I know today has been rough for the Klaine fandom, so this is my humble attempt to cheer everyone up with a bit of fluff. I hope it helps :). And remember, my friends, Kurt and Blaine are end game. I have faith in them.
Also, a note on the timeline of this story: I envisioned their first meeting around mid-May, and as you will see, by the end of this chapter they're in late June. Maybe this wasn't confusing to anyone but me, but I felt like I needed to clarify that.
"Hey, Kurt," Blaine greeted as he stepped into the elevator the following morning. He was mellower than usual today, his expression distraught, even vaguely guilty.
Kurt was a bit disoriented himself - a jumble of nerves, repressed feelings, and a touch of anger (completely unjustified, he kept reminding himself) at Blaine over the whole Sebastian incident.
"Hey," he said, wondering if his voice actually sounded weird or if he was just being paranoid.
There was an awkward pause, and then:
"I'm really sorry about yesterday," Blaine blurted out.
Kurt raised his eyebrows in (mostly feigned) confusion.
Blaine blushed. "About Sebastian, I mean," he clarified.
"Oh."
Blaine continued before Kurt could say anything else: "He's kind of douchebag, and he was rude to you, and I'm sorry." Blaine looked at him with adorably pleading eyes.
"It's fine," Kurt said, completely touched. "Really. It's not your fault."
"Yeah, but still. I should have said something."
"It's okay," Kurt insisted. "I can take care of myself. But thank you."
Blaine flashed him a relieved smile.
"And just so you know - despite what it may have sounded like - there's nothing going on with me and Sebastian," Blaine said. He was blushing again (not that Kurt noticed or read into that at all).
Just like he wasn't silently cheering that Blaine was single.
"Oh," Kurt said again, not sure what his response should be. "Well, good. He seems like a jerk."
There. That was something a friend would say, right?
"Yeah," Blaine agreed. "I have way better taste than that."
Their eyes locked for a moment, and oh God, why did his eyelashes have to be so absurdly pretty and long? It wasn't fair, Kurt just wanted to -
There was a shrill noise as someone from the 8th floor rang for the elevator, and Kurt crashed back to reality. He realized in embarrassment that they had been stopped in the lobby for nearly a minute now.
He rolled the doors open hurriedly, chastising himself for having such non-platonic thoughts about Blaine. They were friends. Acquaintances, really. That was all.
"Thanks," Blaine said, looking a bit flustered. "See you later."
Kurt nodded and shut the elevator doors as quickly as possible, relieved to be alone again. He was extra-friendly to the lady from 8 when she got into the elevator, grateful that she had saved him from saying something stupid (and likely mortifying) to Blaine. This had to stop - it was foolish and unprofessional and if he didn't pull it together soon he was probably just going to end up getting hurt. He had promised himself (and Rachel) that he was going to keep things strictly platonic, and he had to stick to that.
But those eyes...
This whole just-friends thing was going to be even harder than Kurt had thought.
And he was right, it was hard. It was hard because Blaine was sweet and charming and beautiful, and because even just seeing him for a minute or two in the morning completely brightened Kurt's day. It was hard because every now and then Blaine did something that made Kurt think, just for a second, that maybe Blaine really was interested in him. And it was hard because with every passing day, their relationship was progressing - not romantically, but progressing nonetheless - into a truly wonderful friendship.
At Blaine's request, they went for coffee a second time (friends got coffee together, okay?), and after that it turned into something of a ritual for them. They met up after work a few times a week, exploring local coffee shops and talking endlessly about everything from music to family to favorite books and fashion idols. They discovered that they were both die-hard Harry Potter fans, that they both had brothers (Blaine said that his would probably visit at some point this summer, while Kurt noted that his was staying away due to the fact that he was still in love with a certain brown-haired roommate of Kurt's), and that their tastes in ice cream flavors didn't overlap at all.
By the end of June, they knew each other's coffee orders by heart.
And it was so lovely. Kurt had never had a friend like Blaine. Yes, Rachel was fantastic, and Santana was more devoted than she cared to admit, and Mercedes was an amazing and loyal friend. But Blaine was gay and a boy and not at all a diva, which Kurt appreciated far more than he expected. And he knew, better than anyone Kurt had ever met, exactly what Kurt had gone through in high school. Sure, he'd never been slushied, or thrown against a locker by Dave Karofsky. He'd never been tossed in dumpster or referred to as "lady" by Sue Sylvester. He didn't even know who Sue Sylvester was. But he knew about the shame and the fear, the aching loneliness and the utter helplessness.
He understood all of that, and he understood Kurt.
And that was what made all of this so difficult.
One night in late June, Kurt was asked to cover the 4-12 shift on the same day Blaine took an evening shift at the cafe. Blaine came home around around 9:30, smelling of coffee and humming a song he had heard on the radio just before he left work. He was eager to get back to his guitar and take a shot at the melody.
When he stepped into the elevator, Kurt greeted him with a smile and a yawn.
"You look exhausted," Blaine observed, taking in the dark circles under Kurt's eyes. "Are you okay?"
Kurt nodded tiredly. "I was up late with Rachel," he explained. "She had a call-back for this summer theater thing today, and she needed someone to run lines with."
"Ah. Did the call-back go well, at least?"
"Apparently it did. Thank God."
"Well, good," Blaine chuckled. "I'd like to meet her some time."
He'd heard a lot about Rachel in the past few weeks, and had grown curious about the girl who Kurt had once referred to as his soulmate. (Okay, so maybe Blaine was a little irrationally jealous of her as well).
"I know, I have to introduce you guys soon," Kurt agreed. "She's a character," he added fondly. "But I think you two would get along."
"I hope so," Blaine said, trying not to be too pleased by this assessment.
As usual, they reached the 12th floor much more quickly than Blaine would have liked.
"Thanks, Kurt," he said, stepping out of the elevator. "Hang in there," he added when Kurt yawned in response.
Kurt gave him an (adorably) sleepy-eyed smile and closed the doors.
About an hour later, Kurt had started to worry that he might nod off right there in the elevator. And there was still an hour and a half, plus the trip home, standing in between him and his warm, soft, wonderful bed...
He was startled from fantasies of his pillow by the shrill ring that meant someone needed to be picked up. Grumbling to himself about the noise (seriously, he was going to have nightmares about that sound for the rest of his life), he glanced up at the button panel and was surprised to see that the number 12 was lit up. He went through the usual stages of butterflies/pretending he hadn't gotten butterflies/pulling himself together that usually accompanied a buzz from the 12th floor before he realized it probably wasn't even Blaine who had rung. Maybe his neighbor, or one of his parents?
He hoped it wasn't Mr. or Mrs. Anderson - they were both very cold, and Mr. Anderson in particular exuded an air of condescending disdain at all times. Kurt had grown increasingly resentful of them as he heard more and more about them from Blaine. He had no idea how two people like that had produced a son as warm and welcoming as Blaine. Obviously, Kurt wasn't exactly a carbon copy of his father, but they clearly shared the same values. Blaine seemed to disagree with his parents on pretty much everything, and Kurt could see why.
As it turned out, it wasn't the Andersons or the neighbors standing in the hallway when Kurt arrived on 12 - it was Blaine, dressed in sweats and baggy t-shirt, hair curly and rumpled, smiling shyly and holding a mug of what appeared to be coffee.
"Hey," Kurt said in surprise.
"I thought you could use some help staying awake," Blaine announced, extending the mug.
Kurt stared at him in awe for a moment before accepting it gratefully.
"Did you make this just for me?" Kurt asked.
Blaine nodded sheepishly. "You looked so tired," he explained. "I felt bad."
Kurt's entire body was flooded with a warm, fuzzy feeling that he suspected had much more to do with Blaine than with the sip of coffee he had just taken. He was blown away by Blaine's thoughtfulness.
"You're the best," Kurt gushed. The butterflies were doing somersaults in his stomach, and he didn't even care.
Blaine smiled and looked at his feet, which Kurt realized were bare. God, he really was too adorable for his own good.
"I hope it tastes okay," Blaine said anxiously.
"It tastes amazing," Kurt assured him, taking another gulp to prove it. "Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver."
Blaine beamed.
"I need to get back to work," Kurt said regretfully, noting that someone from 4 had just rung. He was struck by a sudden and inexplicable hatred for the 4th floor. "Can I give the mug back to you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course," Blaine nodded, waving his hand dismissively. "Whenever."
He neglected to mention that he had given Kurt his favorite mug, the only one that he ever drank from. It was a Warblers mug, a gift from Wes and David shortly after he had transferred to Dalton and joined the group (everyone had them, they explained).
"Okay. Thanks again, Blaine. Really - so much."
"Of course. Good night, Kurt."
"Good night."
I literally freaked out writing the last scene because Blaine is too cute for me to handle. More coming soon! Plus maybe some one-shots because I feel a sudden compulsion to counter this latest news with massive amounts of Klaine fluff. Stay strong, Klainers.