
Blaine smiled, leaning into the embrace. "It's no big deal."
"It is to her," he said sincerely.
Suddenly, Blaine let out an enormous sneeze, startling Kurt with the force of it. He turned around to see Kurt's eyes wide with concern. "Are you okay?"
"M'fine," Blaine said, shaking his head a little to clear out the fuzziness that comes from a sneeze that big. "Just…" He sneezed again, discrediting his claim of being 'fine.' "Allergies," he finished.
"You are not fine," Mercedes said, appearing behind Kurt with Sam in tow. "We should get going. Happy birthday, Blaine. Feel better, okay?"
"M'not sick," he insisted, swiping at his runny nose with his sleeve. He wrinkled his nose when he realized what he'd just done, frowning and grabbing a handful of tissues off the shelf beside him. He wiped the moisture off of his sweater and wiped the rest off of his nose.
Kurt got the feeling Blaine didn't want anyone else to witness him getting a cold. He always complained that he was a total mess, that he was gross, and that no one should have to be subjected to it. And, honestly, he looked just plain pitiful. And on his birthday.
Mercedes and Sam left with a squeeze each to Blaine's shoulder, and Rachel declared that she was going to spend the night at their apartment. Kurt knew that face, though; it was the same one she made every time she saw a sick person within two months before an audition. Loud and clear, it said, "Don't get me sick or I'll kill you in your sleep."
Once everyone was gone, Blaine heaved an audible sigh of relief. Kurt promptly took him into his arms, resisting Blaine's efforts to push him away. "I'll get you sick," he complained.
"I thought you said you weren't sick," Kurt said, rubbing his back.
"I lied," he whined. He finally gave up on pushing at Kurt's chest. "Can I have my birthday cuddles now?"
"Of course, B," Kurt cooed, leading him to their section of the loft. He coaxed Blaine into pajamas before curling up beside him under the covers. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Blaine sighed, turning his head into his arm to cough. "I don't want to get you sick," he said before erupting into a coughing fit. He sat up, coughing himself breathless to the point where tears were streaming down his face. Kurt frowned, rubbing his back for a moment before standing up.
"I'm going to get you some medicine." He strode quickly into the kitchen and found some Alka Seltzer liquid gels, grabbing the box and filling a glass of water to take to Blaine. When he got back to the bed, Blaine was keeled over to the side, head resting just below Kurt's pillow, looking miserable. "Oh, B," he sighed. "Baby, I need you to sit up so you can swallow these. It'll make you feel better." He helped Blaine sit up, urging him to swallow the pills with a few chugs of water. Blaine finished off the water and started coughing again, scrunching his face up miserably.
"Lie down, sweetheart," Kurt said gently, gathering him up in his arms. "Try to get some sleep, okay? Hopefully you'll feel better after you rest."
Blaine nodded, whimpering softly into Kurt's shoulder. "G'night."
"Goodnight, love."
It really wasn't anywhere near bedtime, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Blaine needed to feel better, and Kurt didn't know what else to do. He could make him some tea, but he got the feeling Blaine was too out of it to drink any of it. He would just have to wait until Blaine was a little more… conscious.
Kurt dozed off shortly after Blaine did, and neither of them woke up for several more hours. They slept until just past midnight. Blaine was the first to wake up, rolling over and sitting up with a groan. "Kurt?" he mumbled. Kurt's eyes fluttered open and he looked over at Blaine before suddenly turning his head to cough into his pillow.
"Ugh," he grunted, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. "Let's go back to sleep."
"I knew I was going to get you sick," Blaine said, smiling a little in resignation. He seemed significantly less miserable, though still exhausted and suffering from the general icky-ness that came with having a cold.
Kurt, however, seemed to have been hit pretty hard by the sudden sickness. "Just cuddle. We're both sick now so it doesn't matter if we cuddle."
Blaine smiled a little and settled down next to his sick fiancé. "I think this is the perfect time to take a sick day, don't you?"
"Mm, go to sleep," Kurt mumbled.
Blaine couldn't help but laugh softly. He may have been sick, but he could still appreciate how adorable his fiancé was. "I love you. Goodnight."
"Again," Kurt yawned. "Night, B. Love you."
And Blaine had to admit: as miserable as it was being sick, he couldn't help but feel like the luckiest man on the planet, because he had Kurt by his side. And they would get through it together.
In sickness and in health, right?