Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own a damn thing. If I did, we'd get a hell of a lot more Blaine and boy kissing every week! (And those beautiful curls would be released from their gel prison!) This is purely for my own entertainment. I've wanted to do a Kurt/Dave friendship type fic ever since the spoilers came out about Kurt going back to McKinley. When I saw the look on Dave's face during the Born This Way performance, I felt so bad for him. I got all kinds of ideas but I couldn't get into a good grove with any of them. This is the only one that stuck, so to speak.
David Karofsky stood on the porch of the Hudson-Hummel home staring at the front door...again. He'd already walked up to the door, chickened out and walked back to his truck three times. Only to turn around and go back to the door each time. He had yet to ring the bell or knock. He was nervous. He had no idea why he'd been invited over, but there was a part of him that really wanted to be here. That part kept him coming back to the door even though the rest of his brain was screaming at him to go home before Azimio found out he was here.
He flashed back to the text he received yesterday during lunch.
From: Kurt Hummel
My house tomorrow at 1:00.
He'd been so afraid of someone taking his phone and seeing the message, he'd immediately answered yes without even thinking about it. Later that night, safely alone in his room, he let himself think of all the possible reasons Kurt might have invited him over. He had come up with a hundred ideas varying from reasonable to ridiculous, including the possibility that Kurt was finally going to get some revenge on him and this was some kind of a trap. He was sorry he'd deleted all trace of the message from his phone. Being able to text or call Kurt wouldn't be such a bad thing right now.
Before he could continue his inner debate, the front door opened and Kurt stepped out onto the porch.
"Are you going to come in or stand out here all day?" Kurt teased lightly. Dave noticed that this was the most "dressed down" he'd seen Kurt. Well, other than on stage. The simple jeans and t-shirt look was good on him. He was about to tell Kurt just that when he remembered himself and where he was. He mentally smacked himself and wondered just what it was about Kurt Hummel that got to him so much. He was constantly doing things he shouldn't do around Kurt.
"Dave?" Kurt looked at him expectantly.
Dave snapped out of his thoughts and finally spoke. "Why did you invite me here? Is this some kind of a trap or payback?"
Kurt chuckled. "I promise no traps." He stepped aside and motioned for Dave to go in.
Kurt led him to the living room. It was a homey, comfortable room with an awesome looking TV set up. Dave noticed a pile of DVDs on the coffee table.
"Have a seat." Kurt motioned to the couch as he sat in his Dad's recliner. Dave didn't move though.
"What am I doing here?" He finally blurted out. The suspense was killing him and there was no way he could relax until he knew what this was about.
Kurt smiled and sat primly in the chair. "I wanted to talk to you." He paused, "and to apologize."
Dave's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" Surely he heard that wrong.
Kurt took a deep breath before answering. He never thought he'd be saying these words to this person. "I wanted to apologize to you."
"For what?" He fell heavily onto the couch. This was about the last thing he expected.
"I was really angry with you for a long time. And scared." Dave grimaced, but said nothing. He knew he deserved just about anything Kurt threw at him. "Being angry and scared clouded the way I was looking at everything. Even once I knew what was driving you to behave the way you were. I couldn't quite get past the angry part. I waited a long time for you to finally apologize – and mean it." Kurt gave the other boy a pointed look. "Once you did, I started thinking over everything again with a clearer perspective."
"And," Kurt paused, "I realized that I owed you an apology." Over on the couch, Dave looked absolutely gobsmacked. "Blaine and I never should have tried to corner you on the stairs that day and I really need to stop pressuring you to come out. So, I am sorry."
Dave could only sit there and gape. He had no idea where Kurt managed to find the inner strength that he did. It had practically killed him to realize how awful he'd been and sincerely apologize in the hall before prom. Not to mention how he ran when things got tough at prom while Kurt stood up to everyone. And yet, the same guy he'd bullied, pushed around and threatened for the past few years was apologizing to him. He had no clue what he was supposed to do or say.
Kurt took the boy's silence for acceptance and continued on. "Everyone deals with their sexuality in their own way. I've always been more 'out there' than most, so I've never really had the luxury of blending in or being able to deny it. But even though it's been assumed for years, I only just came out last year. I'd never said the actual words to another person before that. Believe it or not, it was scary and difficult, even for me."
Dave was trying to wrap his mind around this sudden turn of events while Kurt kept talking. "Wanting to confront you after the incident in the locker room wasn't wrong. But doing it at school? Where anyone could overhear us? Was wrong. I should have thought of a better time and place. However," he fixed Dave with another pointed look, "you shouldn't have pushed Blaine around like that. I'm hoping someday you'll be able to apologize to him as well. He was there to help me, but he wasn't trying to hurt you either."
Dave looked like he wanted to argue at first, but opted to just keep quiet. "Since this whole Bully Whips thing started, I've been pushing you to come out and that is wrong, too. We all deal in our own ways and I can see where you're finding it harder to come to terms with everything. In my own defense, I would really like to not be the only out kid at McKinley and having a football player be out? That would be huge. We might finally make some progress."
"Or it would paint targets on both our backs and the jocks would declare it hunting season!" Dave finally found his voice. Just the idea of Azimio or the guys on the hockey team finding out was enough to make him break out in a cold sweat. He had nightmares about that on a weekly basis.
Kurt knew he had a point. McKinley High was not going to become a hotbed of acceptance and diversity anytime soon.
"Which is how we ended up here." Kurt made a sweeping gesture with him arms.
"And what exactly are we doing here again?"
"I thought that instead of pushing you to come out, maybe I should be a little more supportive and understanding. I seriously doubt you have anyone to talk to about this stuff, so we…"
"We?" Dave panicked and shot up off the couch. He looked around the room for who else might be there. "Who's we?"
Kurt stood up and gently placed his hand on the other boy's arm. "Relax. No one else is here. Yet."
Dave looked ready to run.
"Blaine will be here soon. I asked him to pick up some things at the store. He'll be back shortly."
Dave was still feeling threatened and lashed out. "What makes you think I want to talk to you or your hobbit about anything?"
Kurt gave him his patented "bitch, please" look. "I just told you, I thought you might like to have a few hours where you don't have to censor everything you say or do. And maybe have some people to talk to who can answer questions or just simply understand where you are coming from. My Dad is at the shop until at least 7:00. Carole is working the evening shift and Finn is with Rachel. We should have at least three hours before anyone comes home which is more than enough time for a movie." He gestured at the stack of DVDs Dave had seen when he first entered the room. "As for Blaine, I always want him around, but I thought it might give you another person to talk to, one may have more in common with you. Maybe one who likes sports?" Kurt gave him a cheeky grin.
"He likes sports?" Dave asked hesitantly.
"Yep," Kurt looked very proud of himself. "Blaine is a huge football fan, but he likes other sports as well."
As if on cue, the front door opened and Blaine walked in carrying two bags from the grocery store in one hand and a pizza box in the other.
"Speak of the devil!" Kurt smiled and bounced over to help Blaine with the bags. Blaine looked tense at first, but relaxed at bit once he got a good look at Kurt's face. He didn't see any tension or stress and guessed that things hadn't gone too badly so far. He was still a bit unsure about Kurt's idea, but he'd agreed to help and supportive. Kurt had asked him to pick up snacks so he could talk to Dave first, but he wasn't planning on leaving again before Karofsky did.
"We'll be right back." Kurt said to Dave before heading into the kitchen with Blaine. "Just going to get some snacks and drinks together and then we can pick a movie."
Dave sank back into the couch as soon as they were out of the room. His head was swimming and he felt just a bit like Alice in Wonderland. What rabbit hole had he fallen down? What was this place where he was invited to Kurt's house with Kurt offering the kind of support and acceptance that he hadn't dared to let himself think about from anyone much less the guy he'd bullied? It was dangerous to think about being himself, or rather, trying to be himself. He spent so much time acting the part of macho jock now. He wasn't entirely sure he knew who he really was anymore. The one thing he knew for sure though was that playing the part was getting tiring.
Blaine and Kurt came back into the room before he could get any more wrapped up in his thoughts. They each carried trays with food and drinks that were deposited on the coffee table next to the movies.
Kurt grabbed the stack and handed it to Dave. "We weren't sure what you might want to watch, so we grabbed a little bit of everything. I have more if nothing in there looks good."
He wondered again why Kurt was being so nice to him as he looked through the movie titles. Indeed there was a little bit of everything, but one movie caught his eye. He'd wanted to see it, but every time he found himself at the theater he was with Azimio and didn't dare mention it.
Dave hesitated before asking, "What about this one?"
Kurt smiled and shot a look at Blaine who grinned before taking the newest Twilight DVD over to the player. While Blaine got the movie going, Kurt helped himself to a drink and a slice of pizza. He motioned for Dave to do the same. Dave grabbed one of the soda cans, but passed on food. His stomach was in knots over all this and wouldn't take kindly to pizza, even if it looked less greasy and more healthy than usual.
Blaine settled on the floor in front of the chair Kurt was sitting in. Before long, Dave noticed that Kurt had positioned himself across the chair so he could run his fingers through Blaine's hair. Dave watched as Kurt carded his fingers through Blaine's hair over and over again. He noticed for the first time that Blaine had really curly hair. As Kurt's fingers twined through the soft swirls, Dave was stunned to realize how sweet, loving and normal it was. He also realized he had no one in his life he could be that way with – male or female. There was no one he could just sit and be with. The happy, content looks on both their faces made his heart ache. Would he ever have that?
Dave Karofsky had always figured he'd end up alone, even before he started to question what team he played on. In his future he'd seen himself stuck with a girlfriend or wife he wasn't particularly interested in but was with because it was easy or she'd gotten knocked up. Once he started to notice guys, he figured he find himself trying to sneak off with a guy for a quick hook up. If he got lucky enough to find one interested in him, that is. After all, hadn't Kurt said it best? He was overweight and destined for early hair loss, hardly a magnet for hot, young men.
Then there was always the nagging fear someone would want to out him. Santana had already figured out his secret and used it against him. Who would be next? How would he know who to trust? For Dave it was all so confusing and lonely, but for Kurt and Blaine, they had managed to find each other. They had created their own sort of peace just by being with each other. And Dave was jealous as all hell.
Kurt, naturally, was the one to break the ice.
"So," he addressed both boys. "Team Edward or Team Jacob?"
"Edward!" Blaine answered immediately and grinned up at Kurt.
Kurt looked to Dave who blushed deep red before quietly admitting, "Jacob."
Kurt cheered and poked Blaine in the shoulder. "See, Blaine?" Dave got the impression that this was a long standing debate between them.
"What? How can you not love a guy who also played Cedric Diggory?"
"Have you taken a good look at Jacob these days? Okay, more importantly, Team Stefan or Team Damon?"
"DAMON!" Came three replies all at once. Kurt clapped happily, Blaine laughed and Dave looked sheepish.
"It's the eyes." Blaine declared using his drink as a pointer for emphasis. "He has gorgeous eyes." Kurt nodded in enthusiastic agreement while Dave picked at the hem of his shirt, trying not to meet their eyes.
"He does have incredible eyes." Dave said quietly before realizing he'd actually said that aloud. He looked horrified and ready to run again.
Kurt quickly reassured him. "See this is exactly what I was talking about. This is why I invited you. We're not going to judge you." Blaine nodded in agreement. "We may disagree with you, but you can be yourself when it's just us. You can talk about cute guys, or school or even football. We'll listen."
His reply was quiet, but heartfelt. "Thanks."
Kurt started the movie up again. They managed some light comments and fairly easy banter between them through the rest of the movie. When it was over, Dave was the first to get up.
"I should probably go. Let you two have some time alone or something." He blushed and tugged at the hem of his shirt again. "Thank you though. Really. This was nice. I don't think I could be as forgiving if the tables were turned."
Kurt stood up to follow him to the door. "You're welcome. Would you like to do it again some time?"
Dave blushed and then nodded before he turned to leave. "Bye." He waved to both boys as he headed out the door. Kurt closed the door softly behind him as Blaine came up and hugged him.
"That was an incredibly wonderful thing you did today." He said as he planted a kiss on Kurt's cheek.
"I am pretty proud of myself."
"I doubt I would ever be able to do this with any of the guys from my old school."
Kurt looked horrified at the very thought. "Oh Blaine…no, no, no! I couldn't have them in my house and I wouldn't want them anywhere near yours! Karofsky put me in a dumpster. They put you in a hospital! Dave was scared. They were just hateful. You can't compare the two at all."
"You're still pretty amazing to not hold it all against him. He hurt you a lot."
"I know, but I have a great family and you. I'm stronger because of that. Dave has no one that we know of to help him be strong, have courage." Blaine smiled at the last word. Kurt gave him plenty of courage, too.
"Come on," Blaine tugged Kurt's hand. "We still have time before anyone comes home. I can think of better things to do on a couch than watch movies."
"Do tell, kind sir. Do tell."
"How about I show you instead?" He teased as he pushed Kurt down onto the soft cushions.
A/N: Please don't hate me for any of the Twilight or Vampire Diaries choices. I was going to use a Harry Potter movie, but then realized it's become pretty standard in Blaine fics. So I went with Twilight. It also worked better with getting the Vampire Diaries in there which I really wanted for personal reasons. For all those on Team Stefan, I have nothing against him-honestly. I just always have to pick Ian first.