Not at all sorry about referring to Sebastian solely as "Meerkat Man" in this, tbh.
"Hummel! C'mere," Sue yelled when Kurt walked past her office on his way into the studio.
"Yes, Sue?"
"The higher-ups decided your morning show needs a little extra punch, so you're getting a co-anchor," Sue said, not even looking up from her paperwork. "Name's Blake or Blair or something WASP-y and terrible like that. He starts today."
"What?" Kurt hissed, incensed. "I have the highest ratings in western Ohio! What the hell do I need a boost for?"
"Those twins in Wapakoneta are catching up to you quick, Porcelain. You wanna stay on top, you do what the bosses want," Sue said, fixing him with a brief, icy glare. "Now get out of my office."
Kurt stalked over to the studio, silently fuming. This new turn of events promised to be worse than the time he'd "volunteered" to do the ice bucket challenge on air and accidentally cursed up a blue streak when one of the interns assisting him dropped the trash can they were using on his head, leading to a week's worth of mandatory "professional review."
I can't believe they wouldn't even let me help pick my co-anchor, he thought. How are we supposed to know if we have any chemistry if we haven't even - fuck.
A man - a handsome, well-groomed man, more specifically - that Kurt didn't recognize was standing in the center of the studio when he shoved the door open, making him freeze in the doorway and almost get bashed in the face from the door's rebound.
"Oh! Oh, hi, you must be Kurt," the man said, hazel eyes widening when he realized Kurt had entered. "I'm Blaine, your new partner."
If only that were the case, Kurt thought before stepping forward to shake Blaine's outstretched hand and saying, "Yeah, I'm Kurt. Welcome to WLOH."
"Thank you," Blaine said softly, a slight blush on his cheeks.
They stood there silently for another moment before Kurt realized that they were still holding hands and stepped back with a start and a blush of his own.
"So, uh...got any show ideas?" he asked, fumbling for something, anything to talk about that hopefully wouldn't lead to him babbling you're pretty, please go out with me? and bringing shame upon himself for eternity.
"Well, I was kind of thinking about something before you got here…," Blaine said, looking away and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.
"Go on," Kurt said, one eyebrow quirked in intrigue.
"I know we don't actually get to choose the music for our show, but do you think we could ask to do a weekly theme day?" Blaine asked. His voice and mannerisms got more animated as he explained, "Not that I don't love current Top 40 hits, but there are so many good older songs, so I was thinking that maybe for a couple hours on Thursdays we could do Throwback Thursday and play our favorite songs from a certain decade to break up the monotony a little."
"Blaine. Are you actually a psychic?" Kurt asked, not entirely joking. "I've been trying to figure out how to pitch that idea for months now! I'd also thought we could report news from that era like it's current for a sort of fully immersive experience during that segment."
"I love that!" Blaine said. "That way, no one gets topical whiplash when we go from Stevie Nicks to Nick Jonas."
"The only problem is convincing Sue and the big bosses that we wouldn't lose listeners over this," Kurt mused, flopping into one of the tall office chairs nearby.
"Can we pull the vintage is 'in' again card?" Blaine asked, sliding into a seat across from Kurt. He was just short enough that the hanging microphones just barely blocked his face from Kurt's sight, making Kurt crack a tiny smile. "I mean, record players and vinyl are going through a massive comeback. We can say we're appealing to the younger generation."
"Genius. They'll eat that right up," Kurt said. "I think I'm gonna like having you around, Blaine."
Kurt blushed again when he realized how forward that statement could sound, but Blaine's simple "I think I'm going to like being your partner," and the accompanying smile left him thrumming with hope.
A month later, Kurt knew his prediction had more than come true. What he wasn't sure about, though, was whether their rapport was a blessing or a curse.
"He's so wonderful, Rach," Kurt had gushed over the phone one day. "Did I tell you he brought me coffee one morning when I made an offhand remark about my machine dying? And his voice, God. He was singing along quietly when we played Queen the other day and I think I almost fell off my chair and died."
"I know, babe," Rachel had replied. "We've had this conversation practically every day since Blaine started working with you. Why don't you just ask him out already?"
"I don't want to fuck up our work relationship," Kurt said. "If things went badly, I don't know how we'd manage to do our jobs, and I know the station would fire him before me if it came down to it, since he's so new. I can't be the reason he's unemployed!"
"You are really overthinking this," Rachel said, judgmental expression almost visible through the phone. "It's one date, Kurt, not a surprise on-air proposal. The worst that can happen is he says no."
Kurt had said something alleging that she was right, but honestly, he didn't feel that way inside. Thinking about asking Blaine out felt like one of the most important choices he could possibly make, like the consequences of that decision would alter his life forever. Somehow he knew that if he screwed up whatever he and Blaine had, the worst that could happen would not be a rejection.
So he didn't act on his feelings. At least, not until provoked.
He and Blaine were making an appearance at a new restaurant as part of its opening day promotions, earning them a bonus in their next checks and a free meal (in return for a little on-air gushing, of course). They'd spent the past few hours stationed outside the building, giving away free WLOH t-shirts and trying to convince people to participate in the gimmick they'd devised for a chance to win a gift card. Most people were just passing them by or snagging a WLOH laptop decal before entering the building, but one guy had started hitting on Blaine like it was his job.
"Now why would a guy with a face like yours resort to working in radio?" the pushy, meerkat-faced man asked, clearly under the impression that he was the most charming man alive.
"I've always liked music," Blaine demurred, busily straightening an already-straight pile of gift cards. "It just made sense."
"You like music? You should come to Scandals with me sometime," Meerkat Man said. "I've got kind of a reputation for my prowess at open mic night."
"No, I really don't-"
"Aw, babe, no need to be intimidated," Meerkat Man interrupted. "I know I'm kind of impressive, being the son of the district attorney and this good-looking, but-"
Kurt cut Meerkat Man off short by taking two steps over to Blaine and planting a deep, passionate kiss on him.
"My boyfriend wasn't saying no because he's intimidated, dumbass," Kurt said once they came up for air, feeling Blaine clinging to his shoulders like a dazed koala. "It's because he's taken."
Meerkat Man looked taken aback momentarily before assuming a disdainful expression. "Whatever. I just wanted to get limber before finding a real hook-up inside."
Kurt watched stonily as Meerkat Man stomped off, exhaling heavily once he and Blaine were alone again and saying, "Oh God, I'm so sorry if you didn't want that, I just didn't know how-"
"That was - that was the best kiss I've ever had, Kurt," Blaine said, sounding woozy still. "Better than I'd imagined - oh no."
"You've imagined kissing me?" Kurt asked quietly, watching Blaine blush crimson and try to back away. Kurt tightened his arms before Blaine could go too far, though, enjoying how warm Blaine felt in his embrace.
"I swear this wasn't some elaborate scheme to get you to kiss me!" Blaine blurted.
"I didn't think it was," Kurt said, bemused. "I mean, I don't see how that douchebag could have any friends, much less someone as sweet as you."
"You think I'm sweet?" Blaine asked.
"Sweet and smart and about fifty thousand other positive adjectives," Kurt said, throwing caution to the wind now that he was in this far. "I've been wanting to ask you out since about day two of our show."
"I think I made it to day three before I felt the same," Blaine said, looking up at Kurt with sparkling eyes. "Guess I'm just a little slow on the uptake."
"Would you care to go out to eat with me later?" Kurt asked, grinning. "I have this free meal waiting for me, and I think it would go better with a date."
"What a coincidence," Blaine said, grinning back. "I'm in the same situation. Maybe we can repeat the meal tomorrow if this one goes well?"
"I'd love that."
(Later, Blaine would say, "I was right. I do love being your partner, in every sense of the word." All Kurt could do was kiss him.)