Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 74th cycle. Now cycle 75!

"Step Seventy-Five, Open Up"
Kurt/Jude (OC), Brittany/Santana, Harry (OC)
Paper Heart series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

He couldn't have kept the secret very long even if he'd tried. By the time he made it to Brittany's house, he still could not push away the smile from his face, and when she saw it and asked about it, Kurt knew where it would all lead, so he decided to come right out and say it: he had a date on Friday, with Jude.

Before he knew it, Santana had found out about it, and for the remainder of the week he had both girls giving him suggestions on what to wear, where to take Jude, since he had been the one to do the asking. Kurt would go on telling them that he would figure it out on his own, but the truth was he was glad for the advice. Not counting his 'dating' of Brittany, which had been disastrous as a whole, and which had led to Harry's conception, he had never been on a proper date in his life, and he was sort of terrified he would mess it all up. In the end, though it was entirely unoriginal as far as dates went, he had decided for dinner and a movie. Santana had pointed out that the fact that these were almost expected would open up the way for them to talk, delving a bit deeper than they might have already, now that they were on a date level as opposed to a friend level, and Kurt had to admit she had a fair point.

Brittany had studying to do that night and the rest of the weekend, as much as she didn't want to, so for Friday night, Santana had offered herself up as Harry's babysitter. She would even keep him through the night and into Saturday. It would be the first time they left the baby alone with her for that much time, but she was part of their parenting unit after all, and they wanted her to have that chance.

Finally Friday arrived, and though the girls would have gladly helped him, he insisted on going back to his place while his father was still at work and get ready on his own. If he was going to be so nervous, then he didn't want them there to see it. He didn't do so bad in the end, though he did change once or twice – three times. When he was as ready as he could be, he left his house and drove off to pick Jude up. At no time had he been nervous about being seen, in public, with his date, and as they reached the mall, he hoped that this would continue. It was one thing for him to be comfortable with who he was, but it was another for people to have to witness it and react to it.

As long as he focused on Jude, he should be alright. Never would it be said that Jude Abernathy wasn't good looking in general, but on that night, Kurt wasn't sure what he'd done, all he did know was that the boy had never looked this good, and it must have been a dream. If he couldn't feel his heart thudding in his chest and his sweaty palms gripping to the steering wheel, he wouldn't have known otherwise.

When they sat across from one another at the restaurant, Kurt found the best way to not end up staring at him for too long was to observe his menu as critically as he could. This only worked about half the time, especially as he started to notice maybe Jude was using the same tactic on him.

"Can I confess something?" Kurt finally spoke, and Jude looked at him. "This is sort of… Well, it's my first date, denial dalliances aside." Jude chuckled.

"I see. Well, if it helps, this is only my second… and the first one was not that great, so I wouldn't be completely upset if I forgot it ever happened."

"Was this with…"

"A guy, yeah," Jude nodded. "We met online, decided to meet, and well… He was a bit older, and I guess he thought hooking up with someone inexperienced and confused would be fun. Once I figured out what he was into though, I got out of there, never spoke to him again." Kurt could sense this wasn't a story he shared with many people, if any, and the fact that he'd chosen to tell it to him meant that he trusted him. He would not take that trust in vain.

"So you've never gone out with a girl," he diverted from the subject as smoothly as he could.

"Nope," Jude shook his head. Kurt might have told him the whole tale of his relationship with Brittany, but this being their first date, it might have been best to leave it for a later conversation.

Once they had started talking, it had been easier to continue. They had their dinner, and before they knew it they were looking for seats in the theater. They sat, each of them doing their best and failing at not getting into their popcorn before the movie started. Jude was particularly keen to toss one popped kernel into the air and catching it in his mouth before chewing it. Kurt had not wanted to try but was finally convinced, which had resulted in about the outcome he had expected, which was that he would miss it by a mile. Jude had tried to cover up his snorting and failed, and as much as Kurt wanted to frown, all he could do was smile. For so long he had resisted opening to the possibility of dating, because of his responsibilities, and maybe that had been a good thing, because in having waited all this time, he had been able to meet Jude.

The lights had gone down, and soon the movie began. There was little they could do at this point in the way of interaction, if they didn't want to be shushed or yelled at. But then not ten minutes into the movie, Kurt had felt something brush over his hand, which he soon realized were Jude's fingers, which went and curved over his palm. When he had figured out that was what it was, and when he had gotten over the surprise, Kurt had closed his own fingers over Jude's, and he was holding his hand. He was glad it was dark, because he was almost positive that he was blushing.

They had not let go, for the whole of the movie. Every so often, Kurt would feel Jude's fingers grazing at his palm and it would send chills up his spine.

When the movie had ended, Kurt had wished it would rewind and start over again, just so they didn't have to go. It wouldn't, of course, so they got up and left, heading back to his car so he could drive Jude home. They had spent the ride talking about the movie, not once mentioning the hand hold.

At Jude's door, they had shared a few more words, saying how they had both really enjoyed their evening. Jude had also said that he would like to be the one to take Kurt out the next time, provided that Kurt wanted there to be a next time; he had quickly assured him that he did. They'd smiled, and after silence was threatening to become awkward, Kurt had said his goodbyes and started back for his car.

Why didn't you kiss him? Did he give a signal? Can't remember, but what if he…

Kurt turned back and saw Jude was still at his door, looking at him. He caught his look, and then he knew. "Oh, good," he breathed, making a dash back to the front porch until he very nearly bowled Jude over as their lips met in a collision. The other boy had steadied them so they didn't fall. It was the first one, the first time he kissed a boy… It couldn't have come at a better time.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!