So happy with the response this has gotten so far. Thank you! There were some concerned comments about my warning on non-con. That is just in case, it's not a 'for sure' thing. Also, please note that in this society, Doms and subs are different than in normal life. Oh, and I don't own Glee or Project Runway. Enjoy the chapter!
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Last time on Unlock My Heart:
In the shower, he shampooed and conditioned his hair before taking a loofah to the rest of him. He was running the loofah down his right arm when he turned his wrist over, pride stretching a smile across his face. Looking at his Mark, he dropped his loofah.
What was supposed to be a skeleton key, was a very noticeable padlock, open and waiting for a Dom Soulmate to claim him.
What? What the hell was this? Kurt thought. How? Why? He was a Dom! He always had been! He was a take charge kind of guy, he was comfortable giving instructions and having them followed. He had a ton of ideas and opinions on everything and people listened to him. How the hell could he be a sub?
Unbidden, tears began streaming down his face, mixing with the water from the shower. His life was over. Kurt slid down the side of the shower, sitting on the floor with the hot spray hitting him in the chest. Forget things like the Dom lunch he'd had planned. Forget the fact that his school schedule was going to change. Forget all of that. This mark, this gray and black padlock signified that someone out there had the power to make Kurt do whatever they wanted. Whether Kurt wanted to or not, he would be stuck obeying someone else, hell, everyone else, for the rest of his life.
He didn't know how long he sat there, the water slowly cooling. His skin was pruning but he couldn't bring himself to care.
"Kurt! You gonna use up the last of the hot water? Get your butt out and get downstairs!" his dad called to him.
"Yes Dad!" Kurt yelled and automatically stood, turned the water off, and got out to dry himself off. He was halfway dressed when he realized what had just happened.
"No," he groaned, new tears falling. He'd received his first order as a sub and his body had acted on autopilot, eager to obey. This was how the rest of his life was going to go. Obeying someone else. Bowing to their every whim.
His life was over.
. . . . . . .
One year later…
When Kurt turned seventeen, he realized it was also the first anniversary of his life as a sub. His father had been just as surprised as he was when he'd come downstairs that fateful day.
"Dad," Kurt cried, coming into the kitchen.
"What is it, bud?" Burt asked, seeing the shock and horror on his son's face.
"Look! It was supposed to be a key. Not a lock! A key!" Kurt said insistently.
Burt looked at the outstretched arm and couldn't believe he was seeing a padlock on his son's pale skin. Everyone who knew Kurt had been so sure he would be a Dom. You could watch his behavior and practically see the definition of Dom. But not according to the mark.
Burt pulled his trembling son into his arms. "I'm sorry, bud. This must be a huge shock to you. I'm certainly surprised. But you'll get used to it. It's not a bad thing."
Kurt pulled away to look at his dad. "Not a bad thing? Are you serious? My life as I know it is over, Dad. People will be bossing me around until the day I die. How can that possibly be a good thing?"
"Settle down, son. It isn't bad, just different. When you meet your soulmate, it will be so much easier for you. Believe it or not, you will be happy to be guided through life by someone who loves you," Burt said.
Kurt was irritated that his father had told him to settle down, which he did, against his will. He couldn't even show his real emotions, someone would always tell him to stop.
"How would you feel if you had someone telling you what you could or couldn't do? I will never be glad to be 'guided'," Kurt said. He pulled back from his dad. "You don't understand."
"Hey, now, I'm willing to try. I may not be a sub, but I was married to one. We'll educate ourselves on the typical sub's life. Then you will see there is nothing to worry about."
Despite his father's insistence that he would get used to the idea of being a sub, he hadn't. The day after he got his mark, he had gone to school wearing gloves. He'd hoped that he could fly under the radar without anyone seeing his mark. Not so much. Karofsky and Azimio had cornered him and ripped his gloves off. They had then used him as a ping pong ball and shoved him back and forth between the two, telling him he needed to obey them and just kill himself.
Luckily, Mr. Schue, the glee club leader, had walked by. Karofsky and Azimio were judged guilty for abusing a sub and were expelled from school. That was the only thing positive that came out of Kurt being a sub.
Thanks to those asses, however, all of his classmates then knew what he was. As much as he'd been friends with the Doms in glee, they quickly found reasons why they couldn't hang out. Kurt was devastated. He hadn't noticed the subtle difference between how Doms and subs were treated by their peers. Now he was grouped with the subs of glee, Tina, Sugar, and Joe.
After that first day, he went into a deep depression. A couple weeks after he got his mark, hoping to break him out of his funk, his dad had arranged with a coworker from the garage for Kurt to spend a weekend with him and his sub. Kurt only agreed to go to make his dad happy because he knew his dad was worried. He should have turned down the offer. Spending the weekend with Mark and Julie was like living a nightmare. Julie tried to take Kurt under her wing, but he couldn't listen to how happy she was when her Dom ruled over her. Mark told Julie what to do, what to wear, what to eat. He told her what to cook for dinner, when to go to bed – she had to go to bed earlier than her husband. Kurt couldn't see how Julie could be happy, all he could see was her being treated like she was a child, like she couldn't make up her own mind. Seriously, telling her what to wear? Kurt knew it would be a cold day in hell the day he let someone else tell him what to wear.
After that idea tanked, it took six months before Kurt finally started coming back to himself. Well, back to his new self. He fought against every submissive trait he saw in himself. He deliberately disobeyed his dad and his teachers. His father stopped trying to push him to accept who he was and his new station in life. That helped Kurt relax.
There were several incidents where Kurt spoke out against Doms ruling over their subs. That came about from watching Tina and Mike discover they were Soulmates. Tina had been dating Artie. But one day Tina and Mike were paired up to dance. The moment they touched hands, they cried out. The glee club went quiet and watched as the two looked at each other with new eyes. They'd kissed passionately and ended up sitting in the back of the room quietly for the rest of the hour.
The next day, Tina didn't come to school. Kurt had asked if she was okay and Mike said that she was fine, but wouldn't be returning to school.
"Why not?" Kurt had asked, horrified.
"Honestly, I don't owe you an explanation," Mike had said coolly. "But I made the decision that she would be safer at home and she'd get a better education if she were home schooled." Soulmates would move in as soon as they'd found each other.
"How is it fair to take her away from her friends and shut her away?" Kurt argued.
"She will have allotted times to socialize. Really, though, Kurt, this is none of your business," Mike said, using a stern voice.
Kurt had taken it farther by going to the principal and insisting that Tina should be allowed to be in school where her friends were. His dad was called in and he'd gotten lectured about staying out of Soulmate's personal business. Mike was so pissed after that, it was three months before Kurt was invited over to have tea with Tina. She was no longer allowed coffee, another travesty that Kurt couldn't understand. Tina told Kurt it had taken time to adjust to not being around her friends every day, but she was happy because she was with her Soulmate. He saw her mark and was surprised that it was a locked padlock. That meant that she'd been fully claimed. She just blushed and changed the subject when Kurt had asked her about it.
Kurt was withdrawn and surly, never wanting to talk about Soulmates. He knew things would change once he met his Soulmate, so he was determined to never meet him.
Kurt continued to wear his favorite gray leather gloves and refused to touch anyone. He slowly started telling people he was a germaphobe so nobody would try to touch him. When he went to get coffee at the Lima Bean, he would slide his money or card across the counter so he didn't have to touch the cashier. He always waited until they set his coffee down before picking it up. He wouldn't even touch women, he was taking no chances. People eventually stopped trying to shake his hand or touch his arm. The girls in glee stopped hugging him. Kurt wouldn't tolerate any touching. He couldn't find his Soulmate if he didn't touch anyone. That was perfectly fine by him. No Soulmate meant nobody running his life. He didn't care if meeting his Soulmate could be the happiest moment in his life. He would be happier staying independent.
When Junior year ended, Kurt began making plans for his summer vacation. He was starting work on a fashion line that he would eventually submit to Parson's in New York. That was where he wanted to go to college. Every day after school, he went to the Lima Bean to sit and sketch designs.
He would watch people as they went about their lives. People open to touching someone else on that off chance that he or she was their Soulmate. He could barely hold in his sneers at the sickening lovey-dovey displays that would go on between newly found Soulmates.
One afternoon, Kurt went up to the counter at the Lima Bean and ordered his second coffee. The barista slid his change across, she was used to Kurt's odd ways. The quarters balanced on the dollar bills slid off and fell to the floor. Kurt turned around to pick them up when he saw a familiar face. The gold eyes with their funny triangle eyebrows twinkled at him.
"Here you go," the young man said, holding out the change.
"Oh, um, thanks, but just go ahead and drop that into the tip jar, if you don't mind," Kurt stammered. He quickly walked down to the pick-up area.
He always blushed when he saw the private school student. He went to Dalton Academy in Westerville, Kurt had overheard him telling the barista that the week before.
Kurt had first noticed him a couple weeks ago. He was maybe an inch or so shorter than Kurt with gorgeous black hair that was gelled down into a stiff helmet. Kurt couldn't help but appreciate his well muscled arms and his perky ass.
They always seemed to be at the Lima Bean at the same time of day. Kurt had ignored the young man's smiles at first. But now, he would return the smile, usually with a hot blush on his face.
Based on the boy's mannerisms, Kurt was guessing he was a sub, though he wouldn't take a chance by touching him. Not that somebody that gorgeous would be his Soulmate.
. . . . . . . . . .
Two weeks later, Kurt was busily sketching when he heard a discreet cough. Looking up, he saw the private school boy smiling down at him.
"Hi, I'm Blaine," he said.
"Hi," Kurt replied with a blush. "I'm Kurt."
"It's nice to meet you, Kurt," Blaine said, holding out his hand.
Kurt turned even more red. "I'm sorry, I don't shake hands. Germs and all," he said.
"Oh, no problem. Mind if I sit?" Blaine asked.
"Um, okay, sure," Kurt said.
"I figure we've seen each other here often enough, we might as well meet," Blaine said with a smile as he sat.
That smile. It made Kurt's knees go weak. "True," Kurt replied.
"What are you drawing?" he asked, looking at Kurt's sketch pad.
"I'm working on a fashion line," Kurt said shyly.
"Really? That's great! Is it just because or are you some famous designer that I'm going to hate myself for not knowing?" Blaine winked.
"I'm, um, going to be submitting it to design colleges in the fall," Kurt admitted. "Parson's in particular."
"Parson's. Like on Project Runway?" Blaine asked with a surprised smile.
Kurt nodded.
"Kurt, that's fantastic! How exciting. Wouldn't it be cool if Tim Gunn was your teacher?" Blaine said, practically bouncing in his chair with excitement.
"That would be a dream come true," Kurt admitted, smiling at Blaine's enthusiasm. "Are you graduating next year too?"
Blaine nodded with a grin. "Yeah. I'm going to try and get into NYU. I want to be a music teacher." He leaned toward Kurt, who, in reflex, sat back. "I'd prefer to get signed to a recording studio just between the two of us," he said.
"Do you sing, then?" Kurt asked.
"I do. I'm in the Dalton Academy Warblers," Blaine said.
"Oh my gosh, we competed against you, didn't we? I'm in the New Directions at McKinley," Kurt told him.
"Yeah, you guys went up against us at regional's and kicked our butts," Blaine said good-naturedly.
"We did, didn't we?" Kurt said with a twinkle in his eye. "We won Nationals, too."
"Congratulations. That is wonderful! You must be so proud," he said.
"We are pretty happy. Having a national championship trophy cuts down on the slushy facials in the hallway," Kurt said.
"Slushy facials?" Blaine questioned.
"Yeah, the jocks like to get cherry slushies and throw them in our faces," Kurt said, shaking his head.
"What the hell!? Has it happened to you?" Blaine asked, a hard edge to his voice.
"Oh yeah. All the time. I usually carry two spare outfits with me on a typical day. That way if I get thrown in the dumpster and get a slushy, I will be able to change," Kurt said, sketching and not noticing the glacial expression on Blaine's face.
"And does the staff do anything?" Blaine wanted to know.
Kurt snorted. "Of course not. I've shown up in Principal Figgins office covered in slushy and he didn't do anything about it. He said it wasn't on the list of actions that came with punishments. You get used to it eventually. Maybe not the stinging in the eyes, but you're able to handle cold a lot better after getting hit so many times," he said.
Blaine's jaw was clenched and his hands were shaking.
Kurt looked up and looked at him questioningly. "What's the matter?"
"Kurt, that shouldn't be allowed!"
"Yeah, well, a lot of things shouldn't be allowed but are anyway," Kurt said, shrugging.
"Doesn't it make you mad?" Blaine asked.
"It used to. Now I just deal with it and move on. Speaking of moving on, I need to get going. I have to go work for my dad for a few hours," Kurt said, packing his sketch pad into his messenger bag.
"Oh, okay. Well, any chance you want to be here at the same time tomorrow?" Blaine asked, a small smile on his full lips.
"I suppose I could be," Kurt said shyly.
"Great. I'll just happen to be here, too, around eleven," Blaine said, grinning now.
"Okay. Bye, Blaine," he said.
"Bye, Kurt," Blaine said, waving.
For the rest of that week, they met up at the Lima Bean every day at eleven. They discussed their family lives. Blaine had one older brother, Cooper, who was eight years older. The topic of gay marriage came up and they shared their anger over it. A gay person could only get married if they were with their Soulmate. Some states were starting to allow it no matter what, but not all of them. Some people never met their Soulmates, but still found love. That was Kurt's secret wish, though he would be happy being alone as well. They covered sports, or in Kurt's case, the lack of sports. Fashion, Broadway, music, all spoken about over multiple cups of coffee. They shared about their friends. Blaine told him about the Soulmates Jeff and Nick and his other friends Wes, David, and Trent. Kurt told him about Rachel and Mercedes and Sam. He didn't bring up any Soulmates, it just made him angry.
Friday found them discussing the merits of cheesecake as a dietary staple.
Kurt took his lid off his coffee and stirred it with his straw. "Breadstix has great cheesecake. Their breadsticks, however, suck," he said with a smile.
"Well, maybe we should go there for dessert sometime," Blaine suggested lightly.
"Maybe," Kurt said. He scooped up some whipped cream with his straw and sucked it off.
Blaine smiled. "You've got, uh," he started to say. Instead he reached over and lightly ran his finger over Kurt's chin.
Kurt never realized that Blaine had wiped whipped cream off his face.
The two gasped at the electric sensation of Blaine's finger on Kurt's flesh.
All Kurt could think was NO!
Blaine's finger seemed to burn across his skin and that burning feeling continued across his right wrist.
"No," Kurt whispered. "No, no, no, no!" He yanked his long sleeve back and saw it as it happened. White letters popped up on his Soul band. Blaine Anderson. Blaine Anderson was his Soulmate. That meant only one thing to Kurt in his panicked state. Blaine was a Dom. Blaine was his Dom.
His eyes were wide with horror.
Dimly he heard a laugh. Looking at Blaine, he saw the boy grinning and holding out his right wrist. His wrist that now said Kurt Hummel.
"Kurt! You're my sub!" he cried out ecstatically, his golden eyes sparkling with joy.
Shaking his head, Kurt refused to acknowledge the words. "No, no, no!" he insisted.
He stood abruptly, grabbed his bag and without a backward glance, ran out of the Lima Bean. He was in his Navigator, putting it in reverse when he looked up. He saw Blaine standing at the door of the coffee shop. Kurt barely gave a thought to the hurt look on Blaine's face before he was racing out of the parking lot.
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Kurt is not too excited at the prospect of having a Soulmate! Please review!
