Author's Note: So, I listened to the advice of all the lovely people who reviewed the original story, and I rewrote most of the ending. And I like it much better. So thank you all so much for your input!
Oh, and I also added the Bambi bit, since I forgot about that whole "I cried so hard when they shot your mommy" thing. Don't blame me for forgetting what happened last season. I can barely remember what happened this season, and I watched every episode =P
Enjoy!
"Did you ever realize that nobody really dies in Disney movies?"
Blaine glanced up from where he was sprawled across Kurt's bed, flipping through a magazine. "What?"
"I said nobody ever dies. They only almost-die."
Kurt was going through his closet, throwing clothes there, tossing clothes here. There were two piles on the floor, and occasionally Kurt would scoop up some article of clothing and fold it carefully before placing it either an open drawer or hang it up in the closet. Blaine actually wasn't quite sure what exactly he was doing, but Kurt had mentioned when Blaine asked to come over it was laundry day and that he had some chores to do. Blaine didn't mind it honestly; it was just nice to get out of the house and spend time with Kurt, even if it was laundry day. The room was light and airy, thanks to Kurt throwing open both windows after declaring it was too warm.
Blaine sat up, crossing his legs, smirking slightly in surprise. "It's part of the Disney magic, I suppose. They don't want kids getting scared. Where did this come from anyway?"
Kurt picked up a shirt from one of the piles on the floor and folded it carefully. "Finn and I were talking about our favorite kids movies the other night, and it got me thinking."
"Wait, are we talking kids movies in general or just Disney?"
"Well, both, honestly. Has anybody ever died in a Dreamworks movie? And I'm not talking about the bad guys or the whole "parent-that-died-before-the-movie-starts" kind of thing either. I mean, when has a majorly important character in a children's film ever died?" He placed the folded shirt in an open drawer.
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "This is slightly morbid of you Kurt. Especially since we're talking about kids movies and death. How does this relate to Finn again?"
Kurt picked up another shirt, a plain red t-shirt. "We were watching Toy Story 3, and it got to the part at the very end, in the furnace."
Blaine immediately made an appreciative sound at the mention of the infamous scene, nodding. He hadn't been the only teenager clamoring to see that one when it came out, and it was still one of his favorites. It didn't necessarily surprise Blaine that they were discussing Disney movies, or kids movies in general, but as he watched Kurt fold and organize more clothes, he realized how serious Kurt was being.
"And Finn said that almost all kids movies, Disney included, has the same sort of pattern when they make movies. That they always try to almost kill the main characters, but they never do, and they somehow save the day and make everything better again. Which if course got me thinking about every kids movie I had ever seen, and I realized there was a bit of truth to that statement. Think about it," he said, dropping the newly folded shirt next to the previous one.
"Well..." Blaine racked his brain a little bit, thinking about any Disney movie Kurt might've mentioned in the time Blaine had known him. "What about Bambi's mom? She really did die."
"I mentioned that one to Finn, but we both agreed that since it was much older it didn't really count."
"So you didn't count Bambi cause it was made in like, the fifties?"
"Forties. 1942, to be exact. And that's only one I can think of, and she wasn't a "main" character really either. That falls under 'parents-that-died-before-the-movie-really-begins' category too. So think of another one."
Blaine put a hand to his temple and folded his opposite arm across so it was holding his elbow "Think, think, think," He said, tapping the side of his head with each word.
Kurt chuckled at his impression, and Blaine smiled back, dropping his hands behind him so he could lean back against the bed. "Well, they can't exactly kill people anyway Kurt. It's called a kids movie for a reason. Most parents don't want their kids seeing movies where the hero dies in some gruesome battle or where the bad guy actually wins by killing the hero. Doesn't exactly sell as well as singing teapots and underwater sea creatures."
Kurt chuckled again at Blaine's references, folding a pair of jeans.
"There's got to be at least one. They can't all be the same." Blaine said.
Kurt glanced at Blaine over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Name one."
Blaine was quiet for a moment, seriously putting some thought into it. "Beauty and the Beast?"
"Oh come on, you just proved my point. He was brought back to life at the end!"
"Exactly." Blaine said, pointing a finger. "He died, and then was brought back to life by the rose."
"I think that's up for debate. Did the Beast really die, or did he just pass out from blood loss or something?"
"After that spiel about seeing Belle one last time? Come on, the guy died, and the rose brought him back. But he still died."
Kurt scrunched up his nose as he grabbed a hanger to hang a jacket on. "Doesn't work though. The point is he came back. What I'm trying to ask is has anyone, ever, in the history of children's film, ever straight up, legitimately died, and not have some Deus ex Machina-like ending and come back again?"
It was Blaine's turn to make a face. "Deus ex what?"
"Deus ex Machina, 'God in the Machine'?
Blaine stared uncomprehendingly. "I have no idea what that is." He admitted.
Kurt stared at Blaine in mock-shock as he turned to face him, hands on his hips. "Blaine Anderson, are you trying to tell me you don't remember your English vocabulary? Has the summer weather already turned your mind to mush?" The smirk playing at the corners of his lips betrayed any true reprimand Kurt might've had for Blaine.
The accused bit his lip and half-grinned sheepishly. "I'm surprised you do. How long has it been since you've been in a Dalton classroom exactly? And did they really teach that in English, or are you just messing with me?"
Kurt grinned, unable to hide his amusement any further. "No, it's real. You just don't remember it." He turned back to his task. "Its Latin-"
"I knew it! You're just some super-human genius who knows more than I do!" Blaine pointed one very accusatory finger at Kurt. " You have an unfair advantage!"
"Which we learned about in English," Kurt continued, ignoring Blaine's protest, but still grinning. "It was basically a way Greek play writers would resolve a story at the climatic end by throwing in some random event or person that completely saved the day and put everything back to normal."
"That doesn't explain the 'God in the Machine' part."
"Well, often times, it was some sort of deity or other being that had the power to magically save everyone without any real explanation or relation to the plot. Hence, 'god in the machine."
Kurt had his back to Blaine, working in his closet, so he didn't see Blaine's bewildered expression.
"Kurt?" Blaine finally asked.
"Yes?"
"Did you learn that from Dalton or Mckinley?"
"Dalton, of course. Like Mckinley's curriculum ever came close to teaching that kind of thing. They could barely get kids to read English, let alone Latin-"
Kurt faced Blaine at this point and saw his befuddled expression. "What?" Kurt defended. "I could remember some things that I learned from Dalton."
Blaine smirked, leaning back smoothly. "Sure that's not the only thing you picked up from Dalton?"
Kurt smiled slowly back, and sauntered to where Blaine sat on the bed. When Kurt stood in front of him Blaine leaned forward to wrap his arms around the taller boy's waist and pull him into his own lap. Kurt tilted his head to one side, as if studying the boy before him. "Well, maybe not the only thing…"
Blaine met Kurt's bright blue eyes, and silence fell between them. He could never get tired of those eyes. They seemed as bright and blue as the summer sky outside.
Kurt was the first to break the spell, leaning forward ever so slightly and Blaine eyes closed in anticipation, face tilted up towards Kurt's. Even though with the windows were open, Blaine felt a pressing heat around him, and he was suddenly very thankful he was wearing shorts. He waited for the kiss, the one that made him tingle, no matter how many times they kissed. And they had, quite a few times. Which is why he was surprised, but not in a bad way, when he felt Kurt move upwards towards his ear, his hot breath against his ear sending a light shiver across his arms. Then he heard Kurt's voice, so low it was almost a whisper,
"I did learn some great harmonies with those Warbler kids."
Blaine didn't have a chance to be surprised or say anything back, because right after Kurt spoke he left Blaine's lap and assaulted the side of his head with a pillow. Blaine fell back with the blow, looking up just in time to see Kurt stagger away smugly.
Kurt glanced at Blaine to see him blink open his eyes in surprise, then groan and fall back onto the bed with the downfallen expression of a boy severely disappointed. His expression made Kurt laugh out loud, to which Blaine brought his head back up. "You will be the death of me, you know that?"
"Oh, you'll live."
"Nope." He put his head back on the bed and closed his eyes. "I have just died and refuse to come back unless you bring me back. Like a dues ex macarena."
Kurt turned away from his closet to see Blaine lying on the bed again, only this time he was pretending to be dead, with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. "Its deus ex machina, and I may be fabulous, but not that fabulous."
Blaine looked up again, breaking character. "I think you're fabulous."
"I know you do, but I'm still not coming over there until I finish my work without you distracting me, young man."
Blaine huffed dramatically and sat up as if he was still seriously offended. "Fine, but you owe me," He pouted. "Where were we again?"
"Movies and deus ex machinas."
"Ah."
Blaine was quiet again for a moment before speaking. "What about How to Train Your Dragon?"
"No one died in that though."
"Yeah, but Hiccup lost his foot in a pretty epic battle with a huge dragon. That's got to count for something, right?"
Kurt stopped folding for a moment, contemplating. "Yeah, but he didn't necessarily "almost die" though. It was pretty intense though," He agreed. "And I'm pretty sure that one was the only kids movie where the main character loses a limb."
"But his dad thought he almost died."
"But he didn't. That's the point I'm trying to make Blaine. In almost every kids movie there's that point where you go, "Are they really dead?" But it turns out they aren't, that it was just some trick or conveniently-placed magic object of some sort. They magically find some way to bring them back."
At this point Blaine held up his hands in confusion. "Wait a minute. Are we arguing about whether people ever die in kids movies or whether they almost die and always have some magical back-up plan?"
"Either way, kids movies these days just have patterns." Kurt said by way of answer. "Nearly every kids movie has, at some point in the film, a moment where someone is mortally injured, or seriously hurt, and in the nick of time, is brought back to life by some magic tree or rose or golden tear." Kurt's voice had a strange note of conviction to it, as if he had just realized something monumental and wanted to declare it to the rest of the world and make them listen, whether they wanted to or not.
He continued. "Tangled had the tear, Beauty and the Beast had the rose, How to Train Your Dragon had the.." Kurt struggled with finding a word to term it. "moment, we'll say, and of course I thought the entire Toy Story series was going to end with everyone in the furnace."
"That's just a few though."
"Alright, we'll keep going. Megara died in Hercules, but then he went down to the Underworld and saved her-"
"But she did still die though."
Kurt looked at Blaine ready to reply again, only to realize Blaine was teasing him, his eyes twinkling under the curls that lacked their usual gel product these last few summer months.
He playfully glared at Blaine before continuing. "And was brought back. So it doesn't count." He stuck his tongue out at Blaine, who only grinned back.
Kurt stopped folding.
"Well, what about the movies that don't have anyone almost dying?"
"We're not talking about those. We're talking about the ones that do"
Blaine blinked at him as Kurt continued to put away the clothes piled on the floor. "Kurt…."
The boy in front of him stopped and turned to him, still holding a sweater in his hand. Blaine didn't know why he was folding sweaters in this heat, but he decided not to worry about it at the moment. "Yeah?"
"Why is this so important all of the sudden?" Blaine couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice or the fact that he was grinning at Kurt with a confused, if not amused face. A fit of giggles, which he desperately tried to contain, were threatening their way to the surface
Kurt let his arms drop slightly till the hem of the sweater reached the floor, a contemplative look on his face, and even in his amusement, Blaine wondered if he had truly offended Kurt by asking.
His question was answered when Kurt suddenly burst into laughter, tossing the sweater back on the floor and letting his hands rest on his hips. "You know.." He began, attempting to hold back giggles long enough to get his statement out. "I really don't know!" And all pretenses were gone as Kurt collapsed into his nearby desk chair, the two of them dissolving into laughter at the incredulity of their last conversation. It was infectious, and the room was filled with loud, whole-hearted laughter that had both boys wiping their eyes when it began to die down.
It was Kurt who attempted to compose himself first, but he was still grinning widely. "I think this is what happens when you spend too much time cooped up in the house watching movies with your stepbrother instead of spending your summer like every other child in America."
Blaine rolled to a sitting position once more, having laid back again while laughing. "Don't most kids spend their summers watching kids movies all day?"
"Well, not most normal people…." Kurt stood from his chair and crossed the room to sit beside Blaine on the bed. "I believe I owe you a kiss now." He said quietly, as if sharing a secret.
Blaine scooted a little closer, his body language betraying his next statement. "Your laundry's not finished."
Kurt inched even closer. "You complaining?" He whispered.
Blaine smiled, their faces now inches away from each other. "Not really, no." He whispered back.
Then Kurt leaned forward, and this time his lips found Blaine's. Their kiss was slow and sweet, still taking time to feel each other. Then Kurt pressed deeper into it, and Blaine was actually forced to lean back slightly, thinking Kurt would stop eventually. He was pleasantly surprised when Kurt continued to press forward, slowly pushing Blaine onto his back and settling himself comfortably across Blaine's chest and stomach. There was a lazy, relaxed air to the two of them, the summer breeze gently wafting though the room and blowing against the curtains. Blaine reached up to let his hand rest on Kurt's arm, and he was briefly aware of Kurt running a few fingers through his curls.
Kurt broke away from the kiss to gaze at the boy beneath him, still weaving his fingers through Blaine's hair. Then Blaine smiled at him, that same charming, beautiful, slightly goofy and mischievous smile that made Kurt remember why exactly he had fallen in love with Blaine to begin with. The two settled into comfortable silence as Kurt let his head rest against Blaine's chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling him breathe.
The afternoon warmth, plus laying beside Blaine on his bed, was making Kurt very cozy, and suddenly the pile of laundry still on the floor didn't seem so important. Kurt wanted to stay in that single moment forever, Blaine beside him, the summer sky peeking through the windows from outside, the light summer breeze filling the room. He could feel himself drifting off when Blaine broke the silence.
"Kurt?"
"Hmm?" Kurt picked his head up to look at Blaine, resting his chin where his head had been. What was wrong with taking a nap?
"I found someone who dies and doesn't come back."
Kurt blinked, and then sat up, his former conviction returning. "You did not." He stated defensively.
Blaine sat up, and regarded Kurt with a mischievous grin.
"Mufasa!"
Before Kurt could even process what Blaine had said, the other boy had tackled him, pinning Kurt to the bed, and began mercilessly tickling him, all the while yelling "Mufasa! Mufasa! Mufasa!" repeatedly. Kurt exploded into laughter and desperately tried to wriggle out from underneath Blaine, but the other boy made it impossible and only attacked Kurt more.
"Blaine, stoppit! Get off of me!" Kurt hollered in between bouts of laughter.
"Not until you admit I'm right!" Blaine countered back. His fingers found a spot under Kurt's ribs, and Kurt was laughing hysterically all over again. "Oh, come on!"
"Say it!"
"Get off me, you Disney-loving dork-!"
"I'm not gonna stop till you say I was right!"
"Blaine, I swear, if you don't get off of me this instant-"
"Say it!"
"Alright!"
"What was that?" Blaine didn't stop tickling.
"I said alright!"
Blaine stopped momentarily, and Kurt used this opportunity to push the other boy off of him and sit up. His stomach still felt like Blaine's fingers were still running all over it. They both were breathless, but Blaine was grinning widely. "Told you I would think of something," He said, panting.
Kurt huffed and crossed his arms turning slightly away from Blaine to hide his smile. "Meanie."
"I didn't know you were so ticklish," Blaine said, scooting closer to Kurt so that he could wrap his arms around Kurt's waist from behind. "And it wasn't that bad."
"It was too. I'll be bruised for weeks."
"You can tell all your friends they're hickies."
Kurt dropped his jaw in shock and turned to look at Blaine, who had his head resting on Kurt's shoulder. "What? You don't want to actually tell them you got bruises from a tickling fight, do you?" Blaine said, that mischievous glint returning again. He was teasing him.
Kurt fought hard to contain the grin that he was hiding before. "And everyone thinks you're so dapper and gentlemanly."
Blaine shrugged nonchalantly, returning his head to Kurt's shoulder. "That's only during the school year. It's the blazer that does it. But it is summer and I can be as un-dapper as I want."
He lifted his chin to Kurt's shoulder. "So there." He said like he was going to stick his tongue out next.
Kurt just shook his head at this, smiling to himself. A bird twirped outside his open window, and he let himself stare outside. Blaine was curled up behind him, the breeze was cool, and outside, the rest of the world was at play, enjoying their summer. But right here, in Kurt's bedroom, with laundry on the floor and an old fan whirring in the corner, all was quiet.
Blaine was almost falling asleep when he heard Kurt suddenly speak.
"You know, does Mufasa really count either? I mean he did talk to Simba with that cloud thingy towards the end…"
"Oh for crying out loud, Kurt!"
A/N: So for those of you who read the original (or who didn't, rather), it was Ray from Princess and the Frog that was Blaine's original epiphany. Which still works on some level, but after a few weeks of thinking about it I realized Mufasa was much better validated than Ray was for this particular story. And Blaine could go "Mufasa Mufasa Mufasa!"like Cheech Marin in the movie. Who could pass up that?
Not that I got anything against that firefly. He was my favorite thing about that movie. But Mufasa just powns.
