Summary : That was what everyone said. Strangely enough, he only believed it when it came from one person. {OS; AU; Klaine, obviously.
Rating : K+
Warnings : This is an AU. (no shit sherlock) I'm not saying anything 'cause I don't wanna ruin the surprise, but anyway.
A/N : So, kind of my first, real contribution to the fandom. May you excuse my issues with the writing and my mistakes, English not being my native language. I'm still trying to find a way to depict those characters properly, sorry if I'm not doing it right. If you read it 'til the end, thank you, and see you down there. :)
You're beautiful
You're so handsome
You're perfect
He made his way through the crowd, flashing smiles as he walked by, throwing countless, meaningless thank you's as an answer to the shallow compliments. The shutters and clicks of the cameras were going off again and again around him, the bright lights dimmed by his sunglasses. He ignored the oh-so-many paparazzi and gossips trying to get any kind of juicy information from him -that would tarnish his angelic image at best- and stepped in the limousine waiting for him.
The car stopped a few streets away, at his request. He made sure he wasn't followed or tracked down by too curious eyes and exited the vehicle, then opened the driver's door of his Navigator. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when after a while, his apartment came in view.
He entered the place, letting his bag fall heavily on the floor.
"Kurt?"
He smiled tiredly and approached his roommate. Blaine was sitting on the couch, an open book on his lap, his right hand extended and feeling the bumps on the page. His cane wasn't far from him, but Kurt knew he didn't really need it, as he knew his way in his own home.
"Hi Blaine, he said, walking towards him to sit with him. What are you reading?
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm finally finishing the legendary saga, he smiled. So, how many times today? he then asked conversationally.
- Ooh, I cried. But don't tell anyone. And, uuh. I counted thirteen but I stopped listening after I stepped on the carpet."
Blaine stifled a laugh, closing his book and turning towards him, his vacant eyes looking vaguely in his direction. Kurt felt guilty for thinking so, but he was glad he didn't have to fake an overly-cheerful smile, or hide his blush as Blaine tentatively reached for his hand.
"Although I am sorry their judgments are only based on your appearance, I have to agree with them. You are beautiful."
Beautiful.
The model sighed, hanging his head. He hated those words. He hated that he would hear them everywhere he would go, he hated that it was the only thing people knew about him. Blaine seemed to sense his friend's uneasiness and leaned forward, searching for his face. He found Kurt's neck with his free hand and cupped his chin, lifting his head in his direction. Kurt's eyes looked into Blaine's as the latter stared through him. Once again, he was grateful the dark-haired man couldn't possibly notice the closeness of their faces and the blush high on his cheeks.
"You don't get it You know, he started, stretching his leg to feel the coffee table then standing up. I'm not talking about looks. I'm not one to judge at that", he added, chuckling as he paced carefully in front of the seat.
He motioned his roommate to stand too. He obliged, touching Blaine's arm to indicate his position.
"Even though being blind can be a pain sometimes, it also has its –few- perks. Of course, I would really like to see a movie, and go to the theater, see the stories that go with the songs I love so much, see Wicked and Chicago and Rent, and Hairspray... And I would love to read more unknown books, the ones that are described as fabulous by the very few people who read them, to find them in braille, or recorded in audiobooks, or, you know. Have a larger selection in porn."
To that, Kurt choked and burst out laughing, struggling to yelp out a shocked "Blaine!" to which he answered; "Sorry, I compensate with humor." His laughter was quickly joined by Blaine's chuckles. He continued:
"It's true though. Especially gay porn, you know. And it feels a bit awkward to listen to someone reading Fifty Shades of Grey -and oh god, that book is terrible. Anyway. I kind of lost my track."
Kurt hummed his agreement, arching a useless brow that would have told Blaine to get to the point.
"What I was trying to say is, I don't have the physical appearance and first impression barrier. So, as far as people are willing to let me in, I can learn to know, to see the real person that hides behind the human shell."
Blaine's hands found Kurt's elbows; he led them up to his neck and then his cheeks. He leaned a bit forward with a light, warm smile. The model felt his heart leap high to immediately sink low in his stomach, trying to conceal his blush just for the sake of his pride. The shorter man apparently felt him tense under his fingers, so he stroked his cheekbones with his thumbs reassuringly -Kurt did his best to not just close the distance.
"That's why I don't need sight to tell. It's not about what's out here", he said, squeezing the other's face gently.
His right hand trailed down to his friend's chest as he spoke quietly, stopping to rest on his racing heart.
"It's in here, Kurt, that you are beautiful."
Silence fell, they both remained unmoving, their breathing mixing with each other's, standing close and intimate, way too intimate for two simple best friends. Kurt's eyes began to water, his vision getting blurry. Those words he always found so shallow, he wanted to believe them now. But only if Blaine was the one to say them.
He used all his self-control not to start sobbing or pressing his lips against Blaine's like he desperately wanted to. He blinked and chased the tears away. His heart was still frantic because of the warm hand against his chest, because of the way he could see every detail of his friend's face, the long lashes fanning his slightly pink cheeks, the bridge of his nose and the fullness of his lips, the thickness of his eyebrows, the perfect imperfections of his olive skin and the slight stubble of his strong jaw-
"Wow, there's a party in there."
Blaine's voice interrupted the silence and made Kurt jump a little, startled. He made a questioning hum, trying to stop himself from admiring his friend any longer, feeling like a creep.
"Your heart. It's beating like, really fast.
- Oh."
His face flushed and he broke any contact, stepping away with a cough. Blaine sat back down, laughing quietly.
Kurt looked at him intently, his eyes soft and contemplative. His roommate squirmed a little under the attentive stare and Kurt scolded himself mentally for being creepy again so fast after telling himself to stop. He took a deep breath.
"Thank you, Blaine.
- For what?
- Saying that I'm beautiful.
- Anytime." he smiled.
"Sometimes, I wonder why you're still living here with me. I mean, you could have so much, like a big house with expensive furniture and expensive friends, but no, you're still here with your crappy apartment and your crappy roommate", Blaine joked, although being half-serious as Kurt knew he was every time he talked about this.
Kurt sighed deeply, turning the coffee maker off and taking the two full, steaming cups to the kitchen table, where his friend was sitting and waiting. He took a gulp of the beverage as Blaine thanked him and did the same, carefully. He let the liquid wake him up a little before speaking.
"Blaine, we talked about this. You're my best friend. I've known you since high school. I'm happy here, I like living with you and I love our apartment and wouldn't trade all this for anything. And, you're way better than an expensive friend. Plus, you know I want to be as private as I can with my life, so I keep the expensiveness for work."
The curly-haired slumped his shoulders a little, sipping from his cup. Kurt couldn't help but sigh again, getting up to get his diet breakfast and giving his roommate a bowl, a box of cereal and milk. He let him pour his own food, knowing he still wanted his independence even if Kurt was more than happy to help with anything he would need. They ate silently for a few minutes and Blaine spoke again.
"Still, I wouldn't want to be a burden. You're always helping me out, and your first job already takes a lot of your time, I don't want to be a second one. I can take care of myself, you know.
- Blaine, god, you are not a burden! You're anything but a burden to me. And I like helping you, I don't mind and you know it.
- It would still be a real gain of time for you, he muttered under his breath, turning his face away as to hide himself.
- Blaine!"
At the sudden yell, he startled and snapped his head up, mouth hanging open as his features filled with guilt. The model rubbed his temples. He hated when his friend acted like that. It was tiring and it made him sad and a bit angry, at Blaine because apparently he didn't trust him enough to believe he genuinely cared about him and didn't want to move out, and at himself because he didn't manage to make Blaine trust him more and feel as secure and confident as they were, when he started to get famous.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.
- It's okay, I'm sorry I snapped. I just... Blaine, I've known you for eight years. It just hurts that you don't believe me when I say I like living with you. I don't want to move out, he assured, reaching across the table to take the other's hand. I'm happy here, with you. Please, just trust me."
He nodded and smiled hesitantly, muttering his thanks and taking a mouthful of cereal to mark the end of the conversation, or at least of the topic. Kurt noted the subtle tint his cheeks took and tried not to over-analyze it. They fell into small talk and finished their breakfast on Blaine's story about his encounter with two of their neighbors speaking about him the day before -"And she referred to me as the 'disabled guy', and, you know, she invited me to lunch when she moved in a couple months ago, radiating with pity, and so I walked to her and said, 'I can't see, so I'm disabled. You can't cook, so, hey, you're disabled too right?' - Oh my god Blaine! Buuuurn. - I know, I just. I don't like the term 'disabled'. I know it's kinda true, but it always felt wrong to me. - I get it."- and got up to get to work. Kurt offered Blaine to get him to Nick and Jeff's bar where he sang occasionally, but he denied it with a grateful smile, wanting to walk a little.
As his roommate felt his way out to the street with his cane, Kurt decided he would confess his feelings that evening. He couldn't keep it in anymore, not when his best friend was so insecure and so much more vulnerable than he pretended to be, behind his cheerful smiles and self-depreciating jokes. After all, Kurt too could see behind the 'human shell', as Blaine had called it, if he tried a little harder. And if he could make him feel beautiful like Blaine always managed to do with him, he would do it.
"Do you need any help?
- No, it's okay, thanks."
Kurt eyed him attentively, watching as he turned the heat on progressively and checking on him as he filled a pan with water, measuring it with the tips of his fingers. He opened a cupboard and tentatively touched the different boxes, shaking some of them and finding the spaghetti by their noise. He did ask his roommate to pass him the sauce when he poured the pasta in the water, the latter starting to boil slowly.
Blaine told him he had had a good, enthusiastic audience when he played the guitar and the piano and sang along that day at his friend's bar. As he set the table -still keeping an eye on him- Kurt promised him he would do everything he could for him to meet a producer or anyone that would help him in his musician and singer carrier. Blaine was talented and deserved to be even more famous than Kurt himself, who was only known because he had a pretty face. The musician joked around with catch phrases like "I'm so good at what I do that I can do it without looking".
And at the same time, fear was creeping its way into the blue-eyed man's entire body. What if he ruined everything? What if, what if all those signs he was trying so hard to ignore were the making of his imagination and fantasies, what if Blaine didn't want of his feelings, and what if Blaine actually wanted him out of his life, what if it was the reason why-
"Kurt?"
He jumped on the spot, turning around to face his best friend, beautiful, lovely best friend staring in his general direction with worry painted on his face. He blushed a little, tucking an imaginary lock of hair behind his ear then scratching the back of his neck in his nervous habit.
"Y-yeah?
- What's wrong?
- Why would anything be wrong? he said, trying to convince himself so he could at least have a shot at tricking Blaine into his lie.
- You were mumbling under your breath and lightly tapping your foot, you do that when you try to keep yourself from pacing so I don't get nervous because of your constant come-and-go motion and so I don't notice that you're upset, but we both know that doesn't work the slightest."
The way Blaine just said that matter-of-factly, shrugging one shoulder as if it was the most obvious thing on earth to immediately fall back into worry and concern made Kurt's heart flutter with affection. Some of his fears and insecurities about his friend's sincerity went away at the sight of the furrow of the other's triangular eyebrows. Still, his face was flushed and he took a deep breath, promising he would say everything after dinner. Blaine being his understanding self, he nodded and they ate in an uncomfortable silence. They then sat on the couch and Kurt braced himself.
"Blaine, I... I need to tell you something.
- Yeah...? he leaned a bit forward, encouraging him.
- Okay, uhm. You know how I said that you are my best friend since we're seventeen and, well, I liked living with you because of that and because I don't want to get too much attention? he finished off quickly and the other nodded. Well, uhm, I've been- hiding you something."
He understood too late his way of putting it wasn't the best one, as Blaine's features filled with suspicion and distrust and, was that hurt?
"No, don't- what I meant is- can't you think of another reason I could have to, you know, stay?
- Uh- what-
- God there's just no way to do that!"
He shouted, mad at himself because he forgot any kind of speech he had prepared, because all his defenses went down the second he saw his friend's eyes narrowing as he straightened a bit in his chair, because he just didn't know how they did it in the movies, because he was just so in love with Blaine it was starting to scare him and he was panicking and losing control and-
"I love you!"
He didn't have time to register what he said as he saw Blaine's eyes widening and his mouth opening a bit. He covered his mouth with his hand and held his breath, waiting for the blow, watching every reaction his friend was having and trying to read them and ignore them at the same time. Once again, panic flooded into his veins and his hands started shaking as his previous fears took over him. Blaine just frowned, his cheeks flushed and red and his face painted in confusion and incomprehension. And, hadn't he been lost in his own thoughts, he would have noticed the faint glint of hope trying to break through the more grounding, more down-to-earth feelings his friend carried.
"Kurt, what do you mean? I, uh, I love you too, you're my best friend -
- No, no! he huffed in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair frantically, his panic completely taking over him as he lost control of his words, speaking fast without even thinking of what his mouth was doing. I love you, as in, I'm in love with you, as in, I want to wrap my arms around your waist and pull you close to me and let you touch my face to feel it and lean towards me to kiss me and laugh when you miss them and kiss my chin instead -he chuckled lightly at that- and for me to press my lips against yours and to feel you against me and-
- Kurt, I-
- As in, I want to cuddle lazily with you after a rough day and just sit on the couch with me reading some book to you that isn't available for you to do it yourself while you rest your head on my lap and I run my fingers through your curls and-
- Kurt-
- As in, I want to come home to you and go to bed with you and spoon you under the covers or for you to spoon me and feel your skin against mine and I want to wake up to you and to the feeling of your arms around me or the scent of your remaining shampoo or perfume and to your so not romantic morning breath mixing with mine and with our bed hair and, and I want to be the one to make you feel happy and good and pleased and I want to be the one to make you fall apart under my hands and I-"
He was silenced by a surprising hand on his ear, cupping his jaw and defining its way to the back of his neck, dragging him closer as fingers traced his cheek and got to his lips, a thumb caressing his lower one and staying there until their breath mixed with one another and their noses bumped and Blaine tilted his head as Kurt stayed still, unblinking and unbelieving until he felt it, the touch, the contact, so unsure at first and growing slowly as his eyelids fluttered shut and he gave in.
It felt like a dream come true, and it was, the lightly chapped lips moving against his own, strong hands holding his neck and caressing his nape and his jaw as he tugged gently on the dark curls in the way he had wanted for so long. They just kissed for a while, stopping only to take their breath and starting again until their lips were reddened and swollen and they were panting a little.
Kurt held Blaine close, their foreheads pressed together, opening his eyes slowly to blink a little, trying to gather his thoughts, a little confused.
"What...How, what, wha?" he managed to get out, making his friend -boyfriend ?- chuckle.
And he realized he didn't want to know the story of Blaine's feelings, not at that moment, he just wanted to enjoy what he wished for after so many years of waiting and wanting.
"W-wait. Oh. Oh my god, he stammered. Oh my god! I sounded so creepy with my over-detailed fantasies."
Blaine laughed wholeheartedly and cupped his face again, grinning as he kissed away the grimace that he could feel under his fingers, Kurt's nose crunching and the corners of his lips shifting downwards.
"I think it was adorable. I think you're adorable", he said between pecks, then kissing him.
Kurt sighed and leaned in lazily, and after a few secondes Blaine pulled away once more.
"I love you", he mumbled against his lips.
His hand found location on Kurt's chest, over his heart, which was once again beating hard and fast as if it wanted to rip off his ribcage and run away. Kurt mimicked his actions and felt Blaine's heart, as loud and agitated as his.
"Blaine?"
He hummed, nuzzling his nose with Kurt's as the latter was wondering, a tender smile on his lips. For all the times he was said those words, he would only believe them and smile at them genuinely when he heard them coming from Blaine. He smiled softly as he leaned into the warm embrace that was offered to him and whispered.
"You're beautiful."
A/N : There ! Thank you if you read it all ! I'm really grateful of you. I'm kinda nervous, 'cause this is the longest thing I've ever written in English, so... Yeah.
Blind!Blaine and Model!Kurt. I read something a long time ago with this kind of universe, and I wanted to try something out. I want to say that I'm not blind, and I don't know anyone who's blind, and I'm sorry if I'm doing this all wrong and the way I wrote Blaine was offensive to anyone in anyway. I really am. I just, tried to figure how I would be and what I would do if I was in this situation. The "disabled" comment was purely subjective, but once again, I don't know anyone to correct me and tell me right. I just hope it wasn't that bad...
And that the writing wasn't horrendous as to never read anything I write again ! :P
Don't be afraid to leave a comment, I don't eat people, and I would be glad to know what you thought about this. See you around !