I'm always accepting prompts!
Kurt flicked on the light inside of the oven for the fifth time in as many minutes, anxiously making sure that his roast hadn't burned in the thirty seconds he'd spent looking away. He wasn't going to let anything about dinner that night go wrong.
"Okay, roast is almost done, mashed potatoes are ready, carrots are cooked to perfection, and the pudding can stay in the fridge until we're ready for dessert," he said to himself, ticking through his mental checklist. "All I can do now is wait for Blaine to get home."
He wasn't very patient, but he managed to wait for Blaine to get home without wearing any ruts in the floor or biting his nails to the quicks. Finally, after almost forty-five minutes, Blaine came through the door, looking beat.
"Hey, babe," he said tiredly, taking in the nicely set table and Kurt's relatively dressy attire. "What's all this for?"
"Just felt like having a nice dinner," Kurt said lightly. He hoped his poker face was firmly in place. "Dig in, but don't forget to save room for dessert!"
"I don't know if I can do that," Blaine said, dropping into one of their dining room chairs with a thud. "I have plans again at 8:30, and it's already 7:45."
"Well, you can still have some of this, and I'll hold off on dessert until you get back!" Kurt thought he sounded unnaturally chipper, but Blaine didn't seem to notice.
"I'm probably gonna be late, honey, just have yours whenever and leave mine in the fridge," Blaine said as he served himself some food. "Don't bother waiting up for me, either."
"Okay," Kurt said quietly, getting his own food.
They ate in near silence, just making small talk or confirming schedules for the rest of the week. Once they were finished, Kurt started washing dishes as Blaine hoisted his backpack over his shoulder and shuffled back out the door, calling a hasty "goodbye!" to Kurt over his shoulder.
"He didn't even blow me a kiss," Kurt mumbled to himself as he scrubbed. "He always blows me a kiss. Even when we're giving each other the silent treatment." He dried off the dishes silently, just letting his thoughts tumble around. Unfortunately for him, they didn't really go to a nice place.
"Is Blaine about to dump me?" he asked the room, hoping that maybe he'd get some kind of omen in response. All he heard was the upstairs neighbor's cat yowling, though. "He's been kind of disinterested lately, and he keeps going out at night without telling me where he's going," he kept rambling to himself, wanting to fill the suddenly too-large loft with something. "I could try harder, maybe be more affectionate at school. No PDA in the halls or anything, of course, but I could hold his hand more often. Maybe kiss him goodbye before class.
"That's what I'll do," he decided, plopping onto the couch and reaching for the remote. "If he doesn't respond to that, then I'll worry."
He didn't really respond to that.
Kurt took Blaine's hand as they entered the main campus building the next day, giving it a quick squeeze.
"You okay?" Blaine asked, looking confused.
"I'm fine," Kurt said, smiling almost beatifically. He snuggled in close to Blaine's side, hoping he wouldn't trip either of them as they walked.
"If you say so," Blaine said, giving him one last odd look.
When they reached Blaine's classroom, Kurt pulled himself away from Blaine to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day today, sweetie!" he chirped.
"I'll try," Blaine mumbled. He looked even more down than he had been the night before. "Love you."
"I love you, too!" Kurt said, but Blaine was already in his classroom.
Kurt spent the whole walk to his own class biting back his impending sense of dread.
Kurt spent the next few days alternating between fear and frustration. Blaine didn't broach the topic of breaking up or taking time apart or anything like that, and Kurt definitely wasn't willing to ask. He didn't want their relationship to end - even the thought gave him some unpleasant dreams - but he also wanted Blaine to stop pussyfooting around whatever was bothering him and actually have a conversation with him already.
"Blaine? Can we talk?" Kurt finally asked that Friday.
"Of course," Blaine said, sounding concerned. He took a seat next to Kurt on the couch. "What's up?"
"I dunno, why don't you tell me?" Kurt said pointedly.
"Um, there's a marathon of Reese Witherspoon movies on Lifetime tonight?" Blaine said.
"And there's nothing more important than that?" Kurt pressed. "Nothing that would majorly affect the both of us?"
"I've been considering going gluten-free to see if it would help my digest-"
"Are you going to break up with me?" Kurt blurted, cutting Blaine off. He tried to blink back the tears he felt forming.
"What?" Blaine asked, looking thunderstruck. He took both of Kurt's hands in his own. "Baby, why would you even think that? No. God no!"
"You've been kind of distant recently and you kept going out at night without telling me where you were," Kurt said, unable to keep a couple of tears restrained. "And it's been like pulling teeth to get you to say anything to me, much less 'I love you.'"
"Has it really been that bad?" Blaine said. "I've been so tired and stressed this week that I've barely remembered to gel my hair down in the mornings, much less make conversation."
"Believe me, Blaine, it's been noticeable," Kurt said. He scooted in a bit closer to Blaine, looking for a little reassurance. "Scott in my acting class asked if we had broken up."
Blaine just pulled Kurt in for a long, wordless hug. "I'm so sorry, Kurt," he said when they broke apart. "I had a killer midterm in my improv class this week, didn't I tell you? I've been going to a study group every night in the NYADA library."
"No, you definitely did not tell me!" Kurt said, smacking Blaine's arm. "I've been panicking all week thinking that you were getting tired of our relationship!"
"I said fearlessly and forever, didn't I?" Blaine said. "That includes the times when exams turn me into a zombie."
"I can handle you being an exam zombie, but if you ever actually become a member of the undead, we're quits," Kurt teased, relief making him giddy. "Not even you could pull off the rotting-flesh look."
"So you're only with me for my good looks?" Blaine retorted. "I feel used, Kurt."
"You nearly gave me a stress ulcer this week," Kurt said. "The least you can do is let me objectify you for a while."
"How about I also give you a back rub after I order your favorite take-out?" Blaine proposed. "I really do feel terrible about freaking you out all week."
"I suppose that would be a start," Kurt said, unable to rein in his smirk. "I'm probably going to need a lot of dessert and cuddles, too."
"Oh no, my two least favorite things," Blaine said, matching Kurt's smirk. "Whatever will I do?"
"You'll just have to suffer through like I did," Kurt said. "Now hurry up and place the order. I want to spoon and watch that Reese Witherspoon marathon you mentioned."
"Yes, baby," Blaine said, grabbing his phone and walking over to their stack of menus in the kitchen.
"Oh, and B?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too," Blaine said, giving Kurt one of his gorgeous, genuine smiles. "I promise."