Younger Kurt is so cute, y'all.


Kurt held up his compact mirror just the slightest bit higher as he pretended to fix some stray strands of hair, thinking closer...angle a little more to the right...perfect!

His mirror now reflected one Blaine Anderson back at him, allowing Kurt to watch him exchange his old textbooks for new ones at his locker. A mundane activity, sure, but Blaine had this perpetual warm smile on his face that made Kurt's toes curl in his boots whenever he thought about it. Kurt had started relying on that smile as much as he relied on his morning coffee to get him through another day in the hellhole that was McKinley High.

As Blaine closed the door to his locker, Kurt hastily lowered his mirror and began digging out his own books, not wanting to attract attention to himself. He was already skirting the line even daring to lift his mirror up to his face - shiny things caught the jocks' notice like nobody's business, as Kurt had learned after seeing Mercedes get doused in green slushie the day she wore a sequined scarf and fedora.

He hadn't gone fully unremarked, though, as he would later discover.


"God, he's so good," Kurt whispered to Tina as Blaine did his assignment of the week in glee club the next day.

"Y-Y-You're telling m-me," she replied, not taking her eyes off Blaine. Kurt couldn't blame her for that, as Blaine was currently giving the entire room bedroom eyes while he crooned Teenage Dream. "W-W-Why c-can't he p-play for my t-t-team?"

"Like you're low on options," Kurt said with a scoff.

Before Tina could call him out on having a crush, though, Blaine shifted his gaze from Rachel (who looked like she was about to pass out) to Kurt. The two boys made and held eye contact, a move that knocked the breath out of Kurt's lungs.

Oh my God. Did he just wink at me? Kurt thought, feeling his cheeks bloom scarlet. He sat there, dazed, as Blaine finished his song, only snapping out of it when the other glee clubbers started applauding. He promptly joined in, even going for the standing O with them when he noticed what they were up to.

Unfortunately, his knees were still wobbly from Blaine's wink, causing him to send his chair flying backwards with a crash as he tripped over his own feet trying to get up.

The sudden din cut off the applause instantly, and Kurt flushed even brighter.

"Sorry, so sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength," Kurt joked lamely. He turned away from the other kids to upright his chair again, catching a flash of a smile on Blaine's face as he did.

God, of course he's laughing at you, Hummel. Can't even get out of a chair without screwing it up somehow, he thought, stubbornly keeping his gaze locked on the whiteboard once he was seated. Thankfully, Mercedes had gotten up to do her solo, so people were starting to look at her instead of him.

Once Mercedes hit the chorus of her song, Kurt finally switched his gaze to her, figuring she had everyone enraptured by then. Out of the corner of his eye, he could just see Blaine on the opposite side of the room, who was - staring at him? No, he had to be looking at Mercedes, even if he was turned a little too far to the right to have a good view of 'center stage.'

At least, that was what Kurt told himself as he rolled around in bed that night.


The next day, Kurt skipped third-period geometry to listen to Blaine improvise on the piano in the choir room during his study hall. He had pressed himself nearly flat against the wall next to the lesser-used door, ready to claim that he'd remembered a pressing question for Mr. Schue should anyone come along and ask him why he was lurking there.

He'd forgotten, however, that the lesser-used door was also visible from the piano bench.

Kurt frowned when the music stopped mid-song, but his confusion turned to abject fear when Blaine's smooth voice called out "Kurt, I know you're out there. Would you like to come in?"

"Would it be possible for the earth to open up and swallow me whole instead?" Kurt asked as he scuttled shamefacedly into the room.

"I'd really prefer it didn't," Blaine said, smiling one of those cheerful grins that made Kurt's stomach grow butterflies. "Seeing as I asked you in here for a reason."

"You did?" The butterflies started doing the polka. "Was it to beat me up, because I promise, I'll leave you alo-"

"What?" Blaine interrupted, looking dumbfounded. "Of course it wasn't to beat you up, Kurt. Come here." He scooted over on the piano bench and patted the now-empty space next to him.

Kurt sat down carefully next to Blaine, tensing up at how close they were. "I'm sorry I was lurking."

"Sorry for this particular incident, or for all the times you've used your compact to spy on me?" Blaine asked, shooting Kurt another wink.

"You know about that?" Kurt said, paling. "Oh God, you probably think I'm so weird."

"I'm actually pretty flattered," Blaine said, and Kurt could hear the sincerity in his tone. "If I'd thought of it first, I might have done it myself."

"Wh-"

"I really like you, Kurt," Blaine said, placing his hand on top of Kurt's on the bench. "And I'm hoping that your terrible covert operations mean you like me too."

"But you barely even know me," Kurt said, flustered.

"I know you're smart, snarky, and unbelievably cute," Blaine said. "I also know you nearly brought me to tears when you sang Somewhere last week. That's enough knowledge to make me want to learn more."

Kurt just stared, unable to form words. "Is this actually happening?"

"It is, Kurt," Blaine said, letting Kurt know he'd accidentally said that out loud. "Can I take you to Breadstix this weekend?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Kurt said breathlessly. He managed to find his inner confidence so he could follow up with "I mean, I'm not going to say no to a gorgeous, talented, kind-hearted boy."

"Someone like that asked you out and you're going with me instead? Wow," Blaine teased, eyes sparkling.

Kurt gave him a quick smack on the arm. "I didn't say you were funny, Blaine."

"I'll have to work on my jokes before I pick you up, then. Seven pm?"

"Sounds perfect," Kurt said, feeling giddy with excitement.

"Perfect," Blaine echoed softly. When Kurt looked up and met his eyes, the mood suddenly shifted, becoming serious and slow. The two of them started leaning in, and Kurt would never be able to say if Blaine had initiated it or if he himself had, but before Kurt could blink, they were kissing. It was just a sweet, gentle press of lips, but it was enough that sparks started running up and down Kurt's spine.

"I could get used to this," Kurt breathed.

"You and me both," Blaine replied, voice a little raspy.

"I'm really gonna have to work on my inside voice, aren't I?"

"But then I wouldn't know if you'd be okay with round two," Blaine said, smiling in a way Kurt wanted to call devilish.

"You would if I did this," Kurt said, leaning in and pressing their lips together again.

He ended up skipping fourth-period English that day as well, when round two turned into round five and a hasty plan to sneak out for lunch.