A/N I should open my own publishing company and call it Insomnia Publishing. Once again my sleep deprivation brings you a new story! My new neighbor was singing this song last night. I haven't met him yet, but he has a great voice!
This is an A/U story, takes place after Kurt has graduated from NYADA.
Reviews always welcome!
…
Dancing Through Life
He was humming happily as he got dressed that morning. Life was going great! He had graduated from NYADA six months ago, and almost immediately got cast as Boq in the traveling production of Wicked, and he was also Fiyero's understudy, though he had yet to step into those boots.
It had been a lot of work, performing nightly for the last several months, and though he loved it, he was glad today was a down day. They were in Oakland, California, for the next week, but tonight the theater was dark, and he and a few of the other cast members were heading into San Francisco to do the tourist thing.
He met up in the hotel restaurant with Jeff, who played Chistery, and was his understudy, and the rest of the flying Monkeys, along with Katie, who was Elphaba's understudy. They were laughing as they ate breakfast, talking about all the places they wanted to visit. Kurt got along well with most of the cast members, they had become like another family to him the way New Directions had.
But like every family, there was always that one cousin you tried to avoid like the plague. In this case it was Sebastian, their Fiyero, who was an arrogant, self absorbed prick who thought he was god's gift to the gay population. On more than one occasion the tall brunette had insulted Kurt and tried to get into his pants in the same breath.
They were just getting ready to leave when the prick in question appeared as if out of thin air. "Where are you all going?"
Kurt sent a text to his dad and ignored him, but Kyle, one of the Monkeys, had a crush on the green eyed ass, and enthusiastically detailed their plans for the day, inviting the other man to join them. Kurt could feel Sebastian's eyes on him, and hoped the man would decline, but wasn't surprised when he accepted. Rolling his eyes, Kurt resigned himself to a day of barely veiled innuendos and blatant come ons.
Forty minutes later they were on a trolley heading to Chinatown to do some shopping. Jeff stayed by Kurt's side as a buffer between him and Sebastian, who had been trying to separate Kurt from the others like a wolf culling a lamb from the herd.
The blonde man had been a godsend in more ways than one. The young man spoke nearly fluent Mandarin, and helped Kurt negotiate a cheaper price on a tiger shaped jade pendant that had caught his glasz eyes. It would be the perfect birthday gift for Carole.
"Where did you learn to speak Chinese?" He'd asked the other man.
"My roommate in boarding school, Wes, was of Chinese descent, and he often spoke it when he talked to his grandparents on the phone, or when he'd get frustrated. I told him that if he was going to be swearing in another language around me, it was only right that he teach me." Kurt laughed.
As lunch time approached, they took another trolley to Fisherman's Wharf. They ate at the Boudin Bakery on Pier 39, where Kurt decided to blow off his diet for the day and ordered the clam chowder in a bread bowl. He figured that since they were planning on spending the rest of the day walking along the famous stretch of shops and museums, he would need the extra calories.
After they finished eating, they wandered around the pier. A few of them decided to take the ferry out to Alcatraz, but Kurt, Jeff, Katie, Sebastian, and a couple others decided to skip the boat trip. There were always interesting things going on in the area, and Kurt was smiling, enjoying listening to the music and the blend of foreign accents. He laughed when the Wharf's nefarious Bushman scared the living daylights out of Sebastian.
They made their way to the end of the pier, and were heading back towards the aquarium, when Kurt heard someone singing. The voice was amazing, accompanied by an acoustic guitar. He laughed when he recognized the tune.
The trouble with school is
They always try to teach the wrong lesson
Believe me, I've been kicked out
Of enough of them to know
They want you to become less callow
Less shallow
But I say: why invite stress in?
Stop studying strife
And learn to live the unexamined life
"Oooh, he's dreamy," Katie purred beside Kurt, and he had to agree. The man was about his age, though shorter. His dark curls were windblown, his hazel eyes seeming to laugh as he spotted Kurt, and smiled.
Dancing through life
Skimming the surface
Gliding where turf is smooth
Life's more painless
For the brainless
Why think too hard?
When it's so soothing
Dancing through life
No need to tough it
When you can sluff it off as I do
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
So keep dancing through
Sebastian didn't seem to be amused by this street performer singing his song. "He's not that great. Though with that body I wouldn't mind doing some dirty dancing with him."
Kurt rolled his eyes, and glanced at Jeff, who had a mischievous grin on his face. As the singer began the next verse, the blonde man grabbed Kurt's hand and pulled him forward to dance, and began singing along.
Dancing through life
Swaying and sweeping
And always keeping cool
Life is fraught-less
When you're thoughtless
Those who don't try
Never look foolish
Dancing through life
Mindless and careless
Make sure you're where less
Trouble is rife
Woes are fleeting
Blows are glancing
When you're dancing
Through life
Kurt couldn't help laughing, especially when Katie and the other Monkeys joined them.
Let's go down to the Ozdust Ballroom
We'll meet there later tonight
We can dance till it's light
Find the prettiest girl:
Give 'er a whirl:
Right on down to the Ozdust Ballroom
Come on - follow me
You'll be happy to be there
Dancing through life
Down at the Ozdust
If only because dust
Is what we come to
Nothing matters
But knowing nothing matters
It's just life
Sebastian's ego couldn't stand it anymore, and he pushed his way forward, singing louder than anyone else, and going into full performance mode.
So keep dancing through
Katie stepped into the role of Galinda, smiling at the crowd that had gathered.
Now that we've met one another
It's clear - we deserve each other
You're perfect
You're perfect
So we're perfect together
Born to be forever
Dancing through life
Dancing through life
Down at the Ozdust
If only because dust
Is what we come to!
And the strange thing:
Your life could end up changing
While you're dancing
Through!
As the song came to an end, the crowd cheered and clapped, and several people dropped money into the street performer's guitar case. While Sebastian was distracted schmoozing the crowd and encouraging them all to attend the shows in Oakland later that week, Kurt smiled at the young artist.
"Sorry to crash your set. You're very good, by the way."
The man returned the smile. "Thanks. I'm Blaine, by the way. So, are you in the show?"
"Yeah, I play Boq. I'm Kurt. It's nice to meet you. These are my friends, Jeff and Katie. They're in the show too. Jeff is Chistery, and he's also my understudy, and Katie is Elphaba's understudy." He introduced the others, as well. They talked for a few minutes, until Sebastian finished sucking up to the tourists and rejoined them. Kurt saw the predatory gleam in the taller man's eyes as he sized up Blaine. Jeff managed to cut off any chance for Sebastian to make any crude comments, by saying they needed to get going, and tugging on the brunette's arm to steer him away.
Kurt smiled at the dark haired singer again. "It was a pleasure meeting you. You really have an amazing voice." He dropped a twenty into the guitar case before following his friends. They decided to treat themselves to ice cream, but Kurt kept thinking of the honey eyed man.
…
Blaine watched them go, still smiling to himself. Kurt had seemed like a really nice guy, and he had been really cute, too. It had been almost a year since Blaine had broken up with his last boyfriend. He'd thought Chad had been perfect, and that they were bound to spend the rest of their lives together, until he'd caught Chad in bed with their neighbor's brother.
The fight that had followed had been a real eye opener for Blaine. He'd always viewed the world through rose colored glasses, always finding things to laugh and smile about. He loved performing on the streets here in San Francisco. To him, his life was a Disney fairy tale. He'd thought Chad had loved him. Turned out the bastard had just been using Blaine's popularity with the tourists to find his next screw. He'd called Blaine naive, said he was pathetic in bed, and all he was good for was paying the bills.
Sighing, he released the guitar's strap from around his neck, leaning it carefully against the wall as he collected the money from the case. He'd done really good today, pulling in almost $1000, and it was only mid afternoon.
Pocketing the cash, he packed his guitar up, and headed out to meet his friend, Nick, who worked at the ice cream shop on the pier. He'd known Nick nearly his entire life. They'd met in second grade, when some bullies had been making fun of the other boy, who wore braces to correct a serious overbite. Blaine had stood up to them, and had knocked the largest one on his butt when he'd tried to shove Blaine down.
After Blaine's parents had kicked him out when they found out he was gay, Nick's family had taken him in. Nick had come out not long before, and his family had been very supportive of the two of them, although they had to keep telling Nick's mom that they were just friends, that they weren't dating, and never would. They loved each other like brothers, and the thought of being intimate weirded them out.
Nick had been seeing an older man lately, but they weren't exclusive, and Nick wasn't really ready for a serious relationship, or so he proclaimed. He was in his last year at Berkeley, where he was studying writing and theater arts.
Blaine headed around the back of the ice cream shop. Nick was due for his break any minute now, and they were going to get coffee and go to the magic store before he had to get back to work.
Blaine was leaning against the building, scrolling through his phone, when the ground began to shake. At first, it was just a light tremor, but it quickly grew in strength. Car alarms began going off everywhere, and he could hear people screaming. He slipped sideways into the door frame. He could hear things falling inside the building, heard someone scream in pain. The sounds of multiple car crashes added to the chaos.
The earthquake seemed to go on for hours, but he knew it wasn't more than a few minutes. Even when the shaking stopped, he still felt wobbly. He turned to the door behind him, knowing it would be unlocked, and slipped inside, his first thought to find his friend and make sure he was okay.
The electricity was out, so he propped the door open for light to see by. Two employees, a man and woman, were huddled in the back storeroom. He asked if they were okay, and they assured him they were fine. He helped them stand up, and then went into the front counter area.
There was just enough light coming in through the windows to make out several shapes, but no details. He could hear someone, it sounded like a man, cursing in pain, and several other people sobbing in fear.
"Nick?" He called out. He found his friend helping two other people lifting a table off the man who had been cussing loudly, and who now screamed. Blaine rushed over to help out. The man's leg was obviously broken. He recognized him as the tall fellow who had been with Kurt and his friends. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Is anyone else hurt?"
There were a few others injured, though none of them as bad as the one called Sebastian. Kurt had a minor cut on his left temple, while others had scratches and bruising.
"It will be a while before EMS can get here," Nick said, having stepped outside to assess the carnage. "There are at least a dozen car accidents blocking the road on this street alone. Who knows how bad the rest of the area is. The best we can do is splint the leg and patch up the others with band-aids."
Jeff helped Nick gather up their meager medical supplies. The blonde man smiled at the handsome college student. Nick smiled shyly back. They didn't have anything to use as a splint, so Blaine offered to go and see if he could find anything they could use. Kurt went with him. They could hear people screaming, and all kinds of sirens in the distance. Car horns and alarms were still going off in the parking garage across the street. They stopped at the fruit market, thinking some slats from the fruit crates might work for a splint.
They found the owner helping a customer off the ground, and asked him if they could take one of the broken crates, explaining what they needed it for. The owner recognized Blaine, and gave them the crate. "You might want to get them out of the buildings and over to the park. The electricity is out everywhere, but with all the car crashes, there is bound to be gas spilling out on the roads, and who knows if any pipes have been ruptured."
"I hadn't thought of that," Blaine said. "We'll drop these off back at the Ice cream place, and tell everyone else to get out, and then we'll check the other shops to see if anyone else needs help and let them know to evacuate."
When they returned to the creamery, they found Jeff holding a flashlight while Nick bandaged up Sebastian's other injuries. Someone had found the battery operated radio and they had the news station on. Both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate were shut down due to multiple accidents. At least six fires were burning around town, and thousands of injuries were already being reported.
"911 is swamped," Nick said, taking the slats from Blaine. The two of them worked to splint Sebastian's leg while the man cursed and shouted at them to stop manhandling him. "It will be hours before an ambulance can get here. Someone could try driving him to the ER, but with the streets jacked up, and aftershocks a distinct possibility, it might just be best to wait."
"Well," Kurt said, "we should get everyone out of the building and over to the park, or into an open area away from the possibility of a spark igniting any gas leaks in the area."
Nick nodded and stood. Kyle and one of the other Monkey's helped carry Sebastian out. Nick lead the others out.
"Kurt and I are going to check out the other shops and see if anyone else needs help, and get everyone evacuated. We'll meet up with you in a little while over in the park. Stay safe."
Nick hugged him, and turned to help a woman lift her stroller over some fallen debris. They watched their friends walk away, and then turned and entered the Boudin Bakery. No one was seriously injured, and they quickly and safely got everyone evacuated. One of the staff had already gathered all of their first aide equipment. Blaine told them that Nick had some first aide equipment as well, and suggested they set up a rudimentary first aide station in the park.
Their next stop was the Hard Rock Cafe. There were a few injuries here, though nothing life threatening. Kurt helped him and one of the waiters cobble together a stretcher for an elderly gentleman whose wheelchair was damaged. The man's daughter was a nurse, and was helping out a woman who had a mild head wound. They got everyone out quickly, and told them about the first aide station being set up in the park. Four waiters carried the old man, and lead the others to the park. A couple of people volunteered to help Blaine and Kurt check the rest of the shops.
They moved from shop to shop, helping those who were injured, evacuating those who could walk. Blaine couldn't help noticing how Kurt was so gentle with those who were injured, and how he managed to calm down several children who were terrified by what had happened by singing to them.
They'd been working to free a woman at the cookie store who had been trapped under several cooling racks when the first big after shock hit. There had been a few minor shocks, but they hadn't really felt them as they'd been too busy helping get everyone else out. This one was strong enough to knock Kurt off his feet. When it settled, Blaine went to the pale man to make sure he wasn't hurt.
"Are you okay?" He asked, brushing cookie crumbs off the taller man.
"I'm fine, let's get her out of here!" They finished freeing the woman, who wasn't seriously injured, but most likely had bruised ribs. One of the Hard Rock waiters helped support her and lead her off towards the park. Kurt started to head to the next shop down, but Blaine caught his arm.
"Maybe we should take a break. At least get some water. We've been at this for almost an hour."
"I'm fine. We can get some water at the next shop." Blaine had to admire the man's selflessness. He smiled and nodded.
"Okay, but let me know if you get tired or need a break. There are plenty of people out here now to help out."
…
Kurt smiled at the curly haired man. He had seen the way the man had thrown himself into the effort to help out, no matter how daunting the task. So far there hadn't been any serious injuries, although they had heard that there had been some big injuries and fatalities in other areas, including just up the road, where one car had ended up on the sidewalk and pinned someone to a wall. One of the tourist buses had tipped over on it's side as well, and they'd heard that some of those people had major injuries, and that there were probably fatalities there as well.
Kurt had texted his dad a short while ago to let him know that he was fine, just in case Burt heard about the earthquake on the radio or TV. His dad had texted him back, telling him he loved him and to stay safe.
He'd also texted the Monkeys who had gone out to Alcatraz to see if they were okay. Luis had texted back that they were all fine, but that they were temporarily stranded, as all the ferries were being used to evacuate people stuck on Treasure Island and around the bay area.
As they reached the magic shop, Kurt heard Jeff call out his name. He stopped and looked back at his friend, who was with the dark haired guy from the ice cream shop. "We were getting worried when you guys didn't come back right away. After that last aftershock, we decided to come check on you guys."
He hugged Kurt, even as the other guy hugged Blaine. Were they boyfriends? It would figure, someone as good looking as Blaine had to be involved with someone.
"We're fine," Blaine replied. "We helped free a couple of people who were trapped. How are things going over at the park?"
"They've set up a triage," Nick answered. "EMS is still tied up, but there were several doctors and nurses in the crowd, and when they heard we'd set up a first aide center, they came to help out. Ferries are taking the non injured across to Sausalito, Oakland and Richmond."
Jeff nodded. "We let the medical professionals take over, and came to see if you guys needed any help. The aquarium has already been evacuated, along with most of the shops on the east side of the pier. One guy told us there were a couple people trapped in the kitchen of the Chart House restaurant."
Kurt frowned. "Should we head over there to see if they need help, or check out the magic shop and other stores?"
Blaine thought for a moment. "Let's check out the other shops quickly, just to make sure everyone is out."
It took another hour to make sure all the shops were evacuated, and by then other volunteers had freed the staff that had been trapped in the walk in fridge at the Chart house. They were heading towards the park when another big aftershock struck.
Kurt lost his balance again, this time falling into Blaine, who didn't have a chance to brace himself. They both fell to the ground, Kurt automatically rolling to cushion the fall the way coach Sylvester had taught him all those years ago when he was on the Cheerios.
Blaine ended up landing on top of him, barely avoiding kneeing the taller man in the family jewels.
They stayed like that for several heartbeats, until the ground stopped shaking. When the world settled, Kurt smiled up at the darker man.
"Is that a cell phone in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" He teased, smirking.
Blaine laughed. "Sorry," he said sitting up slowly. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"I'm good. No need to rush away on my account." What the heck, was he actually flirting with the other man? It must be the adrenaline, Kurt thought. As Blaine stood up and helped him to his feet, Kurt couldn't help himself. "So, you and that Nick guy, are you dating?"
Blaine laughed. "No, we're just friends, although his mom wishes we were dating. What about that Jeff guy? Are you two...?"
"I'm not dating anyone."
"Good," Blaine said, and the next moment their lips met in a hesitant kiss. Kurt sighed and returned the pressure, deepening it as one hand slid up and fisted in those beautiful curls. They broke apart after a moment, smiling shyly at each other, then twining hands as they continued walking towards the park.
"Took you guys long enough," Katie said, grinning as they found her in the crowd. "A few ambulances managed to make it through, and Sebastian is on his way to the hospital. You do realize that this means that you will be taking over Fiyero until he gets better, or they replace him?"
"Oh Gaga, I hadn't thought of that!" Kurt said on an exhale.
"Yeah, but you've had more important things on your mind for the last couple of hours," Kyle said. "People have been talking about you two, saying how you saved their lives and helped them out."
"I doubt anyone was really in danger," Blaine said, smiling as a volunteer brought them some bottled water.
"Yeah, other than Seb's broken leg, and the lady with the bruised ribs, I don't think anyone had any major injuries. I heard there were fatalities up the road though, and other areas of town."
They sat in silence for a moment, thinking about how fragile life could be. He looked over at Blaine, and smiled, squeezing his hand.