Disclaimer: No matter how many times I say it, it ain't ever gonna change - I own nothing.
This fic is set almost immediately after Feud ends in my Little Talks 'verse (although for people who haven't read it, like I said in the summary, it's not completely necessarily to have read it to read this fic with the exception of one or two little parts). I've had the idea for a little filler fic in my Little Talks verse for a while where Blaine spends a weekend in New York with Kurt, it was simply a question of finding the right time to slot it in. Eventually, I figured in between Feud and Guilty Pleasures seemed like the perfect place for it to fit. Also, I originally had this planned as a short filler fic, but after I mapped it out I realised that it was going to be quite a bit longer than expected - several chapters at least, with each chapter spanning a day (or half a day each - I haven't really decided yet). And thus we begin with Friday...
Oh, and remember, reviews are always encouraged and very welcome!
Blaine stood under the spray of the locker room shower and rolled his shoulders, groaning loudly as his tense muscles protested. His first practice as Cheerio co-captain had been brutal, and he strongly suspected it had been some sort of punishment from Coach Sylvester for him abandoning them in the first place. His shoulders and back ached, and he really wanted to go home and soak in a warm bath before curling up in bed, but he had to be at the airport soon so relaxing would have to wait.
Blaine winced at the thought of being stuck in a cramped aeroplane seat. Oh yeah, by the end of the day, he was going to be in more pain than he was now, he just knew it.
He wished he could stay under the hot water for longer but unfortunately he knew if he procrastinated for much longer there would be a chance that he would miss his flight, and there was no way he was going to miss out on seeing Kurt again.
Blaine grinned in excitement at the thought of seeing his boyfriend. Seeing each other only once a month was hard, but it certainly was better than nothing – there was no way he was going to be stupid enough to give Kurt up again. That break that they had earlier in the year was the hardest thing he had ever done and he was not willing to have a repeat. If once a month was all they were going to have together until Blaine graduated then once a month it was. And after being so long without being able to see his boyfriend in the flesh, he was practically bursting at the seams at the prospect of seeing him again in only a few hours' time.
Quickly towelling off (groaning in pain as he did so), he was grateful that he had the forethought to pack a bag for the weekend and bring it to school because after catching a glimpse of the time as he got dressed he realised that he would really be pushing it to get to the airport in time. Hurriedly shoving his Cheerio uniform in his bag he rushed to get out to his car. It didn't matter if he had to speed to get there in time – there was nothing in this world that was stopping him from getting to New York this weekend.
"What do you mean you're moving out?" Rachel cried angrily, following Brody as he walked through the apartment, picking up some of his belongings and putting them in a duffel bag that was already half full with his clothes.
"It means exactly the way it sounds," Brody said. "I'm moving out. Let's face it Rachel – you and I aren't really working out. This is for the best."
Kurt sat quietly at the dining table, watching wide eyed as Rachel continued to argue with Brody, who had walked into the apartment ten minutes beforehand with a black eye and had started packing a bag. Absently munching on some pretzels he watched in fascination at the train wreck before his eyes as Rachel and Brody went through what clearly looked like a break up, his eyes flickering back and forth between the two players in what Kurt considering his own private play. While a part of him kind of felt like he should leave and give them some privacy, he ultimately justified his staying in the fact that, as a friend, he didn't really want to leave Rachel alone in case things got out of hand, although mostly it was because but this was his apartment, and he wasn't one to miss a chance for front seat drama (and what was going on right now was currently better than any episode of the Real Housewives). He figured something must have happened to trigger Brody's sudden exodus, and he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with a certain someone who had a name that could ironically be rearranged to spell 'Satan'.
"Look, I've gotta go," Brody was saying. "I'll swing by sometime this weekend and get the rest of my stuff. I'll see you around. Bye Kurt."
Kurt nodded in his direction (honestly, he was not sad at all about Brody's departure) and after the apartment door slid shut behind him, he turned to look at his best friend, who was staring at the closed door in shock.
"You okay?" he asked sympathetically, moving over towards her (hey, he might not have liked Brody, but he still cared about Rachel's feelings).
"I don't know what just happened," Rachel said, stunned. "Okay yes, we were having a few problems, but moving out? This is just so out of the blue. I mean, what just happened?"
"I don't know," Kurt said, rubbing a hand soothingly over her back. Catching a glimpse of the time, Kurt winced. "I really wish I could stay and talk about it with you Rachel, but I need to get to the airport and meet Blaine."
"Oh that's right, Blaine's coming this weekend!" Rachel exclaimed. "With everything that has gone on these last few days, I totally forgot that that was this weekend. I'll go to Callbacks for the rest of the night or something, let you have some time alone."
"Rachel, you don't have to do that," Kurt insisted, although the idea of an empty apartment with his boyfriend was incredibly tempting. "You and Brody just broke up – I don't want to kick you out of your own apartment."
"We didn't break up," Rachel said stubbornly. "We just had a disagreement that we will resolve later. But you and Blaine haven't seen each other in forever and you deserve some alone time, so I am going to be a good friend and leave you to it. And besides, I need a place to go and express my feelings – preferably somewhere with a microphone."
Grabbing her handbag and heading towards the door she gave Kurt a little wave. "Tell Blaine I said hi!" she called out as she left.
Smiling in gratitude, Kurt grabbed his own keys and left to grab a cab. He had a boyfriend to go and meet.
Kurt stood impatiently at the arrivals lounge of the airport, watching as a steady stream of people exited the doors. Bouncing on his toes, but being careful not to jostle the bunch of flowers in his hand, he tried to peer over the heads of the crowd for the one person he wanted to see the most.
Spotting a dark head of hair, a large grin blossomed on Kurt's face when Blaine came into view, a similar smile on his own face. Rushing towards each other, they enveloped each other in a long, warm hug, their arms clinging tightly to each other.
"Oh it is so good to see you," Kurt breathed in Blaine's ear, and he could feel Blaine's smile widen against his neck.
"You have no idea," Blaine agreed.
Finally pulling away, Kurt handed the flowers to Blaine. "Here, I got these for you. I tried to get our usual red and yellow roses, but the airport florist didn't have any so I got you daisies instead. I remember you always said they make you feel happy."
"They do, but you didn't have to get me anything," Blaine said, although he couldn't hide the slight blush or the way his eyes twinkled in delight.
"I know, but I wanted to," Kurt said, picking up Blaine's carry on with one hand (the only thing Blaine had brought with him) and looping his other arm through Blaine's before heading towards the exit. They stayed glued to each other's sides until they reached the taxi zone, where Kurt finally released Blaine's arm to fling out his own and hail a cab.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kurt could see Blaine duck his head to hide a smile. "What?" he asked, as Blaine looked up at him adoringly.
"Nothing," Blaine said as a cab pulled up in front of them. "It was just the way that you hailed that cab – it was so natural. Like a true New Yorker. It's weird I know, but I just felt so… I don't know, proud I guess. I love how at home you seem here."
"Aw, honey," Kurt said, allowing the cab driver to take Blaine's bag off of him and place it in the trunk, while Blaine opened the door for Kurt and gestured for Kurt to enter. "Soon it will be your home too, and you'll be hailing cabs like a pro in no time."
"Can't wait," Blaine said, as Kurt climbed into the back seat, Blaine quickly following.
"So we have the apartment to ourselves for most of the night," Kurt informed Blaine after giving directions to the taxi driver. "But I have to warn you, Rachel and Brody have broken up, so while you won't have the absolute joy of meeting Brody, we may have a mopey Rachel for the next couple of days."
"Oh no, is she okay?" Blaine asked.
"You know, surprisingly, she didn't seem too bad," Kurt said. "I've seen her far more cut up over one of her many breakups with Finn – oh, and she says hi by the way – but she also seems to think that the two of them haven't broken up despite the fact that Brody has moved out, so who knows how she'll be. Regardless, she's gone out for the night so that we can have some privacy, so we'll have to do something nice for her as a thank you."
"Mmm hmm," Blaine murmured in agreement before snuggling closer to Kurt.
"And I have to go into work tomorrow for a few hours – unfortunately I couldn't really get out of it considering I've missed out on a lot lately, what with school and the blizzard, but I swear to you it won't be like last time – it should only take a few hours instead of all day, so if you swing by the office at about 12 you can meet Isabelle and then we can go have lunch and spend the rest of the day enjoying each other's company."
"Sounds good," Blaine smiled, entwining their fingers together and giving them a squeeze. Kurt smiled back broadly, and the pair spent the rest of the ride to Bushwick in a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.
When they arrived at Kurt's apartment block, Kurt paid the driver while Blaine grabbed his bag from the trunk, being careful not to crush his flowers.
"Home sweet home," Kurt announced once they walked into the apartment.
Blaine placed his bag by the sofa. "Where can I put these?" he asked, indicating the flowers.
"There's a vase in that top cupboard," Kurt said, pointing as he moved over to the fridge to get the ingredients ready for dinner. "I hope you're hungry because I have a nice romantic dinner in mind for the two of us."
"Sounds perfect," Blaine said, reaching for the vase then groaning loudly.
Kurt turned in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Blaine assured him, rolling his shoulders as he filled the vase with water and placing the flowers inside. "Coach Sylvester just worked us pretty hard in cheerleading practice today and my back and shoulders didn't exactly agree with it."
"Cheerleading practice?" Kurt asked, closing the fridge. "I thought you quit months ago?"
"I did, but as of today I'm a Cheerio again," Blaine said, still rolling his shoulders. "It's kind of a long story."
"We've got time. Here, go take off your shirt and lay down on the sofa and I'll give you a massage okay? I remember what Coach Sylvester's training sessions were like."
While Blaine stripped off his shirt and lay down, Kurt put the food down on the kitchen counter then went into the bathroom to get some massage oil. When he returned to the living room, Blaine was shirtless and lying face down on the sofa. Seeing Blaine shiver a little due to the chill in the air, Kurt laid a comforting hand on Blaine's shoulder before moving to straddle his hips. "Don't worry, this stuff warms up as you use it so you won't be feeling so cold in a few minutes."
Rubbing the oil between his hands, Kurt began to smooth it over Blaine's skin before gently massaging it in. "Wow, you have so many knots, I don't know how you can even move," Kurt noted, his fingers pressing into Blaine's stiff muscles. "So tell me this long story – how did you end up a Cheerio again?"
"Well it all started earlier this week," Blaine began. "Coach Sylvester called me into her office wondering why I hadn't shown up to Cheerio's practice since before Christmas. She even showed me this bogus contract that she tried to insist that I had signed basically stating that I still had to be a Cheerio and oh my God, that feels so good."
Kurt smiled, his hands running firmly up the middle of Blaine's back. "So she showed you the fake contract…"
"Right. So I told her that I only became a cheerleader because I thought that the glee club had disbanded and that I couldn't possibly re-join the Cheerio's as I was too busy with glee and student council, which didn't make her all that happy. And that's kind of when the war began. She pretty much pulled out all the stops trying to force me to join again. In the end I had had enough and we decided on a diva-off – if I won, she would leave me alone. If she won, I would join the Cheerio's. Unfortunately for me, in a spectacular Nicki Minaj versus Mariah Carey inspired duel I lost due to popular vote. Hence me being a Cheerio again."
Kurt frowned. "I'm sorry, but I find it very hard to believe that you lost a vocal duel against Sue Sylvester. I've heard both of you sing, and while Coach Sylvester isn't bad, she is nowhere near your kind of talent. How the hell did you lose?"
"Well, she did have the Cheerio's, a black light and crazy costumes to help with her performance. I also may have kind of thrown the competition."
Kurt paused in his massaging, eliciting a soft whine in protest from Blaine. "Wait, you threw a competition? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend? You never give anything less than 100%."
"True," Blaine said, wiggling his hips where Kurt was seated on them, trying to encourage him to continue the massage. Once his fingers started to move again, Blaine continued his story. "But after Sue humiliated me for the last time Sam and I came up with a plan – he 'encouraged' most of the other members of the New Directions to vote against me so that I'd have to be a Cheerio again. And now – oh yeah, right there – I'm going to work from the inside to try and bring her down and stop her reign of terror over McKinley."
Kurt grinned. "Blaine Devon Anderson! How positively devious of you – I never knew you had it in you. I'm kind of turned on."
"Really?" Blaine asked, turning his head to look at Kurt, a cheeky smile playing across his lips. "Interesting."
Kurt playfully pushed his face back in the sofa and continued the massage, but his smile faded when he recalled something Blaine had said earlier. "You said that Sue humiliated you – what did she do exactly?"
Blaine groaned. "Where to start? Well, there was the Cover Boy hair gel she gave me – turned out it was actually cement."
Kurt tried and failed to smother a laugh. "Oh honey, after you refused Coach Sylvester you never should have accepted anything from her – it was bound to be a trick."
"Well she didn't give it to me, Becky did," Blaine protested.
"We all know that Becky is her little minion and just as evil. Rookie mistake Blaine."
"I know that now. Anyway, then there was the whole stealing my identity thing."
"The what!?"
"Yeah, she took out a loan and bunch of credit cards in my name. I thought she would have ruined my parent's credit but, thanks to her job, my Mom knows a few people in the right places and was able to convince the creditors that it was all a big mistake."
Kurt frowned again. "Blaine, that wasn't just her usual tactics in terrorizing students – what she did was illegal."
"Yeah I know, but unfortunately that wasn't the last – or worse – of it. What ultimately ended up being the last straw also happened to be the most embarrassing – she had a plane fly over the school with a banner that said 'Blaine is on the bottom'."
"She did WHAT!?" Kurt exclaimed angrily. "I can't believe – no, actually I can believe that she would do such a thing, but I mean how dare she –"
"Hey," Blaine interrupted, raising his hips until Kurt lifted himself up enough for Blaine to flip over. Once he was on his back, Blaine sat up and wrapped his arms around Kurt in an attempt to ease his anger as Kurt resettled himself on Blaine's lap. "It's okay you know."
"No Blaine it's not okay. She was basically making insinuations in public about your sex life – our sex lives essentially – and the fact that she was doing it to humiliate you basically implies that she thinks that gay sex is degrading. She was clearly all talk in my junior year about making things right for me in school because ever since then it's been constant insults and implying I was a lady and now this –"
"I know," Blaine soothed, rubbing his hands up and down Kurt's back. "You do know that when I said it was embarrassing it wasn't because I meant that I'm ashamed about anything we do in regards to our sex life right? I love everything we do. What embarrassed me was the fact that that stuff is private and I hate the thought of people, particularly people who barely know me, laughing and speculating about something that I would prefer to be kept just between us."
"I know," Kurt huffed out, slowly calming down. He reached up and cupped Blaine's face in between his hands. "I feel the same way. I just hate that you had to go through all of that over a stupid feud."
"I know you do," Blaine said.
Kurt pulled Blaine towards him and pressed their lips together and Blaine responded immediately, his hands gripping Kurt's waist tightly. What went from a few gentle pecks soon became a full blown make-out session as Kurt's hands moved to slide around Blaine's neck. The kisses became more heated, their tongues taking turns in exploring the other's mouth. It wasn't until Kurt felt Blaine's hands slide up Kurt's shirt and caress his back that he reluctantly pulled away.
"Wait," he said breathlessly as Blaine tried to chase his lips. "We need to slow down." Taking a few deep breaths, Kurt opened his eyes and looked into Blaine's. "We've got plenty of time to do this later, but I haven't had a proper date night with you in a long time, and I want to actually have dinner with you before all of the sex."
Blaine nodded, also breathing heavily, before chuckling as his stomach rumbled. "Yes, I think that would be good idea. Food first."
Dinner in Kurt's apartment ended up being the perfect date night. The two of them prepared dinner together, working almost seamlessly in the kitchen except for on one occasion when Kurt moved towards the stove at the same time Blaine moved towards the fridge and the pair had collided in the middle. There had been a bit of a dance as they tried to get around each other resulting in a lot of giggling before they gave each other a quick peck and Blaine moved aside so Kurt could get around him.
Kurt had loved the domesticity of it all – it all felt so very… adult of them. At one point he had to pause, sneaking a glance at Blaine stirring the sauce and couldn't help but imagine a time in the not so distant future when Blaine would be living with him and this would be a regular occurrence, and although he knew it would only be natural for the fluttery feeling he felt in his stomach whenever the two of them would do these simple chores together to eventually disappear, he hoped that it would at least take some time to fade.
When dinner was ready, Blaine put it on the plates while Kurt placed Blaine's flowers in the middle of the table and lit a few candles to create a romantic atmosphere. They sat across from each other, smiling giddily at each other as they played footsie under the table. They talked about everything and nothing – how both of their classes were going; Kurt's job and glee club; the sweater Blaine had found on sale recently; how the crazy guy who lived at the end of Kurt's street insisted that the blizzard New York suffered from a week ago signified the start of the end of the world. But it wasn't until they had reached the end of their meals that Kurt decided to breach a topic that had been swirling around in his mind for most of the evening.
"So, um, just out of curiosity," Kurt said innocently, playing with his fork. "Did you bring your Cheerio uniform with you?"
Blaine frowned in confusion, quickly swallowing the mouthful of sparkling cider he had been drinking. "Yes," he said slowly. "I put it in my bag after practice and didn't have time to take it out. Why?"
"No reason," Kurt rushed. "Well, there is a reason it's just not a big reason. I was just wondering that's all, what with all the talk earlier about you being a Cheerio again if you might have brought it with you; you know, out of curiosity."
Blaine smiled fondly. "Kurt you're rambling. You have a tendency to do that when you're nervous. What's up?"
Kurt bit his lip, debating whether or not he should ask what he wanted to ask before figuring that it wouldn't hurt to try, knowing that regardless what his answer would be that Blaine wouldn't judge him.
"I was just wondering if you would try it on for me? I'd like to see what you look like."
"You've already seen what I look like wearing it," Blaine pointed out.
"Yeah, on a tiny laptop screen," Kurt argued. "I want to see it in person. But you don't have to do it if you don't want to; it was just a silly request."
"It's not silly," Blaine insisted with a smile, although he narrowed his eyes slightly in suspicion and cocked his head, clearly trying to figure out Kurt's motives while Kurt himself fought to keep down a blush. After a moment a glint appeared in Blaine's eyes and a knowing smirk flickered across his lips, as he pushed out his chair and slowly stood. "Wait here while I get changed."
Kurt watched as Blaine walked over to his bag and fished through it for a few seconds before pulling out a familiar white and red uniform. He disappeared behind the curtains that separated Kurt's room from the rest of the apartment and Kurt, in an attempt to restrain his eagerness, blew out the candles and began gathering the plates and putting them into the sink.
He had just finished rinsing the last of the plates when a throat cleared behind him. Turning, Kurt was met with the sight of Blaine standing by the partition that led to Kurt's bedroom, barefoot and wearing the uniform that Kurt himself had worn for a significant portion of his sophomore year.
"So, what do you think?" Blaine asked.
Kurt released the air that he hadn't even realised he had been holding. "Wow," he breathed. "You look really good."
"You think so?" Blaine said, glancing down at the uniform disbelievingly.
"Yeah," Kurt said, slowly walking towards his boyfriend. "You know, I've always thought that the uniform was never particularly flattering, but somehow you make it look good." Kurt stopped right in front of Blaine and slowly ran his hands up over Blaine's chest.
"What is it about this uniform for you?" Blaine said amazed, his hands automatically moving to Kurt's waist and pulling him closer.
"I don't know," Kurt admitted. "I think maybe because it always seems to be every guy's dream to date a cheerleader – and it was something that I simply assumed that I would never have. And while before it was something that never really mattered to me, seeing you in this…" Kurt traced a finger over Blaine's chest in lazy circles. "And while I have always embraced the fact that I am different, I also kind of like that for one of the few times in my life, I get to be like every other teenage boy – I'm that guy dating the hot cheerleader."
"Head cheerleader," Blaine pointed out.
"Head cheerleader," Kurt corrected with a purr, pushing Blaine back through the curtain and slowly leading him back towards his bed.
"Hmm," Blaine murmured, leaning forward and brushing his nose along Kurt's jaw teasingly. "So what we have here is us embracing the cliché – the head cheerleader dating the former star kicker of the football team."
"Ooh, I like that," Kurt whispered, pushing him onto the bed before covering Blaine's body with his own, propping himself up with his forearms resting beside Blaine's head. He looked down into his boyfriend's eyes with a gleam in his own. "Although I have to say it's a good thing I don't play anymore – I know that I would definitely get distracted by you shaking your pompoms."
"Oh really?" Blaine replied huskily, slowly wrapping his arms around Kurt's neck and his legs around Kurt's waist. "So you're saying that you wouldn't want me to see me on the sidelines, cheering your name? Give me a K! Give me a U! Give me a – mmmph!"
Kurt cut off Blaine's impromptu performance, with a hard kiss. Although judging by the soft moan escaping from Blaine, Kurt figured that Blaine didn't seem to mind.