Note: This is AU. If you squick at AU, please give this a try 'cause I swear it'd be worth your time. But if you are unimpressed after you done reading the story, then click back and read other fics that are to your preferences. At least I've done my best. I would like to thank my beta(s), kyuubi_paw and EmoEccentrica for being awesome.
Kurt Hummel, a rising Broadway star with an attitude-problem, meets hisnewpersonal assistant; Finn Hudson. Can 'crushes' sweeten what they have between them?
Chemistry Like Apple and Cinnamon
Kurt is feeling like hell. His costumes haven't arrived yet and his party is starting in an hour. He looks at his own reflection in the mirror and thinks that he looks like Lindsey Lohan's fugly mug shot. God, he would never be caught dead in this look. Mercedes promised to him a few minutes ago that she'll be here in a few minutes and apparently, a few minutes have already passed so, where the hell is she?
His PA comes into the room. "Your make-up artist is here."
Kurt exhales loudly in relief as he swings both his arms in the air and screams, "Finally!"
Mercedes Jones barges into the room, knocking the PA's shoulder out of her way as she belts out her most-dramatic tone and apologizes to Kurt. "Baby, I'm so sorry!"
Kurt rolls his eyes at her and mutters heatedly, "Damn, you are."
Mercedes roll-eyes back at him. "I don't care if you forgive me or not because I'm finally here and you will thank me once I transform you into your amazing self. Now sit, and let me make you fabulous."
As Mercedes sets her silver case make-up bag in front of the mirror, Kurt turns to look at his PA. "Where the fuck is my Issey Miyake?"
He looks at Kurt and says calmly, "It's on the way and will be arriving in…" He checks his BlackBerry, "…another half an hour."
"What?" Kurt shrieks.
"Baby, I need to put the foundation-"
Kurt ignores Mercedes as he looks at his PA with a scowl. "Listen to me, Banjo. If my suits are not here in fifteen minutes, I'll have to cancel the party and it will be your fault! So tell them to have them here in fifteen minutes!"
His PA then looks at his BlackBerry and calls whoever is on the line as he walks out of the room.
Mercedes rubs the foundation all over his face as she tells him quietly, "You're being too harsh on him, baby."
"He's my PA. His job is to not mess up anything."
"Yeah but he's the first PA that can actually stand your ridiculous high-maintenance diva-self. He's with you for three months already. Most of them can't stand you for more than a month and quit."
Kurt scowls and restrains himself from telling Mercedes to fuck off. Deep down, he knows that Mercedes is right. Finn Hudson, the young man from Ohio, is the one and only PA that will stand his shit. Sometimes, he feels just a tiny bit bad every time he starts to scream profanities and puts the blame onto his PA.
But that thought is lost from his head when the door to his room opens and three people come in with his costumes. His PA comes in behind them and closes the door. Kurt jaw's drops when he sees one of them isn't the color that he wants.
"Tangerine? I did not order that color!" He turns to scowl at his PA and to hell feeling bad for him.
"Finn Hudson, you are so paying for this hideous piece of garment!"
Kurt is so wasted that, he doesn't care who is groping him, well he still cares a little because he doesn't want the wrong people touching his new Prada party suits. Kurt feels someone caressing his hair. He slaps away the person's hand and groans, "No messing with the hair, please."
Another hand pushes a cocktail glass to his face and Kurt sits upright as he grabs the drink. "I'm going to have a crazy hangover tomorrow!"
One of his friends says at the top of his lungs, trying to beat the loud music inside the club so that everyone around him could listen, "It's not every day we get to be like this. C'mon, let's make a toast for the amazing show that we did tonight."
Kurt mentally shakes his head. How many times had they done the stupid toasting? This is like the hundredth time, seriously, if they are doing another round of toasts, Kurt would throw his next drink ,with the glass itself, over his head and hope it will damage the guy's head at the same time. There are a few paps that he's spotted in the club taking pictures here and there. Kurt smirks, if he were going to do some crazy dramatic stuff like that, he'd definitely be on the front cover of People magazine for a year!
Everyone clinks their glasses to every glass close and accessible to them, including Kurt's so he waits until everybody has finished and then he drinks the drink in one long sip.
Two of his friends put their arms around his shoulders and pull him to the dance-floor. The music bangs loudly in his ears and he moves his body to the music. Slowly, he begins to feel a little detached from his surroundings, like everyone is moving slowly and his sight is getting a little fuzzy. Even the music is no longer banging loudly in his ears. He sees the world a little slanted to his right so he quickly staggers away from the dance-floor, holding onto anyone that he can reach until he sees the red wall and places his hand there.
Oh, shit.
He tries not to show anything on his face as he sees some people that greet him and he smiles back at them. Seriously, who is the fucker that put something into his drink? He feels paranoid. He should get away from there as soon as possible and as far away from all these people, even though they are his friends. He couldn't really trust them. He really needs to call someone so he walks slowly to the back of the club, ignoring those that call his name. He just needs to get out.
When he is finally at the back of the club, where most of the people are making out, he pulls out his iPhone from his breast pocket. He is sure the music is not too loud so he calls the first person that comes into his mind. Finn Hudson.
He sees the screen to make sure that he is calling his PA and not his dad. His dad will be freaking out if he finds someone doped his son. It was better not to worry his dad anyway.
After three rings, he hears a sleepy sounding voice at the other end of the line. "Mmm…"
Kurt thinks that it must be very late.
"Hello, Lassie. Sorry to wake you up."
"Dude, you know that I'm still on a holiday until this coming Monday."
Kurt closes his eyes as he leans his head on the wall. Next to him, he can hear a loud moan from the woman who is making out with her beau. "Yeah, I know. I'm at Cotton Club."
He hears a sigh from the other line before his PA asks, "So?"
"Someone doped my drink. Can you pick me up?"
"Fuck."
Kurt laughs a little, feeling more light-headed. "Yeah, I guess."
He isn't aware for how long he waits there, at the back of the club, listening to the people around him moaning in pleasure. He remains like that, as his eyes stare at the ground until suddenly, two strong arms wrap around him, and a familiar smell reaches his nostrils. He wraps both his arms around Finn as he digs his nose further into the man's chest.
"I'm taking you home," Finn tells him.
The next morning, Kurt wakes up and doesn't remember anything that happened to him last night.
Kurt runs into the Chevrolet Impala and screams, "The show is in twenty minutes!"
"Man, you're the one who wasted an hour and a half. Searching for a… to quote you, 'an avant-garde outfit that would make the whole audience bedazzled'," Finn tells him as he starts the engine.
Kurt scowls at him. "That's none of your business. Now, it is your job to drive me there in ten minutes!"
Finn shakes his head as he steps onto the accelerator and mutters under his breath, "The earliest I can be there is in fifteen minutes."
"Ten minutes. I need those extra ten to meditate!"
"You never meditate before any shows or interviews."
Kurt gasps at his PA. "Finnish, this is my first Late Show with David Letterman! So if you don't make me arrive there in ten minutes, I'll cut your bonus for this month!"
By some miracle, they arrive at the studio at exactly ten minutes before the show starts. They almost had several collisions with other cars but Finn by some miracle managed to save them and the car both.
"Cool! I knew that I can rely on you," Kurt tells him before he gets out from the car, completely missing the frightened, ashen look from his PA who is still gripping the steering wheel too tightly with his too pale hands.
He gets into the room and already a few people approach him and tell him that he's late and he needs to get ready ASAP and blah, blah, blah. Kurt doesn't really care as long as he's going to appear on the show. Seriously, though, all these people are getting to his nerves. Where are his handlers when he needs them? He can't meditate like this!
"Mike! Matt!" He screams the name of his handlers. All the people are pushed away from the room by his two handlers and finally, Kurt feels some clarity when he suddenly realizes something. He can't detect any smell of tuber roses inside the room. Instead, the room is only fills with white roses. He has already reminded his PA to put tuber-freaking- roses inside the room and he still didn't see any of them! Just bunch of WHITE ROSES!
As if on cue, Mercedes and Finn enter the room.
"Where are the tuber roses?"
Finn replies, "I told you yesterday that the florist isn't available to-"
"Of course I remember that! Then, I told you that I don't care and that there must be tuber roses inside this room. I don't care where you get it and how much it costs or whether you steal them from your neighbor's garden, as long as they are tuber roses! Not white roses!"
Kurt turns to look at the mirror and waves his hand at Mercedes to start applying make-up. He looks at his PA from the mirror. "I want tuber roses inside the room by the time I'm done with my interview. And get rid all of these flowers!"
He hears a soft sigh from Finn before he says, "Okay."
He sips his Long Island Tea as he lies in his pink hammock on the top floor of his penthouse. He has another thirty more minutes before he has to get up and get ready to practice their show. For two gruesome weeks, all of them have been practicing non-stop, exhausting everyone, especially him since he is the main actor in the show. His throat hurts and his body is sore; he hasn't been getting enough sleep either.
He puts his drink on the small wooden table that is convienently situated right next to his hammock.
Kurt feels dead to the bone; he is so tired that he thinks if he goes to sleep, he will never wake up…
He opens his eyes and sees the dark sky overhead. The wind is slightly cold but he's comfortable enough; he looks down at his body and realizes with a start that there is a blanket that covering him. Someone must have wrapped him with it so that he wouldn't feel the cold breeze as he slept in his hammock. He wonders what time is it already-
"SHIT!" Kurt shouts as he tries to stand up and instead, he falls flat to the ground from his hammock. He groans as he stands up and suddenly, he hears quick footsteps approaching him. He turns to look at his PA who is looking at him with concern.
"Oh my god! I missed my practice!" He tells his PA.
He runs inside the penthouse as he screams at Finn who is trailing behind him. "You should have woken me up!"
"I canceled your practice," Finn says.
Kurt gasps in surprise and shouts, "What the fuck? Why did you do that?"
"I made a call when I found you asleep. I told them that you are not feeling well and you haven't been getting proper sleep these past few days. Since you never miss any of your practices, I thought at least they should cut some slack for you just for today. I apologize that I didn't talk to you first about this. I just thought you really needed this rest."
Kurt scoffs, "Please, what I really need is a vacation somewhere in Hawaii like maybe in Kauai for several week- not a one-day rest by skipping practice. I'm not that tired, Guppy. I still could have gone to today's practice if you woke me up."
Finn nods his head. "Right. I'm sorry." Then he starts to move away from Kurt and unexpectedly, Kurt suddenly feels awful. He knows that it is Finn's job to make sure his life is not hectic- it was one of the major reasons why his OCD agent, Emma Pillsbury, insisted he hire a PA.
"Finn," Kurt calls his name- it feels weird when the name rolls smoothly on his tongue. He is surprised at himself that he calls his PA by his actual name because he usually calls him by those embarrassing nicknames. Somehow, it isn't only he that is shocked by the revelation. Finn is looking at him with a look akin to wonder and surprise.
"I… uh… thank you," Kurt tells him, his voice quiet but it still sounds loud to his own ears.
Then, Finn flashes a smile at him and even though it's brief, the smile affects Kurt more than it should. He isn't sure what exactly he feels that night but Kurt knows that the memory of Finn smiling at him will stay with him for a very long time.
Kurt is staring at his grinning PA.
"Thanks. We'll keep in touch." Finn puts back his BlackBerry into the pocket of his jeans and grins even brighter when their eyes meet.
"Dude. You have no freaking idea who just called," Finn tells him as he walks closer to Kurt.
Kurt is currently pampering himself with his weekly nail salon session. Tina Cohen-Chang, the Asian girl, is busy applying the tip texture to his nails and doesn't even bother to look up at what is happening. Kurt has to crane his neck even though Finn is standing right next to him.
"What is it?" Kurt asks him.
"It was …" Finn pauses, to add some suspense into his word, which make Kurt rolls his eyes at him. His PA ignores it and finally tells him, "…Rolling Stone."
Kurt gasps, "You're kidding?"
Finn laughs and says, "It's really them."
"That's totally awesome!"
"You haven't heard all of it yet; your face will also be their cover for their September issue."
Kurt's jaw drops and when it finally hits him, Kurt crows in joy, "OMIGOD!"
Finn grins at him. "Yeah."
"Tina. Stop!" When the girl releases his right hand, he jumps up from his seat and grins brightly at his PA before telling him, "Now hug me!"
Finn looks puzzled at his request. "What?"
"I can't really move my hands. It will destroy my manicure if I hug you!"
Finn looks a little unsure but he manages to mumble "Oh. Okay,", before he closes the distance between them and wraps both arms around Kurt.
To Kurt, it doesn't feel like enough and without thinking what he is doing, he wraps both his arms around his PA's shoulders, his nose buried somewhere below Finn's collarbone as the familiar musky smell of Finn Hudson reaches his nose. This triggers the memory of when he was drugged at the Cotton Club and he finally remembers who it was that took him back home safely.
"I think you just destroyed your manicure," Finn tells him.
Kurt pulls his face away and looks at Finn. His PA smiles at him sheepishly, "You're hugging me back."
Kurt blushes before he quickly releases Finn. "Well I gotta make some more phone calls," Finn tells him and walks away from Kurt.
When Finn is no longer in the same room with him, he sighs heavily as he sits back into the chair and gives his hand back to Tina.
Tina is looking at him with a smile.
"What is it?"
"N-Nothing," she stutters as she shakes her head but her smiles get bigger.
"Oh, come on. Indulge me."
Tina giggles and tells him, "I t-think you guys are c-cute. Together."
Kurt rolls his eyes. "Whatever. He's my PA for god sake!"
Noah Puckerman, or as the fashion world calls him, 'Puck' is amazingly hot and sexy and totally, drop-dead gorgeous. When he strides onto the runway, clad in just Calvin Klein swimwear, his six-pack shimmering with the glow of Vaseline, the mere sight of him screams Sex God to the entire world.
So Kurt should feel the luckiest man in the universe when Sex God himself is making out with him, right?
Well, actually he didn't feel lucky at all. He is flattered but… he doesn't really know how to explain the exact emotion that he is feeling right now.
A few weeks ago, the hot supermodel Puck was his type and he would have gladly thrown himself to his knees and… well, do some dirty sexy lap dances or suck his dick and somewhere along those lines.
A few weeks ago, he wouldn't have even bat an eyelash at the dorky, innocent, and clueless-looking young man, who was actually good-looking and has this charming aura around him… and those cute dopey eyes… sweet lord, why did he just notice that now and not before? Finn Hudson is like Cinderella, in a modern and less pathetic way; one day he's the poor victimized PA for a rising glamorous Broadway star and the next thing Kurt realizes, he's the adorkable white knight that has cast a spell on him, the infamous diva, Kurt Hummel.
Puck holds him closer and kissing and sucking his lips before he licks along his smooth jaw-line. In Kurt's perfect inner world, it isn't the hunk supermodel who trails wet kisses along his neck, or whose now clever fingers are unbuttoning his Paul Smith shirt and then unzipping his YSL jeans. Then the face comes up and defiles his mouth with so much lust, shattering his illusion and pulling him back to reality.
It isn't Finn Hudson.
It's only then that he comes to the realization how badly he wants Finn Hudson, and not some Calvin Klein supermodel, to have him and make him come undone.
When the rendezvous is over, Kurt feels pathetic, not at the situation but at himself.
Isn't he supposed to be in a state of absolute bliss because he just had sex with the Sex God? Instead, he feels… tired and seriously in need to shower.
"I guess that your night went well last night?" Finn asks him with a small smirk.
Kurt rolls his eyes at his PA.
Finn balks at him, "What? It didn't?"
Kurt glares at him. He almost wanted to tell Finn, Duh, what can you expect when you were fucking and all you could think of is your fucking PERSONAL ASSISTANT!
Thank god he didn't scream Finn's name when he came.
Finn sighs. "I thought I did the right thing. You told everyone that you wanted to meet Puck and maybe have a date with him. It took me almost a month to get a hold on his PA and get you guys together."
Kurt closes his eyes as he mentally sighs to himself. Well, Finn Hudson, you should have done that a few weeks ago before I started crushing on you. Now, it's just a little bit too late.
Kurt opens his eyes when he smells coffee in the air and sees Finn stirs the black liquid in the red mug before carrying it and placing it on the table in front of Kurt.
"Guess I'll just hook you up with someone else-"
Oh, don't you dare!
"- anyone that you're interested in? Anyone that you want me to set up a dinner with?"
Yes. YOU.
Kurt glares at his PA. "Listen, Yobo. I don't want you to be my fucking Cupid, okay. You are my PA so just stick to your job!"
Kurt sees the crestfallen look on the other man and he almost bashes his head on the kitchen table.
Seriously, why can't he say something nice for once towards his idiotic PA?
Kurt shrieks, "Children's hospital?"
With a small smile on his lips, Finn asks him, "Don't you like children?"
"I loathe them!" Kurt shouts in horror.
The other man laughs at him. "Well, you'll have to like them soon. The media is criticizing your attitude," Finn coughs at the last sentence which catches Kurt's attention. He glares at his PA as he realizes what Finn is implying.
"They said… you're kind of… like, you know, Naomi Campbell."
"Excuse me? I don't assault and throw Blackberry at my PA! Or attack police in the airport."
"Of course- not in that way! And, if you had done that to me, I would not be here right now, still working for you. They're just saying that you have an attitude problem."
Kurt crosses his arms over his chest as he pouts, "I don't have an attitude-problem. They have perception-problem!"
"Since you've implied that they have a perception problem, then, you have to correct their perspective on you- which is why you have to visit a children's hospital. Spend a week with the children."
"What do I do with them?"
Finn shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. Draw pictures with them."
"I don't want to draw blobs and stick-men."
"Talk to them. Sing with them."
"I'm not going to be their playmates!"
"Obviously. You're just visiting them."
"Nor will I end up as their nanny!"
Finn sighs.
Kurt continues to pout. He doesn't care if he he's being childish about the situation but he really doesn't like to be with children. Even in theater show, he makes sure that he isn't working with them.
"Why do you hate them?" Finn asks him.
"I don't… exactly hate them."
Finn rolls his eyes. "Right. You loathe them."
Kurt groans and goes to sit on the ottoman. "I don't know how to handle children, to be precise."
Finn sits on the ottoman next to him. "I'll help you."
"Finnnnn," Kurt abruptly stops his whining.
What the fuck? Did he just whine and use his PA's name to moan at?
Kurt blushes furiously.
Finn, on the other hand, finds it rather amusing and is grinning stupidly at him.
"Don't say anything about that! I don't know what came upon me. Believe me, Mookie. I'll strangle you if you say anything."
"Are you threatening to assault your PA now?"
Kurt hides his face in his hands as he tells his PA, "Shuddup."
"Dude, you really have to do this," Finn tells him gently. His voice is soft and quiet which causes his inner stubbornness to disappear completely.
His PA really has that kind of power over him. Well, Kurt has to blame it on the fact that he has a huge crush on him or else he wouldn't be doing this stupid thing that only a wannabe Mother Theresa would be doing.
"Fine. But you have to be there with me!" Kurt says to him with a glare towards his PA.
"Definitely. I'll make sure you won't throw your iPhone at any of the children." If Finn told him this a few months ago, he would have fired Finn on the spot but now, it actually sounds hilarious and Kurt giggles, which embarrasses him further. Oh dear sweet lord, he actually giggled in front of his crush!
Kurt's blush becomes even more intense when he realizes that he has been staring at his PA for a while after he giggled at Finn's witty remark. Finn seems to realize it too and asks, "Is there something on my face?"
"N-no! You look-" cute. "-fine."
Kurt actually had fun during the entire one week, surprisingly. He wishes his mother was still alive and there to witness how he sang with the children, danced with them, played Hide-and-Seek, and even that one time when he ended up having a Food Fight with them. He wasn't reprimanded but his PA got the call from hospital management and his agent. His poor sweet Finn Hudson.
"Sorry," he apologizes to Finn, albeit a little embarrassed because he doesn't always apologize to people, especially not to his personal assistant.
Finn smiles at him, "It's cool. Besides, it's not every day you get to see the glamorous Kurt Hummel throwing food at children."
"Hey, at least I didn't throw my iPhone at them."
Finn laughs and Kurt feels a surge of happiness and delight when he makes the other man laugh.
Then Kurt looks at his clothes. "Oh dear, my favorite Ralph Lauren polo is completely destroyed!"
"I'll make sure I get a new one of this, the exact replica."
"And my hair!"
"Quinn will take care of that."
"Yeah, make an appointment with the Queen Bee now."
Quinn Fabray is the only hairstylist that can put the magic on his hair. Even though they started on the wrong foot at each other, they become fast allies because of one similarity that they have, they both hate Rachel freaking Berry. And the psycho hates them both.
"Is he still single?" Quinn asks him as she applies mousse onto his hair.
"Who?"
"Your PA. He's cute, you know."
"Hands off missy, he's my PA. I don't want him to be distracted. He already has his hands full just by handling me."
Quinn rolls her eyes at him. "Whatever. You always get what you want, don't you? Like that hot supermodel Puck."
"It's a one-time thing."
"Seriously? You wanted him for, like, forever."
"Someone beat him to it."
"Finn Hudson?"
"Not telling," Kurt smirks at her.
Quinn sighs, "Bitch."
"Whore."
And the next day, he buys gifts for all the children in the hospital since it is the last day of his visit in the hospital. He is freaking rich so he doesn't mind spending almost five thousand dollars buying toys and books and clothes for them. During the whole day, Finn beams at him, that excites Kurt even more, and he is such in a good mood that he hugs and kisses his PA on the cheek without a second thought.
Flashes of lights from the few paparazzi who are wandering in front of the building to his penthouse bring him back to his senses.
What the hell is he doing? He gets a hold of himself and forces a small smile. "Thank you."
Finn, who is still in shock from getting a hug and a peck on the cheek from Kurt, publicly, numbly nods his head and pivots away from him.
When Kurt is finally away from the lenses of the paparazzi, he groans in anger. What was he thinking, hugging, and kissing his PA publicly like that!
Kurt wonders if someone up there has a grudge on him because this is utterly and totally the worst incident on the Shitty-stuff-happening-to-Kurt List. Rachel freaking Berry, his Broadway co-star slash sworn rival is flirting with his PA. Moreover, how exactly does Finn Hudson react to that? He flirts back! Kurt isn't sure what the conversations between them are about but the way that they act towards one another… the psycho woman giggling and batting her eyelashes at his PA… And the way Finn is grinning at her… Urgh! Revolting!
Kurt thinks that if he could just gets his hands on Rachel Berry's drinking bottle, he'd definitely put arsenic into it without a second thought.
"Kurt, are you paying any attention to what I said just now?"
Kurt glares at the other man. "Shut up, Artie. I'm plotting an evil scheme against that psycho bitch."
Artie Abrams sighs. "What did she do now that makes you want to stab her to death repeatedly and chop her into pieces and feed her to the-"
"-ducks in Central Park."
"That doesn't make any sense. Ducks aren't carnivores."
Kurt closes his eyes as he restrains himself from bashing his head onto the nearest hard solid object, like Artie's wheelchair. "Damn. I sounded like Brittany. Of course I wouldn't feed human flesh to ducks because they are herbivores!"
"She really has gotten your knickers in a twist, huh." Artie sniggers at him.
"He's my PA! Can't she flirt with someone else's PA and not mine?"
Artie just shrugs his shoulder as he gazes upon them. "I don't see the problem. She's just standing there and drooling over him."
His jaw drops. "What? She drools?"
Kurt turns back his gaze to where he knows Finn and Rachel were standing previously. Finn is no longer flirting with the psycho and instead, he is on the phone talking to someone. Rachel, on the other hand is looking at Finn with shining eyes and… yeah, she drools.
Kurt looks back at Artie. "Listen, why don't you go do whatever you do-"
"I'm the sound engineer, duh. You've known very well for years that we only do our stuff when you guys start practicing. Apparently, you guys are on a break so I'm stalling," Artie tells him with the tone that obviously screams, 'You need to check your head with a brain surgeon. There's seriously something wrong with you!'
Kurt waves his hand at the other man with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, whatever. You continue stalling, while I do some damage." Then he walks away, leaving Artie behind him.
Finn is no longer with his phone as his back is facing Kurt. He must have said something funny because Rachel abruptly breaks into laughter.
"Go break a leg, or more appropriately - Rachel's," he hears Artie cheer for him.
Kurt smirks at himself. "Or I'll just stick to breaking Finn's leg."
He saunters over delicately, as if he is on a catwalk in a fashion show, towards the two individuals who are currently in his sight. The beautiful tap, tap, tap, sound that his Salvatore Ferragamo shoes make on the hardwood floor below him alerts the psycho bitch and his idiotic PA of his presence.
Finn turns around to look at him with a sheepish smile. Rachel, on the other hand, has both her hands on her hips as she looks at Kurt with poison in her eyes. If looks could kill, Kurt would definitely find himself in his deathbed. But that doesn't stop Kurt from doing what he is about to do. He just gives his roll-eye at the psycho then turns his gaze at his PA.
"I see that Jingo is having too much fun here, and thought I should be a party pooper and I'm not going to apologize for being one either," he says as he holds his gaze at Finn and by the end of his sentence, he avert his gaze to Rachel.
"Jealous?" Rachel smirks.
Kurt scoffs, "Why would I turn into a green eyed monster? Your accusation is pathetic. Besides, I'm here because I have errands for my PA." When Kurt says the last sentence, he just hope that nobody realizes how he emphasized too much on the 'my' term. He seriously needs to watch out for his tone every time he starts being possessive.
God, of all people in this world, why did he have to have a crush on his own personal assistant?
Thank God, sweet, clueless Finn doesn't realize anything. Instead he asks Kurt, "Errands?"
"I need you to get your ass to La Mer and get the stuff. Body serum, body crème, and the entire Miracle Broth. You have my cards with you, right? While you're at it, get me those raspberry jam pastries down the street at Poseidon Bakery. Oh, and book a place for two tonight in Ocha, I'm craving Sashimi."
Finn nods his head before he turns to wave at Rachel as a sign that he's going off.
"I'll call you later," Rachel tells him.
Oh.
My.
God.
The psycho bitch has his PA's number?
Well, who doesn't but, seriously, Rachel freaking Berry? Kurt glares furiously at her before he turns his heel to Finn who is almost at the door and he calls out, "Hey."
Finn turns around to look at him.
Kurt orders, "I want the car key."
"But I need to use the car to La Mer."
"You can walk."
Finn frowns at him. "You expect me to walk to the Upper East Side?"
"There's the subway."
"You're going to be here the whole day. It's not as if you are using the car."
Kurt is feigning shock with a touch of grief in his tone, "Oh, Gumby. You should be aware that petrol consumption from the car emits dangerous gas such as carbon monoxide, which will pollute the air, and you know how that will affect the global warming. One less car on the road makes a big difference."
Finn sighs as he continues to frown at Kurt, "Since when did you have a mindset of Al Gore?"
"Since I attended his seminar."
Finn looks at him disbelief. Kurt knows that Finn knows that he never attended any forum or conference or whatever that has nothing to do with Broadway.
Kurt mock smiles at him.
In the end, he shakes his head at Kurt before pulling out the car key from his pocket and handing it to him. When Kurt grasps the key in his fist, he still doesn't let go of the car key and instead, looks at him with a look that is akin to suspicion.
Their gazes lock with each other for a few long moments until Finn finally looks away as he lets go of the car key.
Then he says to Kurt, "Since the children's hospital, I thought you changed. But I was wrong."
When Finn turns away from him and leaves the building, it hits Kurt something like fear and he rarely feels this way. From those few long seconds of Finn's gaze, he can see how angry and pissed Finn is. That's the first time he has seen such raw emotion from the other man and it strikes Kurt, filling him with dread.
What if Finn was thinking of quitting?
What if he was quitting?
Fuck.
He drives all the way to his PA's apartment, worrying over 'what ifs' and that the situation has somehow affected his overall performance during rehearsal. He was distracted and kept messing up his the timing with the music until Mr. Schue was so pissed that he told Kurt, in his calmest voice, which raised the hairs at the back of Kurt's neck, to go the hell away and get some rest.
He looks at his iPhone and sees a message from Finn.
Reserveda table for two at Ocha, 7PM.
Before he gets into his car, Santana is chasing him down the parking lot with the pastries and the La Mer bags in her hands.
"Your PA left these. For you."
"When was he here?"
"An hour ago… the third time you were messing with your pitch. I hope you don't mind, Brittany took one of the raspberry-filled croissants."
"They're all yours." He tells her and only takes the La Mer bags from her hand before getting into the car.
When he finally arrives in front of the door, he takes a deep breath to calm himself, his hands are sweaty, his heart beats crazily, and he wonders what will happen if he had a heart attack and someone found him in front of the apartment before his PA does.
It's now or he will never have the guts to do this… whatever he's going to, besides make sure that his PA won't quit because Kurt is not entirely sure if he can survive without Finn Hudson.
The fact of how much he really depends a lot on Finn, strikes him. He is the first and probably the only one who has made Kurt feel like this. Finn makes him want to be different, someone better, someone who isn't this.
Kurt admits it; he hates what he's become.
When he started to become famous and skyrocket to fame and glory faster than all of the current stars, with all the glamorous deals that made him feel so fabulous, he lost sight of who he was, spending most of his time with his head high in the sky, knowing that whatever he wants, he'll get it.
Kurt closes his eyes, his fist halfway to the surface of the blue door.
Then, a rush of air caresses his cheeks, and he realizes someone has already opened the door. He opens his eyes and almost gasps at the proximity of Finn's face.
Finn has his dark brown jacket halfway on his right arm and the rest is hanging behind his back. He looks like as if he's rushing to go out.
"Kurt," he gasps his name.
"Finn."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just… To see you. Are you going out?"
"I thought I would to take a walk."
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Finn frowns at Kurt.
Kurt opens his mouth and before he can explain, Finn grasps his arm and pulls him inside.
He tells Kurt, "Let's talk inside."
When he's inside, he notices that the apartment is sparsely furnished. There is one long couch with a small coffee table next to it; A small TV rests on a white cabinet with a DVD player and Wii sitting on the shelves inside of the cabinet. There are Wii games scattered on the floor and it looks like they have been like that forever, untouched. He knows that Finn has been terribly busy, planning and organizing his schedules- as well as making sure he's on time to interviews, talk shows, photo shoots, and his rehearsals. Aside from that, he's also in charge of getting him to his almost daily facial salon, weekly spa bath and his manicure session… getting his clothes from renowned brands - Christian Dior to Valentino, agnès b. to Yohji Yamamoto, and above all, making sure that Kurt's image stays good in the eyes of the public.
Kurt breaks the silence between them, "I'm a jerk. Ever since the first day you worked for me, I've always treated you like shit. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I treated you unfairly just now. It was a bad decision on my part."
Finn asks him, "Why?"
Kurt looks at him puzzled. "Why… what?"
"Why are you… apologizing?"
It takes him several seconds for him to finally speak, "…'cause I'm afraid that you'll quit."
The room is engulfed in an awkward silence between them after that. Finn looks at him differently, as if he sees Kurt in a different light. And Kurt wonders if that's a good or a bad thing.
"And…" Kurt trails his word.
I think I like you.
"I want to bring you to Ocha. Dinner together… to compensate for what I've done to you."
"Aren't you having dinner with someone?"
"You."
"Huh?"
"It's you. I want to have dinner with you. Anyway, I know it's not enough but I'll try. I'll try to be different."
Finn shakes his head. "You don't need to be different, you know. I don't want you to be different because if you do, there'll be none of that Kurt Hummel that I know. Be nice, that's all."
Then his hand reaches to Kurt's cheek and pats him there. That simple gesture causes something to blossom inside him and Kurt has to resist from hugging and kissing him on the cheek as he had last time.
Its official, Kurt thinks. He seriously likes Finn Hudson. A lot. He just hopes that his feelings aren't salient enough for Finn to notice.
The dinner goes well albeit it's a little awkward. However, they end up warming towards each other when Kurt tries to teach his PA how to eat raw salmon.
"They're good for the skin. That's why Japanese people have nice skin."
Finn shudders. "Because they eat everything raw."
"Not everything. Look at this Torikatsu Teriyaki." He places back the salmon sushi on the plate and picks up the chicken piece with his chopsticks and shows to Finn.
"It's fried," Kurt, tells him.
They are interrupted by Finn's BlackBerry, which vibrates on the table. He excuses himself and picks up the phone.
"Oh, Rachel. Hi."
Kurt knits his brow together as soon as he hears that blasphemous name.
"I'm having dinner with Kurt."
Hah! Eat that, psycho bitch!
Finn sighs, "He's not."
He sees Finn rolls his eyes. "Listen, I'm busy right now. I have to eat before my food gets cold." Then he places back his BlackBerry on the table.
Kurt snickers. "Sushi is cold."
Kurt thinks that perhaps, this time, Finn Hudson will belong to him. Not Quinn Fabray, who thinks his PA is cute. Not Rachel freaking Berry who has his PA's number. Not anyone.
Or not.
Kurt looks around to spot his PA but can't see him anywhere. He's probably hanging out with the other PAs. It is very rare to see PAs hanging out with their bosses, unless it is necessary and they're talking about business or something that will benefit both parties. Kurt, on the other hand, could just hang out and talk to any stars in the room; however, this time, he can't bring himself to talk to anyone, save for making small talk with Miss Pillsbury while she cleans her fork for the umpteenth time before she pierces vanilla éclair with it. She relates to him how relieved she is to find out that Finn Hudson is not going to stop being his PA anytime soon. Later on, he exchanges a few words with Ken Tanaka, the producer of a new theater-troop call Acafellas, and soon after, almost comes in intimate contact with Mr. Figgins' Android and his chin.
"Sorry, son. I'm still trying to get use with this phone. It always slips when my palm is sweaty."
"It's fine, Mr. Figgins. My face is still in one perfect piece."
The Indian man laughs at Kurt's words. Then he asks Kurt if he's seen William Schuester, apparently, wanting to talk about doing a show in his theater building. Mr. Figgins doesn't tell him about that but Kurt knows. Actually, everyone knows about it.
Mr. Figgins has recently bought and taken over a new theater company, including the building itself in the heart of Theater District. So, it's no surprise that he wants Mr. Schue to bring his team and perform their Broadway show in his building.
Kurt sighs to himself as he sips his Pink Flamingo drink. He wonders why he even bothered to attend this stupid soiree hosted by, the most prominent and sharp-tongued theater critic, Sue Sylvester. He thinks that going to this boring party was just an excuse to hang out with his PA.
Since the incident in which he had been an absolute douche to Finn and treated him to his first Japanese dining in Ocha, they no longer have the time to 'hang out' together. Finn is still there with him but the entire week had been absolute Hell on Earth! He was extraordinarily busy, especially with his practice that was getting more intense since their opening night was bumped up two weeks earlier than the original date. Because of that, Finn had been busy rescheduling his entire month, doing a lot of calling, emailing, texting, and disappearing somewhere for hours at a time before appearing with more papers in his hand, talking heatedly into his BlackBerry but somehow managing to sound very professional.
Kurt sighs again. He seriously feels like leaving the party but he won't do it without his PA. Perhaps he'll take Finn out to a nightclub or somewhere.
First thing first, he needs to find Finn among the throngs of people. It takes him five minutes of wandering around in Sue Sylvester's Fifth Avenue apartment before he finally hears Finn.
"I don't-" Then all goes quiet. Kurt walks into a room, which appears to be an office or a sort of library, and gets the shock of his life. Just at the sight of what is happening in before him, Kurt thinks he's lost fifty years off his lifespan. Others would say he is exaggerating but what he sees is truly shocking and crushes his heart into a million pieces.
There stands Finn Hudson, his PA whom he has a major crush on, locking lips with RACHEL BERRY!
A sob escapes from him and he walks away from the scene.
Finn pushes Rachel away. "What the hell are you doing?"
Rachel scowls at him. "Kissing you."
"I told you, I'm not interested in you."
"But you said you like me."
Finn shakes his head. "As a friend. Nothing can happen between us, Rachel. I don't like you in that way."
Rachel snorts, as if she doesn't believe the other man. "Not even a little bit?"
Finn shakes his head with a small smile. "You're sweet and a good friend, that's all. Even though you're slightly bossy…"
"Hey! Your prima donna employer is way bossier than me," Rachel pouts at him and then she asks with a shy grin, "Can you even try to like me more than a friend?" She bats her eyelashes, which amuses Finn.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. Like I said, nothing can happen between us."
Rachel's grin slowly falters. She says softly, "I like you, Finn."
Finn grasps both of Rachel's shoulders and pulls her into his chest, hugging her as he tells her again, "I'm sorry."
Then he hears an inaudible sigh from the girl before she speaks, "So much for hoping that at least you would try to reciprocate my feelings."
"I'm sorry," Finn tells her for the third time before she pulls herself away from Finn and looks at him in the face. "So who is it?" She asks him.
Finn frowns at her. "What do you mean?"
Rachel rolls her eyes at him. "Oh, c'mon! I'm like the hottest star in this theater business and yet you're not even attracted to me. So who's the lucky fish?"
"He's no fish."
"Ooh, so the fish is a he," Rachel smirks at him.
Finn blushes at her words and one of his hands rubs at the back of his neck while he stares at the floor, which is suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. "None of your business," he mumbles.
"I can't believe it. It's that pompous prima donna bastard."
Finn looks at her with puzzlement.
"You like Kurt Hummel."
Finn blushes even more as soon as the name is out from Rachel's lips. "I- no- I- how-"
Rachel giggles at Finn's reaction. "It's obvious, you know. Even through this crazy week, I still had the time to contemplate how to confess my feelings for you. While I was considering it, I was looking at you while you were at the theater and that's when I started to see something between you two. I can see the way how you look at him… you adore him, Finn."
Then Rachel sighs. "His attitude is so awful and yet you still find him…"
"… attractive," Finn finishes her sentence. When Rachel raise an eyebrow at him, he continues, "Cute, too. And FYI, he's getting better with that attitude of his."
Rachel shrugs her shoulder, not really caring whether her rival changes for the better. "Guess I really have no chances with you," Rachel tells him after a moment of pause.
"Will you be okay?" Finn asks her.
"I'll survive."
Finn nods his head and they stand like that a few more moments until Rachel says to him, "Why are you still standing here?"
"What?"
"Well, go get him. Tell him how you feel!"
"Are you out of your mind? I'm nothing to him. I'm just his personal assistant!"
Rachel sighs exasperatedly at him. "You think you're nothing to him. But I don't think so from the way he acts around you, the way he talks about you… the way he's so possessive of you… blah blah blah 'my PA'. As though it's hard to notice that! Even a deaf man could hear that! And that time when you guys were caught by the paps outside the building to his penthouse…"
"What?"
"God! We're wasting time right now."
"What? I don't get-"
"Finn Hudson! Go get your man!"
Kurt lies on his old bed. It has been years since he slept in this room. His eyes trail along the wall, looking at the odd drawings that he drew when he was in high school. All of them are sketches of models and their clothes. When he was in high school, he thought that he would go into a fashion school if he couldn't get into Broadway. His love for theater was so immense that although he didn't get what he wanted the first time, he didn't give up and flee to fashion school. Instead, he fought for his dream and now… here he was. A rising star and that could go further than that. And he'll definitely push himself to go further.
But even after all of that, I still can't have my white knight in the end.
Kurt covers his eyes with his arm as he feels the tears start rolling out again. He hears someone knock on the door to his room and opens it.
"Kurt," the voice calls him.
"Yes, dad?" Kurt asks, he still doesn't move from his position but his ear concentrates on the footsteps that come closer to his bed. Then he feels the bed dip and a hand caressing his hair.
"Talk to me, son." Burt's gentle voice breaks his heart even more. He pulls away his arm and crawls towards his father and lays his head on his lap as his eyes look at the window across from him that shows the dark sky. His father continues to caress his hair, waiting for him to say something.
"Why don't we always get everything that we want?" he asks quietly.
"I thought you have everything."
"Guess I'm just selfish," Kurt mutters and Burt laughs at that.
"If your mom was still here, she'd be so proud of you. I know I am."
Kurt averts his gaze from the window to his dad and smile sweetly at him. "I know that."
Burt ruffles his head which then he receives a glare from his son. "Dad, no messing the hair!" Kurt gets up from his father's lap and tries to comb back his hair neatly.
The bell at the door rings loudly within the apartment. "I'll get the door," says Burt as he gets up from the bed and ruffles Kurt's hair for one last time.
"Dad! You're messing with the hair! Again!" Kurt pouts at his father while Burt just smirks at him and walks out from the room.
A few seconds later, Burt comes into the room, his visage is slightly scowling which concerns Kurt. "What's the matter?"
"Your PA is in the living room. He wants to see you."
Kurt feels himself go pale but he just nods at his father and stands up from his bed. He rubs his eyes and wipes any remaining tears off his face before getting out from the room. Before he steps into the living room, he stops because he can feel his father's tension rolling off of him in waves. "Kurt, I have pepper-spray. Do you need it?"
Kurt turns to look at his father and whispers angrily at him, "What? Why do I need pepper-spray?"
"Seeing your reaction just now, he obviously did this to you. If he so much lays a hand on you, I swear I'll physically harm him- I'll punch and kick the hell out of him."
Kurt grins at him. "Thank you for your concern, dad. As tempting as the offer is, he's still my PA. And I don't want to see you end up in E! News with Ryan Seacrest reporting that my dad assaulted my PA."
Burt raises both his hands in defeat. "Okay. Just give me a shout if you need me to throw him out. I'll be in the reading room."
After making sure that his dad is no longer there, he steps into the living room and comes face-to-face with his white knight.
"Kurt," Finn says his name.
"What are you doing here, Finn? Aren't you supposed to be having sex with Rachel Berry right now?" It is meant to sound sarcastic but it actually sounds more like he is choking with hurt when he says them to Finn.
But he gets pleasure when he sees Finn flinch. "I don't- how- you saw us?"
Kurt sighs before he throws himself onto the couch and looks at Finn who is still standing in the middle of the living room. "Why are you here, Finn?"
"I wanted to see you."
"So you use the subway from the Fifth Avenue to Murray Hill?"
"I took a cab."
"Right. Why did I even bother to ask you that? And how did you know that I'm here?"
"I ran into your prop manager, well, sort of 'ran into'. He mentioned you muttering Curry Hill."
"Sandy Ryerson? Did he touch you?"
Finn suddenly goes pale and nods his head. "You know how he is with me. He just touched my stomach." Kurt felt his blood boil- he pissed at that atrocious gay old man! How dare he molest his PA, again? He has already give Sandy a piece of his mind and since he wasn't listening to him, he is so going to file a complaint about his misbehavior!
Finn changes the topic immediately, "I really wanted to see you, Kurt. Rachel…she kissed me. But the feeling isn't mutual."
"What are you trying to tell me?"
"I don't have feelings for her. I only like her as a friend. I like someone else. I really like this person so much."
Kurt frowns. "And that person is not Rachel Berry?"
Finn shakes his head.
Kurt rolls his eyes. Why is his life so fucked up? So now, his PA likes someone else, the person who is obviously not him. Duh, like Finn Hudson could ever be attracted to him. Finn was as straight as an arrow- only a miracle could make him bend.
It was stupid for him to think that Finn wouldn't have romantic feelings for other people. He had thought that he could keep Finn to himself for a little longer until this crush waned and just disappeared. However, Kurt knows that it is too much to hope for. Because even though the week was hectic he realized something extremely important; he not only liked Finn… he was starting to fall for his adorkable white knight.
Kurt was falling for Finn Hudson.
"I'm falling for you."
What?
"What?"
Finn repeats, "I'm falling for you."
Kurt actually felt his jaw drop.
Is this a fucking dream? Oh, hell no he's going to wake up! This is just too good to be happening in real life.
Since Kurt doesn't give any response, Finn gets embarrassed and stares at the ground. "If you want to fire me now, go ahead. There won't be any hard feelings from me. I know it's weird to work with someone who has… romantic feelings towards you… But I just want you to know that I really like you… a lot."
Kurt still doesn't give any response so he takes the smaller boy's silence as a cue that he is done and he starts to back away from the living room. Kurt immediately realizes what is happening and quickly jumps from the couch and throws himself at Finn.
"Oof!"
Kurt smiles sheepishly at his PA. "Sorry." Both of his arms are around Finn and their faces are only mere inches from each other.
He tells Finn, "The feeling is mutual."
Finn is in a state of shock so Kurt takes that as an opportunity to explain. "I've had this huge crush on you 'cause you're cute and actually kinda hot. You're so dorky and adorable and you turn me on. I mean, that's absolutely not my type but you, Finn Hudson, are totally my type. Seeing you everyday makes my day so much brighter and I really, really, really, like you so much that it hurt when I saw you kissing Ra-"
Kurt doesn't get to finish his ramble because this time, he finally gets what he wants.
His white knight.
And the deep passionate kiss from his white knight is a symbol that love is coming their way. No more hidden crushes. Just falling in and loving each other.
EPILOGUE
Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry stare at each other for a few long seconds.
"Truce," Kurt tells her, sticking his hand out, waiting for Rachel to shake his.
Rachel nods her head, grasps his hand and shakes it as she says, "Truce."
Then Kurt pulls her into a hug. "Thank you."
Rachel is shocked for a moment but eventually smiles as she hugs Kurt back. "He tells you?"
Kurt pulls back and grins brightly. "He said that if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have had the guts to sweep me off of my feet."
"Congrats. I still like him, you know. He's cute and all but I'm moving on. It's just not my luck. He chooses you."
"You're hot, Rachel. Someone will come soon. Just don't give up."
They grin at each other then Kurt says, "No matter what, you're still the psycho bitch."
Rachel laughs at him. "Whatever. You're still the pompous prima donna bastard."
"You're very lucky. I mean, you even got that one-time thing with Puck!"
Kurt rolls his eyes. What is with girls and Calvin Klein swimwear supermodels? Okay, he used to be there too but seriously, this is just ridiculous.
"Get your PA to call my PA for that guy's PA's number."
Rachel laughs at him and then nods her head. "Thanks. I'll do that this weekend."
"Okay, whatever suits you. Just to let you know, Quinn Fabray is hunting down Puck's ass now, seeing that my sweetheart is no longer single and available."
"That bitch!"
"Watch what you're saying, she's my ally."
"Just ally." Then Rachel turns away from him as she calls someone, probably her PA or the hairstylist Queen Bee.
Suddenly, two strong arms coming from behind his back wrap around his upper chest as a wet kiss descends on his cheek. Kurt turns his head to look at the other man who catches his lips and kisses him thoroughly, ravishing his mouth until the need to breathe finally catches on them. He smiles brightly at Finn and smooches the arm under his chin before wrapping both his hands around Finn's arms.
Finn asks, "What's got Rachel's ass fueled with fire?"
"Something to do with my hairstylist or Puck."
"I don't get it. What's with all of you and Calvin Klein swimwear models?"
"Hey!" He slaps Finn's arms. "I'm over that. Besides, I was also wondering that myself. So what's up? I saw you talking on the phone just now."
"Your dad invited us to dinner." Kurt can feel there's more that his PA wants to say but he remains silent.
Kurt sighs, "And…"
Finn lay another kiss on his head before he replies, "I don't know, Kurt. I'm still scared of your dad since when he caught us kissing in his living room, he pepper-sprayed me!"
Kurt rubs his hand over Finn's arms, trying to comfort the other man. "You poor baby. He thought that you were forcing a kiss on me. It's a wonder it didn't leak to the press when you had to be treated in the hospital."
"I'm your PA. I know the procedure to hide the incident from the press and the paps. 'Dad assaulted Broadway star's PA with pepper-spray.' TMZ would have a field day if they found that out."
Kurt laughs as he turns around and leans in to kiss Finn.
END
A/N: Finn has a lot of ridiculous nicknames in this fic (and I had fun researching those nicknames). And it's wonderful to involve almost all of the Glee characters into this AU. I couldn't resist putting Puck as a Calvin Klein swimwear model (blame him for being a pool-boy in Glee, and damn he has hot abs). This is the longest EPIC one-shot I've ever posted. Tell me what you guys think. Even a simple one like 'Cool' and you make my day because I love reading every single comment from my readers. They make me so happy that I can see bubbles and kittens in the air. *grins*
Oh, and the title of this fic is taken from Utada's wonderful song, Apple and Cinnamon.
ATSU TENSHI