A/N: Hey all! Okay, so first of all, HOLY CRAP! Thank you sooo much for all your reviews and subs and everything! I was absolutely SHOCKED and totally humbled at the response. Ya'll made me blush! ;D Mille grazie, cari lettori!
I tried to get a new chapter written and up ASAP but I had an insane weekend, which included me presenting research I've been working on independently for the past two years at a psych conference at my college, getting inducted into an honors society for psych majors, and singing at a vocal competition/festival. Yes, I'm only slightly an overachiever... lol!
I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter. A lot of people seemed to want to know how Kurt got into modeling/posing so I gave a lot of back story. No worries, though, I have plans for our gorgeous duo. A lot of my inspiration comes from my own plans if I ever had Darren Criss to myself...RWAR. ;)
I had another flash of brilliance the other day for my final chapter. It's gonna be gooooood. At least, I hope it will be! Anywho, I hope you enjoy chapter 2 and as always, reviews would be fantastical! 3
KURT'S POV
No one's ever looked at me like that before.
Kurt's mind raced as he replayed events from the day over and over. He could not shake the image of that curly-haired god staring up at him from behind his easel, and the way he could almost feel the touch of his gaze upon his skin.
He had been slightly terrified of posing nude, particularly when he learned that he was going to Dalton, the all-boys prep school across town. He agreed to be the model that day at the insistence of his old art teacher, Ms. Dubois, who was now teaching at Dalton. Kurt had become very close to her in his time at McKinley before joining the Glee Club. She was the first person he came out to and she helped him realize the beauty of the world and, ultimately, of himself, through the eyes of an artist.
She left to open her own studio at the start of Kurt's sophomore year, and though it killed him not to have her there everyday to confide in and be his mentor, they had kept in touch, with Kurt often dropping in on some of her sketching classes, and trying his hand at painting. "Stick to singing, kid," she would tease him. He would feign a hurt expression before laughing and hugging her.
He had just joined the new Glee Club and was feeling a lot more comfortable in his own skin, though he had yet to come out to anyone else. He was afraid of rejection, of being thought of as ugly, though he knew he was anything but. He needed to find the confidence he knew he possessed and express it to the world. But how?
"Well, hello, my little Hummel doll," Ms. Dubois greeted him as he walked into her studio. "What brings you here today? You usually visit me on a Friday," she said as he seated himself on the stool reserved for the models.
"I wanted to ask a favor of you," he began, fiddling with his fingers nervously. She dipped her head so she could look at his face and found that he was slightly pink.
"What is it, Kurt? What do you need?" She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder, clearly concerned.
"Well, umm, I was wondering," he stammered, "I was wondering if you'd let me…model for one of your classes," he finished, looking up at her through his long lashes.
He knew that if could feel comfortable being total nude around complete strangers, he could be naked, so to speak, about his true self to everyone in his life, especially his dad who still didn't know his son was gay. Sure, the thought of standing in his skivvies in front of his teacher's art students wasn't totally appealing, but if could do that, he could do anything, he told himself.
"I have to say, Kurt, I wasn't expecting that," she began, and his face fell a bit. She continued, "I'd be lying if I said I never considered you as a model, but you're underage. You'd need permission from your dad," she said sadly, and he stared back at her knowingly. He had anticipated this and so had spent the last week perfecting his father's signature. He felt horrible lying to his dad but he knew he'd never approve of his son's posing nude for an art class and Kurt wasn't ready to tell his dad why he needed to do it. He just needed to. He pulled out a sheet of paper from his messenger bag.
"I've already asked him," Kurt said, watching her unfold the sheet. She glanced at it and he watched her as she reread Burt's supposed permission a few times before deciding it was legitimate.
"Well, I suppose that'd be okay, then," she said with a smile. She looked at him with her head tilted, studying him. He was aware of this look from her.
"Why this enthusiasm to pose all of a sudden, Kurt?" she asked, genuinely surprised. He took a breath.
"You're the only person who knows I'm gay," he started. "I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I know I'm a beautiful person and want other people to be able to see that." He lowered his head and looked down at the floor. Smiling softly, Ms. Dubois approached him and placed her hand under his chin, lifting his head to look at her.
"They already do, Kurt. They already do."
After the third time posing at Ms. Dubois' studio, Kurt's nervousness was all but completely gone. He thought of himself as a muse for those budding artists, imagining living back in Renaissance Italy, when art and beauty flourished as they never had before. He'd even begun to work out a little extra, toning up his body a bit. He had since come out to Mercedes and his father, but he continued to hide the fact that he was posing naked in front of strangers, knowing full well that if Burt knew, he'd have a coronary. But he couldn't stop; he'd actually come to enjoy modeling. He loved seeing how artists saw him, how they captured him on canvas. And he didn't always pose nude. He just couldn't deny that he liked the feeling of feeling beautiful.
He continued to pose in Ms. Dubois' classes throughout his sophomore year. At the start of junior year, he got a call from his teacher telling him that she'd taken a second job teaching art at a place called Dalton Academy, an all-boys school across town, so she wouldn't always be at her studio. He thought nothing of it until she asked if he would be willing to pose for an intermediate sketching class at the school. For the first time in a long time, he was nervous. He didn't know how teenage boys would feel about staring at him for an hour, but he reluctantly agreed.
That day, he walked into Dalton, in awe of opulence of the place. He found the uniforms charming, and was surprised but pleased when he received nothing but smiles and welcoming nods as people passed him in the halls. Following the directions given to him but a friendly student, he continued to the art building and slipped into a bathroom, stripping out of his clothes and into his wine-colored silk robe. He shot Ms. Dubois a text letting her know he was there and she promptly went out to meet him, leading him back to her class. He took a deep, calming breath and followed her inside, sweeping his eyes around the room but not focusing on anyone until…
He was stunning. He was in the front row, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his curls that had unstuck from their gel falling slightly into golden amber/green eyes, eyes that glistened like priceless emeralds. He was biting on his bottom lip, making his already plump, kissable lips even more red and swollen, and Kurt felt his body tingle. Kurt could feel this boy's eyes on him, and while this would usually make him uncomfortable, he wanted him to look, to find him beautiful. He climbed onto the platform, trying to ignore the godly man sitting in front of him and listen to Ms. Dubois' short but familiar lecture on drawing human forms. Finally she turned to him, and with one quick look to the curly-haired man, he let his robe fall to the floor. His body immediately felt like it had gone up in flames, like it had when he first started modeling. But this wasn't out of modesty or nervousness; it was at the strange but sudden shiver of arousal he could feel growing in the pit of his stomach as he glanced at the man in the front row. Kurt was just as fascinated by him and he seemed to be of Kurt and he was sure he heard the man moan softly as he looked at him, a fact that made Kurt's body flush even more.
"Blaine, are you alright?" Ms. Dubois asked and Kurt thrilled that it was the curly haired boy who blushed and answered, flustered.
Blaine. His name is Blaine.
Kurt's heartbeat seemed to be repeating his name over and over with each pump. Bl-aine. Thump thump. Bl-aine. He met Blaine's gaze and smiled softly when Blaine realized he'd been caught staring and promptly hid behind his canvas.
Kurt couldn't help but notice how Blaine studied his body. It wasn't lustful or creepy. It was in awe and adoration. It made Kurt feel as though Blaine was staring deep inside him, seeing every fear, hope, dream, and desire. Kurt was struck with just how much he wanted to share these things with this stranger.
The hour seemed to pass in a blur. At Ms. Dubois' announcement of the end of class, he put his robe back on and shook her hand, a little ritual they had developed after each of his modeling sessions. He watched Blaine gather his things quickly and took a deep breath as he swept past him on his way to the door. Their eyes met for a flash before Blaine had turned into the hallway and Kurt let out his breath, feeling as though he'd been hit by a train.
He knew he needed to see Blaine again. The urgency of his brain seemed completely insane but Kurt couldn't shake it. His life and heart depended on it. On those eyes.
