An Unexpected Visitor

One afternoon, a week after Rachel and Kurt moved into the New York apartment they'd decided to rent together for their sophomore year of college, Kurt answered the door to find a short young man waiting there.

Something about his stunning hazel eyes and curly, dark hair rang a bell, as did his uncanny resemblance to Kurt's roommate. "Blaine?" he guessed.

The visitor nodded and smiled a little at being recognized. "Hi, Kurt," he greeted.

Kurt furrowed his brow. "How do you remember me? The last time we met was…over four years ago?"

"I could say the same to you," Blaine replied with a teasing grin.

Kurt shook his head, an uncharacteristic gesture of hiding embarrassment, and opened the door enough for Blaine to enter.

"Rachel didn't mention you'd be coming?" Kurt wondered.

Blaine laughed. "We wanted to keep it a surprise. She told you I was going to school in New York this fall, right?"

Kurt nodded that she had.

"Well, our dads just moved me into the dorm that I have to live in for my first year, so we thought we'd stop by and say hi. They'll be here in a little while; they're having lunch with some friends."

"Lunch?" Kurt queried lightly, glancing at his watch. It was already well past two.

Blaine smiled. "Rachel didn't get her habit of talking nonstop from just anyone," he explained.

Kurt chuckled.

"What's that, Kurt?" Rachel called, stepping out of her bedroom, "Who are you tal—Blaine!" She ran forward and threw her arms around her brother. "I didn't know you were here yet," she scolded as big sisters do, without too much real frustration, "I would've come and helped. Have you moved in yet? Because if you need anything, you know I'd be happy to give you some advice, and you know Kurt has an excellent sense of fashion."

Blaine, amused, put a finger over her lips gently to silence her, then looked at Kurt, who shrugged in acknowledgement. Rachel's arm was still looped around his waist.

"Are you staying for a while?" Rachel wondered.

Blaine glanced around at all the open boxes. "Maybe? It looks like you have a lot of work to do."

Rachel scoffed. "Of course you should stay. Right, Kurt?"

Kurt nodded and gestured to the boxes with the sweep of a hand. "As long as I can press you into service."

It was Blaine's turn to chuckle at that. "Okay," he agreed.

Rachel smiled between them and gave her brother a final squeeze. "I'm so glad you're here. You haven't seen Kurt since you started at Dalton, have you? This'll be fun!"

Blaine and Kurt rolled their eyes together at her enthusiasm, their gazes meeting in glee at their similar reactions.

Rachel kissed Blaine's cheek and then Kurt's before scurrying off to her room to continue unpacking.

Blaine put his hands on his hips and surveyed the living room floor. "So," he said, "what are we working on?"

Five minutes later, they had decided on the task of stacking and organizing the massive DVD, CD, and book collections that Rachel and Kurt shared. Blaine sat on the floor with the boxes and handed up materials, and Kurt shelved them properly.

Once they had gotten into a rhythm of work, Kurt glanced down at Blaine speculatively.

"I always hated that we lost touch after you transferred," he offered. They'd been…not close, but friendly until that year, and then Blaine's decision to attend school in Westerville had sort of cut off the contact that might have allowed a stronger bond.

Blaine glanced at Kurt with a smile. "We have a lot in common," he remarked. "We would've been close, I think."

Kurt smiled back cautiously as he took a few books out of Blaine's hands. "I just kept up with you through Rachel," he reflected.

Blaine's other hand reached up suddenly to grasp his for a second. "I'm sorry I didn't do more to stay in contact with you."

Kurt scoffed. "It wasn't anyone's fault, Blaine. Really. We just…drifted apart, is all. We were young. It happens."

Blaine looked at the ground for a moment. "Can I ask you a question?" he said softly.

Kurt's eyes met his.

"Did—Was it…" Blaine groaned embarrassedly and ran a hand over his face. "I liked you back then," he confessed.

Kurt's fingers froze on the books.

"Did you notice?"

Kurt stared at him, turned to set the books on an empty shelf, and faced Blaine directly. "I thought…maybe? but I wasn't sure if I'd made it all up in my head, or…"

"You hadn't," Blaine assured him, his eyes vulnerable.

Kurt stared at those eyes, and in them, he saw a hint of something he thought he'd seen there before, a glimmer of the old tenderness. He knelt so that their faces were at a closer level, and reached out a hand.

The cheekbone he traced with two fingers was soft and warm beneath his touch. Blaine breathed gently and allowed his eyelids to flutter shut. That gave Kurt the courage to let his fingers continue their path, smoothing gently over Blaine's nose, eyebrows, temples, jaw, the movements slow and deliberate.

Beneath the light pressure of the touch, Blaine's skin tingled as air spilled slowly between his lips and into the few inches between his face and Kurt's.

When the pads of Kurt's fingers traced his bottom lip, his eyes flew open. They stared at each other for a second, both feeling exposed but a little hopeful. Blaine covered the last bit of distance between them and connected their lips.

Kurt breathed in sharply through his nose, the fingers of one hand splayed under Blaine's jaw as the other held him there with gentle pressure against his neck. Blaine, encouraged that Kurt had not pulled away, tilted his head softly and lifted himself onto his knees so that their heights were more equal. They melted into each other, hearts pounding, each bit of contact both dizzying and electrifying.

Kurt pulled away with a final peck only when the need for air became too much. They sank back onto the floor and disentangled their hands, both blushing.

"We should…we should do what we're supposed to be doing right now," Blaine stammered, reaching for a DVD.

Kurt gave him an almost mischievous grin and slid the DVD out of Blaine's grasp with both hands, making sure their fingers brushed. "I thought we were," he said, as if it were a secret joke between them.

Blaine caught his eyes. They launched back into the kiss, their hands cradling each other's faces, their lips tangling passionately.

Somebody cleared her throat above them.

They froze, red spreading on their necks and faces as they lurched slowly away from each other.

"If I'd known you two would get along this well, I would've invited Blaine to visit myself," Rachel observed, amused.

"I swear, I didn't come here with this in mind," Blaine protested, as much to Kurt as to his sister. (And much to Kurt's amusement.)

"You've just been in love with him for years." Rachel finished the thought that Blaine had been avoiding speaking out loud. "Yes, I know."

Blaine blushed. Was Kurt going to find that creepy?

"You've been in love with me for years?" Kurt teased, though his tone betrayed a hint of seriousness about the answer.

"Y—Yes?" Blaine stuttered, even his ears red at this point.

Kurt smiled with satisfaction. "Well, then," he declared, "so have I."

Apparently not creepy, then. "Really?"

Kurt smirked and kissed Blaine's nose. "Really."

"You two are just too cute," Rachel cooed, clasping her hands together in delight. She gave her brother a light-hearted glare. "It sure took you long enough."

"Shut up," Blaine whined half-heartedly, a smile still firmly affixed to his face.

Kurt twined their hands together. "Does it matter," he asked, "if we got together in the end?"

The question was rhetorical, but Blaine answered anyway with a shake of his head. "No it does not."


I haven't been getting very many reviews for the last few chapters. Anybody there?