This chapter was absurdly fun to write. I hope you enjoy it too!
Blaine lay awake in bed for hours that night, replaying every moment of his conversation with Kurt over and over in his head. He marveled at how easily the topics had flown, how comfortable he had felt sharing so much of his personal life with a boy he had only just met. But Kurt had done the same with him - had done it first, in fact - and somehow, it just felt right.
Blaine only wished they had met each other years ago.
He wondered whether Kurt felt the same way - whether he could sense that there was really something between them. He wondered whether Kurt smiled whenever he thought of Blaine, or if he even thought of Blaine when they weren't together. He wondered whether Kurt would be pleased or horrified to know that Blaine had wanted to kiss him today in the cafe, or that now Blaine was thinking about kissing him in lots of other places too.
Like the elevator, say.
When all of the thinking got to be too much, he fetched his guitar, settling cross-legged on his bed and strumming idly. He put his thoughts to music, fingers mapping out random chords until they actually started to sound something like a melody.
It was only after he had put his guitar away and climbed into bed many hours later that he realized he had been singing about Kurt.
"So, did you use protection yesterday, Hummel?" Santana asked, draping herself across the tiny couch in Kurt and Rachel's common room.
It was her way of greeting him after arriving (uninvited, as she was prone to do) at their apartment the next day.
"Excuse me?" Kurt said, looking up from the crossword puzzle he was working on.
"I just meant that I hope you were safe during the bout of blatant eye fucking I witnessed yesterday at the cafe," she said, examining her nails as Kurt glared at her.
"What?!" Rachel screeched, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Eye - with who? Blaine?"
"We were not eye-fucking," Kurt snapped, blushing. "But yes, I was with Blaine," he added with a sigh.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Rachel cried indignantly as Santana looked on in self-satisfied amusement.
"It's none of your business!"
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows skeptically.
Kurt sighed. "Fine, and I knew what you would say."
Rachel gave him an annoyingly knowing look and opened her mouth to respond, but Santana intervened.
"Oh, spare us the lecture, Berry," she said, fixing her eyes on Kurt. "Kurt - spill."
Rachel pouted for a moment, but her curiosity seemed to get the better of her. "Fine. I will keep my judgment of the situation to myself," she announced loftily. Then, assuming the air of a schoolgirl at a slumber party: "What happened, Kurt?"
Resigned to the fact that they were going to drag it out of him anyway, Kurt launched into the story of the impromptu coffee date, finding that talking about Blaine (especially to a pair of highly attentive girls) was almost as fun as actually being with him. His retelling of the incident was punctuated by snorts of disgust and the occasional lewd comment from Santana and dreamy sighs at all the right times from Rachel.
"He's just... really sweet," Kurt concluded. "And easy to talk to. It all just felt so natural."
Rachel, who seemed to have temporarily forgotten that she was opposed to this relationship, nodded knowingly. "Did you see him today?" she asked.
"Just in the elevator," Kurt shrugged. "We talked for a bit, but he was going to work."
"You should ask him to coffee again," Rachel suggested.
"You should ask him if he wants to bone in the elevator," Santana countered.
Rachel let out an offended gasp and Kurt blushed, a thousand decidedly inappropriate images flashing through his mind.
"God, you two are such prudes," Santana scoffed. "But now Kurt's totally thinking about it."
Rachel turned and eyed him suspiciously, evidently trying to work out for herself if Santana was right (she was, of course). Kurt flushed an even deeper red.
"Shut up, Santana," he grumbled.
He was never going to be able to look Blaine in the eye in the elevator again.
As it turned out, Kurt was able to look Blaine in the eye elevator again, though admittedly it took a few days of blushing into the button panel while they talked before he got there. Fortunately, Blaine was so easy to be around that Kurt couldn't help but slip naturally into conversation with him, all thoughts of Santana's advice temporarily forgotten.
And if sometimes, after they said goodbye, Kurt's mind wandered to fantasies of throwing Blaine against the side of the elevator and having his way with him - well, Blaine didn't have to know about that.
Ever.
About a week or so after the coffee date-thing (Rachel and Santana insisted it had been date, but Kurt wasn't so sure), Kurt was asked to cover the 4-12 shift for a coworker who was out sick. He was disappointed, because it meant he would miss seeing Blaine in the morning, but he hoped he might catch him on his way home from work.
Sure enough, Blaine turned up about half an hour into Kurt's shift, sweating lightly after his walk home. His face lit up when he saw Kurt.
"Hey!" he said in surprise.
Kurt was about to respond when another boy stepped into the elevator. He was tall and slim, and undeniably attractive, though Kurt thought he had a bit of a smarmy air about him. He had only seen the boy once or twice since he started working, but if he remembered correctly, he lived in the penthouse.
"Blaine!" the boy drawled, standing closer to Blaine than Kurt thought was really necessary. "What a lovely surprise."
"Hey, Sebastian," Blaine said politely, shifting ever-so-slightly away from him. "Have you met Kurt?"
Sebastian spared Kurt an unimpressed glance. "You're the new staff?" he asked rather rudely.
"Yes," Kurt said stiffly.
"Charming," Sebastian sneered, turning his attention back to Blaine. "I've been wondering when I would see you again," he murmured in a low, seductive voice.
Kurt's heart sank. Did that mean they were seeing each other? Like seeing each other seeing each other?
Blaine looked uncomfortable. "Oh, you know, I've just been busy with work."
"Well, why don't we hang out now?" Sebastian suggested, eyeing Blaine like he was something to eat. They had just reached Blaine's floor.
"Sorry, I can't," Blaine said quickly. "Lots of stuff to do. Maybe some other time!"
"I'll make sure of it," Sebastian said smoothly. "In the mean time..." He fished something out of his pocket and leaned in, handing it to Blaine. Blaine stared down at the key in his palm, his expression one of mingled confusion and alarm. "It's to the roof," Sebastian explained. "Just in case you ever feel like paying me a visit." He winked.
Kurt had to actively prevent his jaw from falling open. He didn't think he had ever witnessed someone getting hit on so blatantly.
"Oh. Um, thanks," Blaine said awkwardly, blushing and stuffing the key into his pocket. "I'll, uh, talk to you later. Bye, Kurt."
He practically ran out of the elevator, and Kurt was left alone with Sebastian, who was now reclining against the wall with a smug expression on his face. When they got to the penthouse, he exited the elevator without even saying thank you, leaving Kurt to fume in silence.
"I think Blaine's hooking up with someone," Kurt declared, flinging himself down on Rachel's bed and releasing a disheartened sigh.
"What?!" Rachel cried, spinning around in her desk chair. "How do you know?"
"There was this vile guy in the elevator," Kurt huffed. "And he was so rude to me but he was flirting with Blaine so obviously. He was practically oozing sex all over the floor."
Rachel cringed. "Was Blaine flirting back?" she asked.
Kurt considered for a moment. "Not really," he conceded. "But still, the way Sebastian - that was his name, ugh - was talking to him, it made it sound like there was something going on."
"Maybe he's just really aggressive," Rachel suggested hopefully.
"Maybe."
Rachel got up and walked over to seat herself on the bed beside Kurt. "Look, it doesn't necessarily mean there's anything going on," she said, rubbing Kurt's back reassuringly. "It just means that maybe you have a little competition."
Kurt made a noncommital noise.
"But honestly Kurt, is it really worth it?" Rachel continued. "I mean, you already know my... concerns with this whole thing. And now you're all upset, so I just have to ask - do you really think he's worth it?"
Kurt looked up at her, biting his lip. His heart screamed that yes, of course it was worth it, because he had never connected with anyone as quickly and easily as he had connected with Blaine. But the situation was complicated - he had his job to consider, and he wasn't about to throw away a summer in New York over a guy he had just met. And now there was the whole issue of Sebastian as well.
"I don't know," Kurt admitted. "I just - I feel something with him, Rachel. It sounds stupid, but we connect."
He imagined Santana miming vomiting at his words, but Rachel nodded sympathetically.
"Well - can't you be connected as friends?" she said. "I mean, if you feel this way, you should of course keep him in your life. But maybe it would be simpler if everything just stayed platonic. At least for now."
Kurt doubted whether he would ever be able to keep his feelings for Blaine strictly platonic, but Rachel had a point. It made a lot more sense to think of Blaine strictly as a friend, especially now that there was a chance that he wasn't even available. At least Kurt had a lot of practice hiding his feelings for other guys.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Kurt said with a sigh.
Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand. "I usually am."
Kurt rolled his eyes, and she laughed.
"Come on," she said, standing and tugging on his hand. "I'll get the ice cream."
Feedback is always very much appreciated :). Next chapter will be up soon!
