A/N: I don't own Glee, or Starkid, or Chris Colfer, or Darren Criss (sadly).

This is a rpf, if you don't approve please don't read. I'm a crazy fangirl for this ship and this is just my own take on how it might happen.

New Paths: A Chris/Darren fic

It was the end of the tour; the final song had been sung and the curtain had swung down for the last time. The mood was exhilarating as the cast gathered in the hotel bar for one last Dublin party. It was the culmination of one epic year and they were all ready to let their hair down, in some cases literally, and sing and dance and drink till the early hours.

But in one corner, trademark pink sunglasses covering his tired eyes, Darren was clutching a glass of coke and eyeing the others with a wistful look on his face. His gaze lingered most often on Chris, whose high pitched laugh and silly dance moves were the centre of attention. He couldn't explain what he was feeling. Maybe it was because it was the end, that after months of seeing Chris virtually every day there was going to be nothing, nothing at all, till August. August! Two months without Chris's smile and soft voice and the way he made Darren laugh.

Darren groaned softly.

"Hey, Mate!" Chord had made his way over to the bar for a refill, and patted Darren on the back. "You alright?"

Darren laughed and shrugged. "Yeah, just tired. Don't worry."

Chord got his drink and rejoined the crowd. Darren just couldn't muster any enthusiasm. He wanted desperately to join in the craziness but there was a pain in his chest that he was incapable of explaining to himself. Finally he slipped quietly away to his hotel room, thinking at least he could get a good night's sleep for a change.

But Chord saw him go and puzzled over it. He moved cautiously past the wildly flailing arms of the girls and grabbed Chris by the shoulder and motioned him to a quieter corner of the room.

"Wassup?" Chris shouted over the music.

"It's Darren." Chris looked confused. "He's gone. He wasn't looking too happy and I would go and check on him myself but he wouldn't tell me what was wrong earlier and I figured you and him were better friends…?"

Chris gazed at Chord. "Yeah, I thought something was up with him earlier. I'll go and see if he'll tell me what's wrong. Thanks." He clapped Chord on the shoulder and slipped unnoticed out of the room.

Darren's room was a few floors up and the hotel was quiet as Chris made his way there. The light was still showing through the crack under Darren's room so Chris knocked gently. There was no response.

"Darren?" he murmured. No reply again. "Darren?" he called again, a bit louder. Still no response. Cautiously he tried the handle of the room, found it to be open and shuffled quietly round the door.

Darren was sitting on his bed, facing away from the door towards the window. His hair was back to its usual unruly curly state and Chris thought to himself how much better it looked than Blaine's slicked back style. But he shook the thought away and moved forward to press a hand to Darren's shoulder.

Darren jumped wildly as he felt the hand and twisted hastily to look at the intruder.

"Hey, hey! It's just me. Chris." Chris was shocked at the look of pure unhappiness on Darren's face. He was such a cheerful person that nobody could really recall having seen him frown. "Are you alright?" A stupid question; clearly he wasn't.

Darren gazed up at that lovely face with its soft smile and blinked back tears. He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak.

Chris plonked himself on the bed beside him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The other boy shrugged.

"Ok. I'll just stay here for a while shall I?" and Chris pressed his hand gently against Darren's. The reaction was sharp.

"Chris! Oh god!" And then tears started to fall.

Chris was dumbfounded. Sure, Darren had looked unhappy, but crying? Darren didn't cry.

"Come on Darren. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Darren was staring at his hands and the tears were flowing unchecked, dripping from his face. "Iss stupid."

"No, come on, just tell me." Chris gently leant forward and wiped the tears from Darren's face. Darren lifted his head, faced Chris full on. "All I ask, then, is… For your friendship? Ok?" The other boy nodded, blue eyes fixed on hazel, wondering what on earth Darren was about to say.

"See, the thing is… the thing is…" his voice trailed off as he looked at the boy sitting opposite him.

"Courage, Darren!" murmured Chris softly, and that finally forced a grin from Darren.

"Courage," he agreed. "Chris. The thing is." He took a breath. "I've always said I was straight. Always. I never wondered that about myself. Until just this last week… But I look at…." He closed his eyes and continued. "I look at you Chris. And I think of spending the next few months away from you and it hurts." He opened his eyes again doubtfully, but Chris hadn't moved, hadn't flinched away from him. Gathering his courage he spoke again. "Spending these months with you, on set, on tour; I've realised. I think about you all the time when I'm not with you and when I am with you I'm so happy. You make me happy. And maybe…maybe I'd like more than that? To be with you. Like… your boyfriend….And the reason I've not been being crazy happy tonight and why I'm crying in my room is that I couldn't find the words to tell you. But now I have," he paused, "and I'm absolutely terrified of what you're going to say."

Chris was dumbstruck. The pure yearning in Darren's beautiful hazel eyes was astonishing.

"Darren." He breathed.

"And there's another thing!" the other boy broke out suddenly. "All my fans! The one's I've spent two years saying 'I'm straight, I'm straight' to and now suddenly I'm going to say 'yeah actually, I like boys. No, not boys. One boy. I like Chris' and they're going to think I've been lying to them and hate me for it."

Chris shook his head furiously, at least there was an easy solution to that point. "Darren, they won't care. They'll be happy if you're happy. I know what your fangirls are like! And Darren, have you ever read any of the Glee fanfic?"

Darren shook his head bemused. "A not insubstantial portion isn't about Blaine and Kurt, it's about you and me. We've got a whole section of 'Chris Criss' shippers out there."

"What?" gasped Darren, shaken somewhat from his gloom. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yes, I'm serious," grinned Chris. "I've even read some of them. They're… interesting. But to go back to the main point," and his smile dimmed slightly, "Darren, are you saying… you want to be with me?"

"Yeah? I think? I'm really confused Chris. I'm questioning everything." He buried his hands in his curly hair. "Help me, please."

Gently Chris disentangled one of his hands and held it. "Darren. I won't lie and say I haven't thought about this happening. I just never imagined it could. I'm worried that…" he frowned slightly. "I'm worried that I'll just be an experiment for you. That you'll turn round one morning and go 'ok I'm not gay now, thanks, bye' and leave me alone." He cut off Darren's protestation with a shake of his head. "Look, you spent 24 years thinking you were straight, and now you're maybe bisexual and definitely confused. All I'm asking is that you take some time to really consider what it is that you want."

He blinked away from the pain in Darren's eyes. "Chris," he gasped. "Just, help me, please, how do I know?"

And Chris leant towards him, swept back the brown curls from his red eyes and whispered, "Like this." And kissed him. Soft lips met chapped ones oh so gently. Chris moved his hand to Darren's neck, then dropped down his arm and he pulled away. Opening his eyes slowly he whispered, "Did that help?"

Mutely Darren nodded. It was the absolute reversal of their Glee roles. This was Chris helping Darren, not Blaine jumping Kurt. But the dynamic, for now, felt right.

"Hey Chris," he whispered back, "Do that again?" and Chris grinned and kissed him again, more forcefully, more passionately and Darren couldn't breathe but it was right, it felt so right and he was so sure now.

Finally Chris leant back, eyes flashing and cheeks flushed. "I still want you to think about it, ok?"

The spark was back in Darren's eyes and his face creased in that familiar grin that Chris had, without any hope or expectation, been secretly pining over for months.

"If you want me to, I'll do it," he said and then he laughed, "You're supermegafoxyawesomehot Chris, and I'm not going to change my mind. I want this, I want you."

And this time it was Darren who leaned in and kissed Chris.