Blaine pulled up to the glass-fronted coffee shop at exactly 1:52 pm. He liked to get there a few minutes early so he could be settled when Kurt showed up 5 minutes late with an excuse about his hair or something he had read. The habit was one of the things Blaine adored about Kurt – they never needed awkward conversation starters or pleasantries. One mention of the new deep conditioner Kurt was using (which evidently took longer than expected to wash out), and they were off on hair products and then celebrities and beyond. Until Dalton forces him to become a paragon of punctuality, corrected Blaine.
The Dalton student shook his head roughly. He was not going to get into some bizarre self-pity panic mode where suddenly this was all about him. Where Kurt went to school was his decision, and Blaine wasn't going to ruin it for him. Plus, Kurt usually made such good decisions. Like this little café that he had insisted they visit the second time they met up. It was a bit hipster for Blaine, with the obscure playlist and boxy furniture in strange colors, but the coffee and paninis were surprisingly good. More importantly, it was conveniently located midway between McKinley and Dalton and it made Kurt obscenely happy. Just walking in the door made the younger boy seem to bounce for a few minutes until he calmed down.
Blaine watched Kurt pulled into the parking lot and nearly skip to the door. He wanted to go and greet his friend at the door, but that would involve getting up from Kurt's favorite purple loveseat. He settled for a wave instead. Kurt literally beamed as he bustled over to the left side of the café.
"Hey! Sorry I'm so late – Dad and Finn were talking about some bowl-things when I was leaving and Carole needed an excuse to break away from the conversation."
"You're four minutes late, don't worry about it. Were these bowl-things by any chance the Rose Bowl and the Orange Bowl?" He nearly burst out laughing when Kurt furrowed his brows suspiciously.
"… Is this a football thing?" he asked cautiously.
Blaine couldn't resist a smirk. "Yes. A college football thing. But I promise not to talk about it if you let me go grab our drinks."
Kurt sighed dramatically. "Fine. But make sure it's no-fat whip on mine? Sometimes Kelly forgets."
"I'll be sure to remind her about the importance of skinny whips only," he teased, while the other boy swatted playfully at his shoulder.
The barista gave him a friendly smile as he headed over. The staff had started making their signature drinks (one medium caramel latte, espresso shot, easy on the no fat whipped cream and one mint chocolate espresso, extra whipped cream) as soon as they arrived on the premise. "Hey, Kelly," he said as she put the lids on their drinks.
"He seems more high strung than usual," said the dark-haired girl with a nod toward Kurt. "Is he okay?"
Blaine looked at Kurt, who appeared torn between staring at him and staring anywhere but him. "Yeah. Just nervous about school stuff, I think. He even asked me to remind you that his gets the no-fat whipped cream."
Kelly laughed. "And here I thought that little boy always went for the extra fat cream with a lemon slice at the bottom! Guess I'll never see him again!"
"You know, if he hears you, he'll be scared for a month that you're out to ruin his figure," teased Blaine as he picked up their cups.
"I doubt there's a single thing I could say that would make the two of you stop coming here!" She sent him back to Kurt with a tilt of her head and returned to making other people's drinks. Blaine bit his tongue so he didn't reply that they probably wouldn't be coming back any time soon, now that there would be no need for a spot between their towns.
"I think she likes you," taunted Kurt with a grin when he returned to their table. He reached for his latte, but didn't drink.
"I think she likes the business. And watching you come in here all dressed up like one of her daughter's dolls." Blaine took a sip of his coffee, Kurt followed suit.
"I highly doubt Susanne has any Marc Jacobs doll clothes," he countered in a highly offended voice.
"Kelly seems like a pretty classy lady to me. I bet she's taught Susanne well about designer clothes."
Kurt giggled. "Don't be silly, everyone knows you can't give a girl designer doll clothes until at least age six."
Blaine sagged in mock defeat. "Now what am I going to do with that little Versace purse I bought her? It can't wait an entire year!"
"I suppose you'll just have to charm another little girl into adoring you."
"Naturally," smiled Blaine. He caught a reflection of them in the window. When was the next time they could do this? Just go somewhere away from school and talk about whatever came to mind? He didn't have the heart to break it to Kurt that between the Warblers (with whom he had already secured a place for Kurt) and school and making new friends, they would have no time for driving an hour outside of Westerville for good coffee. Moreover, going to hang out with one of your classmates wasn't being a part of the team.
"Hello? Earth to Planet Blaine, do you read me?" Kurt waved a hand in front of Blaine's fact.
The older boy immediately blushed and turned back to his companion. "Sorry, signs of life on Planet Blaine again. What were you saying?"
"Well, some stuff about how maybe we could invite Kelly and Susanne to sectionals or a concert sometime. And then some stuff about wandering naked through Central Park just to see if you were listening." Kurt gave him an impish grin.
"You did not! There's no way I would have missed that!" Blaine gave him a playful shove with one shoulder.
"How would you know? I could have said anything!"
"But you didn't," countered Blaine. He loved being this childish with Kurt, arguing over nothing, smiling the whole time. It would never fly with his sophisticated Dalton friends.
"But I could have," pouted Kurt.
"I trust my ear," he sang softly to the tune of a line from RENT.
"My only fear is it's not here," sang Kurt to the tune of the next line while tugging on Blaine's earlobe.
They burst out laughing at the same moment. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt, trying to convince himself he wouldn't miss the feeling once Kurt was at Dalton and everything changed.
So, enjoying it so far? I'm so amazed by the number of reviews and alerts – so let me know what you think! More illumination as to how things will be changing coming soon (assuming reviews come in so I get motivated to write!).