Author's Note:
This is a fill-in-the-gaps fic in the Worth the Wait verse, and won't make much sense unless you've read the main story, Worth the Wait. Quick recap for those who have read WtW: Kurt and Blaine are soulmates, but they are being kept apart for five years. This story will follow them during these years.
Wishing and Waiting
by lilyvandersteen
Chapter One: In Vogue"… and then he introduced me to the fifteen sirens at his court. Fifteen! And not half-and-half ones like I am! So I thought, why on earth did he bring me here? Clearly, he doesn't need more singers! But then, this evening, they sang, and now I understand. They've got amazing voices, no doubt about it, and when they sing together, the harmonies will give you goose bumps, but… but it's so boring! They sing like Enya, do you know her?"
"Uh-huh," Kurt hummed.
"And she sings beautifully, but it's, you know, background music. It's soothing, and great while you're doing yoga or working or even as bedtime music, but a whole evening of nothing but that… Well, no wonder King Flóki brought me along. He's probably sick and tired of getting such a snooze-fest every night, and wants me to shake things up. And I will. It's my turn tomorrow. I was thinking I'd sing Don't Rain on My Parade, It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Here's to Us and We Are Young. What do you think?"
"That will work," said Kurt.
There was silence for a beat, and Kurt was just about to push the 'End Call' button, thinking that he'd lost the connection with Rachel, when she spoke again. "What's wrong, Kurt? We've been on the phone for at least twenty minutes, and you've barely said a word. And you were so sad yesterday too. I mean, I was, too, because I won't see you again for the longest time, but it was more than that with you, I could tell. Spill."
Kurt sighed. "I met him, Rach."
"You met wh… Oh! Your SOULMATE?!"
Kurt, wincing, held his phone a bit further away from his ear. "Yes, my soulmate, who else?"
"But… Why would that make you sad?"
"Think, Rachel. Who am I?"
Rachel was silent again for a minute, and then she breathed, "Oh!"
"Yes, oh."
"So he has to complete the three tasks now?"
"Yes."
"Well, he'll do it, won't he?"
"He's a HUMAN, Rachel. Just a dumb human. He doesn't know a thing. Doesn't know who I am or what I am or what's expected of him. I'm DOOMED."
"Aww, sweetie, I'm sure he'll work it out. And if he's too slow about it, I'll send him a note with instructions and pretend it's from you. What's his address?"
"Rachel! You can't do that!"
"Psh… Nothing about that in the rules, is there? So I can, and I will! You deserve happiness, Kurt. You've been alone for far too long."
"But, Rach…"
Knock-knock-knock!
"Someone's at the door. I'd better go see what they want," Kurt said. "Bye, Rach, and break a leg tomorrow!"
He hung up without waiting for her to reply and went to open the door. It was Carole, and she looked frantic.
"Come along, sweetie. Hurry, hurry, we don't have much time!"
"Carole? What's the matter?"
"He's here!" Carole whispered, her eyes shining and her smile wide.
Kurt, who was being tugged along at a speed he hadn't known his stepmom was capable of, asked, "Who's here?"
But Carole didn't pay attention to anything he said, and before long, she was pushing him into the ballroom, where the Cheerios were practising their routines.
They stopped when Carole and Kurt came in, staring at them, and Santana came bearing down on them, no doubt to chew them out for disturbing Cheerios practice.
Carole didn't give her a chance to say a word. She clapped her hands twice. "Okay, people, it's time for the second soulmate task. You know what to do. Kurt changes into a cat first, and you copy him. Kurt, you're to behave exactly like all the others. You know the rules. Your soulmate has to find you all by himself, you're not allowed to help him."
Kurt gaped at her. "He's here?"
Carole nodded. "Come on now, sweetie. Hurry up! He'll be here any minute now."
It took Kurt a moment to get himself together enough to shift into a cat. Around him, he saw the Cheerio girls turn into cats as well. He took a deep breath and waited for Blaine to come in. No way of crossing his fingers in this cat form, so all he could do was hope for the best.
K&B
Sleep didn't come easily to Kurt that night. He kept tossing and turning and reliving the happenings of that evening. Early in the morning, just when he'd fallen into a light doze, his phone rang, and he answered it groggily.
"Kurt? You never called me back last night, so I thought I'd better call you first thing in the morning."
"Rach…"
"Are you okay? You sound so hoarse. There's still some of my special tea for sore throats in the kitchen. You can use it if you replace it afterwards."
Kurt let out a sound between a laugh and a sob.
"Kurt? What's the matter?"
"He came, Rach. He found me."
Rachel gasped. "Your soulmate?"
"Yes. He turned up here out of the blue, and he recognised me in my cat form, too."
"Oh yay! That's two tasks done!"
"Yes."
"You see, Kurt? You had absolutely nothing to worry about. Your soulmate is your perfect match, so of course he's clever enough to work things out."
Kurt hummed.
"So what's got you blue now?"
Kurt didn't answer.
"Kurt? Are you still there?"
"Yes, Rach."
"So how did he react to you being a shapeshifter?"
Kurt huffed out a laugh. "He thought it was awesome. He was jealous, even."
"Well, that's good. That he's cool about it."
Kurt hummed again.
"You're not as enthusiastic about this as I thought you'd be. He found you! After only a day! Kurt, that's amazing! How are you not singing at the top of your lungs right now?"
Kurt scoffed. "Did you forget about the third task, Rach?"
"The separation task. But that's easy enough, right? Stay away from each other for – what is it? A month or so? – and then you get to be together always."
"A month?" Kurt repeated. "Rach, it's FIVE YEARS!"
There was silence for a beat.
"Five years? Are you sure?" Rachel asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. You may not have paid attention when they covered this in third grade, but I sure have. 'Cause it's Blaine and I who will actually have to do this!"
"Blaine? Is that his name? I like it!"
"Rach, could you focus on the important stuff for once, please?"
"I AM! Those years will be over before you know it, and I need to know all about Blaine for my maid-of-honour speech at your wedding!"
Kurt rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling at the thought of getting married to Blaine. "So what do you want to know?"
K&B
Though he'd hardly slept, Kurt decided to get up after his phone call with Rachel, and before long, he found himself shadowing Blaine to his workplace, disguised as a dove.
It had proved impossible to stay away from Blaine. He'd been itching to see him again. He'd tried fighting it by keeping busy making Burt and Carole a cooked breakfast, doing the dishes, going out to pick fresh flowers for the reception room and the dining room, and helping Mr Schue alphabetise his new sheet music.
It was no use, though. His restlessness grew ever stronger, so he'd turned into a dove and flown away, landing on the window sill of Blaine's living room., and thanks to Kurt's early start, he'd arrived when Blaine was still at home. He watched him pack his messenger bag, humming and sipping from a cup of coffee, and then hurriedly putting on his coat and shoes after checking his watch.
Kurt followed Blaine from a safe distance, and then installed himself where he could follow Blaine's therapy session. There was only one uncomfortable moment where Kurt had to defend himself against two other doves claiming his spot as their territory. He told them he was only visiting and would be leaving soon, and when they flew away, momentarily appeased, he looked into the room again and found Blaine staring straight at him. That shook him up so much – could his soulmate sense him somehow? – that he retreated a little and flew away as soon as Blaine turned around again.
K&B
He'd made plans to meet Carole for lunch, since she planned on introducing him to a colleague of hers looking for a roommate, so at twelve o'clock sharp, he stepped into the coffee shop where they'd agreed to meet.
The women arrived five minutes later.
Lucy was tiny, but what she lacked in stature, she made up for in energy and enthusiasm – a trait she shared with Blaine, just like her part Asian heritage.
Janelle was tall and loud, with an expressive face and an impeccable fashion sense. Kurt didn't recognise any designer pieces, but the ear rings, shoes and scarf she was wearing complemented her dress to perfection.
The scarf, in particular, drew Kurt's attention. The colours popped, and the pattern was intriguing. Kurt asked where Janelle had bought it, and when she told him she'd made it herself, he squealed excitedly and they were off for a conversation about fabrics and tailoring and accessorizing.
He talked so much that he barely tasted his food, but after lunch, Janelle gave him an approving nod and said, "You'll do. I think I'm going to like having you as a roommate. When are you moving in?"
So that was one worry down. He found himself a job at the Spotlight Diner, too, and a few days later, he saw an ad for an internship at that he applied for instantly. Working for Isabelle Wright! Oh wow, that would be a dream come true!
When he saw all the other applicants in the waiting room, he realised that however much he might want this, others did just as much, and unlike him, they might have a degree in fashion or experience in the field. He clutched his portfolio so tightly his knuckles whitened, and hoped that he would manage to win over Ms Wright anyway.
Ms Wright proved sweeter and more down-to-earth than he'd dared to hope, and seemed flattered rather than put off by his fanboyish behaviour. When she told Kurt that he could call her Isabelle, and that the internship was his, he squeaked in disbelief and hid his huge smile behind his hands.
I'm in, I'm in, I'm in! I can't believe it!
Determined not to make Isabelle regret choosing him, he worked long hours and helped out wherever he could.
When the graphics department claimed to have too much work to do on the actual magazine to help with the lay-out of a web article that should have been online already, Kurt dove into YouTube tutorials until he managed to do the lay-out like Isabelle had envisioned it.
Isabelle called him a life-saver, and sighed that it was SUCH a relief not to have to beg the graphics team for help. "I'm going to sign you up for a course in graphics design and make Vogue pay for it, so that you can get all the skills to keep doing the web lay-outs for me."
The next crisis came when a famous photographer Isabelle had hired for a shoot failed to show up, and there she stood with the models all primped and ready and no-one to take photographs.
Kurt, who'd made friends with an intern in the photography department, Chase, went to find him and ask for help, and with borrowed equipment, they managed to take photos that might not win any awards but were decent enough to be featured on the website.
His chance to repay Chase came a week later. That day, Chase hadn't come and fetched him for lunch as he usually did, so Kurt popped into Isabelle's office to tell her he was lunching with Chase and went to look for him. He found his friend frantically pacing because a model had just called to say he was ill.
"And the shoot starts in twenty minutes! If he'd called earlier, I might have found someone else, but now, it's too late."
Kurt looked at the outfit that hung there for the model. "If it fits me, you could use me as the model."
Chase threw him a startled look. "Have you ever modelled before?"
"Not professionally."
Chase groaned.
"But I'm a fast learner, I have an expressive face and I'm very flexible, so you could do worse."
"True. Well, put on this suit, and let's go. It's possible my boss will throw you out, but at least we tried, right?"
"Right."
Kurt put on the outfit and grinned at his reflection in the office windows. Marc Jacobs! Even if Chase's boss saw right through him and showed him the door, he'd gotten to try on a suit from Marc Jacobs' new collection!
With a few minor alterations, the suit fit like a glove, and when Kurt joined the other models, no-one seemed to notice anything amiss. The missing model must have been a free-lancer none of the others knew.
Chase's boss gave Kurt a cursory glance and then snapped at Chase that Kurt wasn't wearing the right shoes. "Go fetch them, and hurry up, boy!"
Kurt bit his lip anxiously. They'd improvised with the shoes because Kurt had a larger shoe size than the original model, but they could hardly mention that, now could they?
Chase came back with the right pair of shoes, and Kurt winced as he forced his feet into them.
"Sorry!" Chase whispered, and then he was called away to another model, who'd managed to rip a seam under his armpit.
The photographer arrived five minutes later, and started barking out orders. Kurt thanked his lucky stars that he'd been on the Cheerios and had gotten used to Sue's dictatorial way of coaching, which made it a piece of cake now to arrange his limbs and his head and his face just so. He slipped into every requested position fluidly, and didn't move a muscle until the next order was given. He found himself liking this job, in spite of the pinching shoes. The suit he was wearing was gorgeous and made him feel like a million bucks. He mentally went through his wardrobe to determine what shirts and accessories he could wear with this, and couldn't help beaming.
"You there! Don't smile so much. Give me smouldering instead! Yeah, that's better, stay like that."
After the shoot, Chase quickly steered Kurt away, but his boss stopped them. "Where do you think you're going? I want to talk to you, boy."
Kurt and Chase turned around.
"Sir, I can explain…" Chase started to say, but his boss cut him off.
"I know about Vince bailing. The bastard called me too. I guess you called your boyfriend in to model last-minute, huh? Clever, that."
"No, sir, he's not. This is…"
"Oh, I don't care who he is! He did well, that's all I care about. Listen, take him to Accounting and make sure he's paid for this job instead of Vince, all right? And then put his contact details in our freelance model file."
Chase gaped at his boss, and then nodded frantically.
"You're a natural, kid," said Chase's boss to Kurt, clapping him on the back. "Was that your first time modelling?"
"Yes, sir."
"Would you be willing to do it again?"
"Certainly, sir."
"Great! Chase, book him for next Wednesday's shoot at the warehouse. That's also for Marc Jacobs. Best to use the same models throughout."
As soon as Chase and Kurt left the room, they looked at each other and started to giggle and then to laugh. That's how Isabelle found them in the hallway, clutching each other and laughing their heads off.
"Kurt? Have you guys been drinking? Why did you stay away so long for lunch? You know we still have the seating arrangement to fix for the charity ball this afternoon, and I want your opinion on the napkins and the decorations, too."
Kurt felt the hair on his arms prickle uncomfortably. "I'm so sorry, Isabelle. I got side-tracked."
"By which he means he helped me out," Chase added. "We were a model short for a shoot, and Kurt filled in."
"Hence the snazzy suit," Kurt gestured to his outfit.
Isabelle's eyebrows went up. Way up.
"A man of many talents, aren't you? Okay, go change back into your own clothes and eat something and then come and help me, will you?"
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes tops, Isabelle, I swear!"
K&B
The second Marc Jacobs shoot went off without a hitch, and Kurt squeaked excitedly when he saw how much he'd get paid for both shoots.
"Call me any time one of your models feels the least bit queasy," he told Chase. "Seriously, this is great! I was thinking of picking up extra shifts at the diner I work this week to make enough money for the rent, but now I won't have to."
Chase laughed. "Guess it worked out for the both of us. My boss told me you were a great find, and he's definitely planning on hiring you again. You should find yourself an agent, maybe you'll make it big as a model, who knows?"
Kurt took Chase's advice, and in the following months, his portfolio grew, and he started getting booked for runway shows as well. Carole took to buying every magazine he was featured in, and Burt showed them to everyone, even Sue.
An international ad for a new Gucci fragrance led to a nightly phone call from Rachel.
"When were you planning on telling me you're a MODEL now?" she shrieked into his ear as soon as he'd groggily hit the green button on his phone screen and mumbled a "H'llo?".
Kurt winced and covered his ear with his hand. "Turn it down a few notches, Rach, it's two in the morning here. Everyone's asleep!"
"Oh. Sorry. Time difference. Right. I just… I was having breakfast, drinking tea and thumbing through a magazine, and all of a sudden it's your face I see! You might have told me, Kurt! This is amazing!"
"It is," Kurt agreed. "It started as a bit of a joke, but I liked it. Modelling feels a bit like acting. Like it must have felt before people started talking in movies."
"We'd have totally rocked playing in a silent movie, wouldn't we?" Rachel said. "Think of all the times our team has won when we played charades!"
"We so would. Where are you now, Rach?"
"Italy. Rome, last night. They loved me. Kept calling for encores."
"Of course they di-i-i-d."
The last word of Kurt's answer drowned in a huge yawn.
"Sorry…"
"Oh, I woke you up, didn't I? Go back to sleep, Kurt, I can always call back later today."
"Will do. Bye, Rach!"
"Bye!"