Blaine arrived at Kurt's apartment with five minutes to spare, and took a second before ringing the buzzer. He didn't know what to make of Kurt asking him out. He knew that they were both single, but was almost sure Kurt wasn't ready to go there, no matter how much he said he was. Was he even ready to go there himself? It had only been eight months since the official end of his relationship with Ryan, not that it wasn't emotionally over months before that. Either way, Blaine was a friend to Kurt before they started dating, so he'd rather have a friend back than nothing. Finally, he rang the buzzer and he heard Kurt's voice, angelic even through an intercom, answer that he would be right down.
Kurt straightened his tie and took one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs to meet Blaine. As he rushed passed Effie's room, he yelled a quick "Be good. Do your homework, and I'll be home by twelve. Call if you need anything!" He knew Effie was still mad at him because she refused to even justify his statement with an answer. She'll get over it soon enough, he hoped.
Kurt arrived downstairs and exited the building, greeting the doorman and wow, he had forgotten how good Blaine looked when he dressed up. He was nervously shifting from his weight and looking at his cell phone, no doubt to check the time, Kurt thought, and his ass looked damn good in those pants. Oh god, am I even allowed to be thinking like that? I've never thought about any of the other guys I've dated like that since Eli. Uhh, Kurt, please do not think about your dead spouse when there is a hot guy picking you up for a date, Kurt scolded himself. As if noticing a pair of eyes trained on him, Blaine turned around and gave Kurt a dazzling smile.
They were standing there for a few seconds, just smiling at each other, until Blaine finally made a decision and held out his hand for Kurt to take. With that small gesture, Blaine had set the entire tone of the night. Kurt willingly accepted his hand and they made there way to the curb where Blaine had a cab waiting.
When they reached the restaurant, Blaine paid for the cab and then opened the door for Kurt, always the true gentleman. As soon as they got to their table, he pulled the chair out for Kurt. At that, he blushed as he remembered that no one he had ever met could compete with Blaine in chivalry—in that category, Blaine wasn't even rivaled. Their food had come and they had made polite conversation until Kurt turned it more personal: "So, you know all about my daughter—well at least I hope you'd know some, since you're her teacher" Blaine chuckled at that, "Tell me about Ollie."
Oh, that question took Blaine by surprise. He was so used to guys he dated being indifferent towards his son, but he figured maybe because Kurt was a father, too, he was genuinely interested.
"Well," Blaine started, "he's four, so there's not much to tell."
Kurt saw right through that one: "Oh please, he may be four, but I'm sure you know just as much about him as you would if he were a teenager. Blaine, I know you, you're like the little kid whisperer."
"The little kid whisperer?" Blaine laughed.
"Okay, not the most eloquent way to put it maybe, but you are. So, please— " Kurt reached across the table and grabbed Blaine's hand, hoping that this small gesture would assure Blaine that he could still trust him, "tell me about him."
"Ok, well he's four and so he's totally in the Troublesome Toddler phase, but he's such a good kid. He loves trucks and action figures and he's such a boy, it's adorable. Thank god, he hasn't grown out of Disney movies yet, because I don't think I'll be able to make it past that day, and his favorite prince is Aladdin, which I'm super excited about because he's always been mine, too. He tells his friends that his favorite color is green, but it's really purple and I know that because every time we walk in the park or past a garden and we see a purple flower he freaks out and begs for us to pick it and take it home. Most of the time I have to say 'no' because I don't want to deal with the wrath of angry New Yorkers, but sometimes he just knows the right thing to say to hit my weak spots."
Watching Blaine talk animatedly about his son almost made Kurt explode with pride and affection. He had always known Blaine would make a fantastic father, but hearing about it now that it was real, it almost brought Kurt to tears—it was like Blaine was finally succeeding in making up for all of the places his own father had lacked. He defeated the stereotypes that bad fathers make more bad fathers—Blaine was above that.
"He seems like an awesome kid. I'd really like to meet him sometime."
"Yah, I would like that too."
They just stared at each other for a few seconds. It seemed that as the night went on, both of the men began to feel a tension that wasn't necessarily sexual, but affectionate. Neither of them knew what to make of this night, but they knew they wanted more of the other.
"So," Kurt asked, "you trusted him enough to leave him home alone tonight? Because he sounds like a responsible four-year-old, but can he even reach the fridge?" They laughed together.
"No, no, actually, he's over at Nick and Jeff's tonight."
It took Kurt a moment to register that these weren't just the names of Blaine's friends, but people he knew from high school.
"Wait, Nick and Jeff Warbler?"
"Yup. They actually have a daughter Charlotte who is a year younger than Ollie, so they agreed to have him over tonight."
"Wow, they're still together? That's crazy! I can't believe they made it past high school." That comment, which Kurt didn't think much of, stung Blaine, even though it had been over a decade since they had broken up. We were supposed to be the ones who made it out of high school, Blaine thought bitterly. Before he was able filter his thoughts, the words had already come out of his mouth and all he could do was wait to see how Kurt reacted: "Well, when people love each other enough and work at their relationship, they tend to get out of high school."
Kurt froze instantly.
"Oh my god, Kurt, I am so sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out of my mouth—"
"No," Kurt stopped him, but Blaine couldn't read the look he had on his face. "Blaine, I understand now how my comment could've been hurtful. But, if you want to have this conversation, which now I'm seeing is probably important if we want to start this thing that we have now, then can we please talk about this somewhere else?"
Blaine was stunned. "Yah, yes, of course. We can go back to my apartment."
"Sounds great." And with that, Kurt flagged down the waiter and asked him for the check.
Amongst everything, all Blaine could think about was Kurt is coming back to my apartment. Kurt is coming back to my apartment. And then, get you're mind out of the gutter, Blaine, you've already seen him naked and in much more compromising positions. Stop acting like a teenager.
The cab ride home was mostly silent, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They kept their hands interlaced for the entire ride and occasionally caught each other's eyes when they were stealing glances at the other. When they finally arrived at Blaine's apartment, they got out of the cab and Blaine led them up to the sixth floor. Once inside, Blaine made his way into the kitchen and shouted, asking Kurt if he wanted anything to drink.
"Just water would be great, thanks."
While Blaine was in the kitchen, Kurt took a minute to look around the apartment. It was a lot nicer than he thought Blaine was going to be able to afford on a teacher's salary, but it was, by no means, extravagant or ornate. Just simple and classy. From his perch in the living room/foyer, he could see a hallway to the right that must lead to the bedrooms, and the kitchen. The view from his current position was gorgeous—his apartment was perched right across from a dock to the Hudson and Battery Park was directly across and to the right. When Blaine reentered the room with drinks, he passed Kurt and just said, "Follow me" as he began to climb stairs that Kurt had not seen before. The stairs led to a door that worked as the entrance onto Blaine's part of the roof, a perk that must come with living on the top floor. The patio was decorated with some potted plants and couches, and there was even a miniature basketball hoop that Kurt presumed was for Ollie. They sat down on the couches and Blaine handed Kurt his glass of water. Kurt sat back taking in the view of his beloved city, entranced by its beauty.
"You know, the first thing I noticed about Eli when I met him was that his eyes looked just like yours."
"Eli?"
"My husband…That's actually the reason why I approached him."
Blaine didn't know how to respond to this. But, he didn't have to as Kurt just continued to talk, looking out over the horizon.
"It was six months after we broke up. I was a mess. I felt so lost in this city, surrounded by people. Those eyes, those eyes felt safe for me. They reminded me of you."
Everything was silent after that.
"What am I supposed to make of that?" Blaine finally asked.
"What?"
"What do you want me to say to that?"
Kurt thought about that for a second. "I don't even know why I told you. Sorry."
Blaine thought about how to ask what he really wanted to know. Finally, he just went for it.
"Why did you break up with me?"
Kurt finally turned to look into his eyes for the first time since they've been on the roof.
"And please don't give me the distance excuse or that you met someone else. Please just tell me the truth. It bothered me for so long, and I, I, well, I just need to know."
Blaine's hazel eyes bore into Kurt's own, and he felt like he would be able to see through any lie or excuse he would try to construe right now. So he just sighed, and racked his brain, trying to bring himself back to the state he was in seventeen years ago.
"I know that you think that distance is a lousy excuse, but just hear me out. It was our third year being apart from one another, so I know you would think that it would've gotten easier with time, but it wasn't. I was in New York, you were in Chicago. People from everywhere had constantly been telling me that something was going to happen, that temptation was going to be there and that we were both going to get hurt. You have to understand, the absolute last thing I wanted to do was hurt you, and I realize now and even then that that was unavoidable. I just…I couldn't deal with not you there to come home to, and it wasn't just the lack of my sex life, but it was the fact that you weren't there to hug me when I was upset, or kiss me when I just needed to be close to someone, or cuddle in bed and to wake up next to. And if I couldn't have you, I just needed that from someone. I mean, I knew that it wouldn't be the same, that no one would be able to be you, but I just, I couldn't do it any longer. The two worst things I've ever had to go through in my life have been my husband's death and our breakup."
By the end of his monologue, Kurt was on the verge of tears, desperate for Blaine to understand the pain he went through during their break-up. Blaine just stared at him, and finally when Kurt looked back up, they made intense eye contact. Seconds later Kurt began to slowly lean in, Blaine following his lead. They got closer and closer, and finally, their lips met in a soft, but intense embrace as each man tried to infuse all of their feeling and pent up tension into this kiss. The kiss slowly became more heated, with Kurt sliding his tongue along Blaine's lower lip, and Blaine responding by opening his mouth to welcome the intrusion. Blaine then bit Kurt's bottom lip, eliciting a moan. Kurt deepened the kiss and just as it seemed to be leading somewhere else, Blaine separated their lips and pushed their foreheads together. As they tried to regain their normal breathing, they stared deeply into each other's eyes.
"I don't want this to be about lust or old feelings. I want to do this the real way."
"Wha, what do you mean?"
"Kurt Hummel, would you please go on another date with me?"
Kurt sat silently for another second before he muttered out, "Yes. I would love that."
Blaine smiled and pecked Kurt on the lips. "Good."