Here's another chapter everyone! :) I'd just like to thank everyone so much for all the wonderful reviews I've gotten so far-I'm nearly at 100, and I've never gotten 100 reviews on ANYTHING before! It seriously blows my mind, you guys are so amazing, and I really, really appreciate all the reviews and love! :) Also-don't even get me started on no Klaine kiss in the finale. Not to mention no Klaine moment after Kurt was rejected for NYADA. just don't. I could go on for hours. :(
So, anyway, this chapter is set before Blaine and Kurt are BlaineandKurt. :) Blaine calls Cooper for a little relationship/love advice, and just to get it all out to his big brother :) It's very cute and fluffy!
Thanks again lovely readers, and please leave a review!
Cooper is cut off mid-sentence when his phone starts to ring. He groans internally—he thought he had turned it off before the meeting. He reaches into his pocket, ignoring his coworkers' eyes (some amused, some judgmental) on him, and sighs. His little brother's name is lit up across the screen, complete with a picture of his smiling face. Of course, Cooper can tell it's Blaine anyway, just by the Kim Possible theme ringtone(it's a very long, elaborate inside joke).
"Sorry, gentlemen," Cooper says politely. "But I'm going to have to take this." He turns hopeful eyes to his boss. "I'll be gone five minutes tops, I promise." Mr. Thomson gives him a simple nod, which is enough for Cooper. He pushes the swivel chair back from the ornate oak wood table and steps out of the room.
"Hey, Blainey." Cooper greets him just before his voicemail would have picked up. "Is everything okay?" Blaine knows that Cooper has work, even though he's working later today than usual. Either Blaine forgot (unlikely), or this something is too important to ignore.
"Hi, Coop." Blaine's voice is cheerful, breathy. "Um…are you busy? You left work already, right?"
"Uh…" Cooper knows he should tell Blaine he's in a meeting, to tell him that he'll call him later. But…but just something about the way Blaine's speaking throws him off and makes him hesitate to ruin it. He sounds….happy. Happier, more carefree, almost awed, in a way that Cooper hasn't heard since he was young. So he says, instead: "I have a few minutes."
Blaine must really be distracted, because he doesn't even point out the fact that Cooper didn't answer his question. Cooper hears a loud fwump on the other line, and Blaine yelps into the mouthpiece.
"Sorry," he says breathlessly. "I tripped."
"B," Cooper blinks, huffing a laugh and rolling his eyes. "What's going on? You haven't sounded this happy since Mom and Dad let you join the Warblers! Well, and when you met your new friend—" Cooper stopped dead. At the indirect mention of Kurt, all the breath leaves Blaine's mouth in a whoosh, and he even lets out the tiniest squeak, but Cooper catches it. "Blaine Everett Anderson. Does this, perhaps, have anything to do with Kurt? You mean that kid that has a gigantic crush on you, and he's told you so, but you say you're just friends—"
"Coop!" Blaine whines, and Cooper can almost see him blushing all the way to the roots of his hair. "He didn't tell me, so much, but… god, will you just listen?" Blaine's voice still has the happy, awed quality to it, but now Cooper detects a hint of nervousness.
"Yeah," Cooper says more quietly. "You know I'll always listen, B."
"Thank you," Blaine sniffs, and Cooper shakes his head in amusement. "Okay! So, Kurt's pet bird died today—"
"What?"
"Cooper! And…and he was singing Blackbird in rehearsal today, you know as a goodbye sort of song. And Coop…oh my god, Coop, I just…" Blaine clears his throat and clicks his tongue nervously, and Cooper's just really confused because where the fuck is this conversation going? Something about Kurt and his pet bird, that's all Cooper knows. Cooper's jarred back to reality when Blaine speaks next, soft and amazed.
"Coop, do you remember what you said to me when I first told you I was gay? When I asked you how you knew you liked Sarah?" Cooper winces, because even now her name brings up old wounds, and he's never really stopped loving her.
"Um, not all of it," Cooper says faintly.
"That…that feeling," Blaine sighs. "You said you just knew…you just had that feeling around her and when you thought about her, like she was made for you."
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well…Kurt was just singing that song, and I don't know, I just looked at him…and I…I just felt it. Sorry, oh god, I'm probably not making a lot of sense here—"
"No, that makes perfect sense, B." Cooper understands Blaine's amazement, his happiness. And Blaine hasn't ever really liked a boy, besides those middle school one-day crushes, but from the first day Blaine told Cooper about Kurt, Cooper could detect something new in his little brother's voice. He wishes he could see his face. "So, Kurt, huh? I knew it, I told you I did! Are you two going out now? When do I get to meet him?"
"Well…" Blaine laughs, the edge of anxiety returning to his voice. "Um, I haven't…I haven't actually told Kurt yet." Cooper groans. "But I'm going to!" Blaine finishes hurriedly. "I will! But I did get a duet with him. I made the Warblers vote us into a duet for Regionals. I just…oh my god, what if he's over me? I can't Cooper, oh shit, I'm so nervous—"
"Don't," Cooper says firmly. "He likes you, B. I haven't even met him and I can tell from states away. You've got to be a man about this. I know it sucks, and it's terrifying—but Kurt's already stuck his neck out there, so now it's your turn. Don't talk yourself out of telling him. You're amazing, and he's going to fall completely in love with you. And wow, you got the Warblers to agree to a duet? I'm impressed."
"Thanks, Coop," Blaine whispers, sounding a lot calmer. "That…that really helps. I mean, I'm still scared. But this is Kurt. Kurt's worth it."
Cooper wants to say something cheesy, like "so are you," but before he can, Mr. Thomson pokes his head out of the office door. He lifts an eyebrow, asking silently if Cooper's done yet. Cooper sighs and nods.
"You're welcome. You're awesome, B. And I have to go now, squirt, but I'll call you later okay? I'll give you an entire pep talk for tomorrow."
"Okay," Blaine smiles. "Bye, Coop."
"Bye, B. Love you."
"Love you too!"
Cooper pockets his cell again and grins. Okay, so maybe Blaine isn't all bravery and suaveness when it comes to romance (neither is Cooper, anyway), but he knows what he wants, and Cooper wants to help him get it. Kurt. Cooper wants to help Blaine get Kurt.
()()()
Later that night, Cooper calls Blaine again with a full belly and a glass of red wine in his hand. Blaine picks up on the first ring, like he was just waiting by the phone for Cooper to call. Cooper laughs, but before he can say anything, he's met with an earful of a hyperventilating Blaine.
"Okay, Cooper, I know I said I would do this, but I've just been thinking, I mean, Kurt's pet bird just died today, and maybe he's sad, and maybe I should wait until I'm not freaking out over even the thought of telling him I love—like, um, like him, and oh my god, I'm such a screw up, this is going to be awful, he's going to laugh in my face, Coop—"
"Blaine! Blaine! Take a breath, jesus." Cooper waits a minute for Blaine to heave a deep breath, listening to it tremble slightly on the exhale. "Alright, squirt. Listen to me. Everything is going to be fine. It's going to be wonderful, because Kurt's going to be so happy you told him, and you two are going to be ridiculously mushy and you're going to make out and have wild, unprotected sex—"
"Cooper," Blaine groans. Cooper can hear his damn blush.
"I'm just kidding a about that last part. You better have protected sex, Blainey. Seriously."
"Cooper."
"And love. Don't think I didn't catch that, B. Love. Damn."
"I do," Blaine whispers. "But I'm not telling Kurt that. It's way…way too soon for that. I'm just…I don't know. He'd freak out if I told him that."
"Guys do seem to run for the hills when you say love," Cooper muses. "But, bro, I don't think Kurt's the kind of guy to run at love. You said he loves romance, right?"
"Yeah, but—"
"Exactly! You can't get more romantic than love, B!"
"You think…you think I should tell him I'm in love with him? Don't you think that's a little forward? I mean, I was kind of an asshole. I basically dismissed his feelings…I mean, I was really oblivious. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but it happened. Maybe he'll feel like I have no right to…to tell him that."
"Blaine," Cooper says gently. "I don't think Kurt's that kind of guy. I mean, I haven't met him…but from what you told me, he's a really sweet guy, he really cares about you…and you said you guys have a really honest relationship right? You tell each other everything?" Blaine fidgets in his chair, making it squeak as he shifts from left to right.
"Well, yeah. But, god, Coop, this is different."
"I know, kiddo. I know it is. It's as different as you can get. But it's a good kind of different."
"What do I say? I'm so nervous. It's like I can't breathe whenever I think about him."
Cooper smiles. Blaine's growing up right before his eyes—or not really, since he can't even be there to watch his little brother grow up. He's missed a lot of birthdays, a lot of important moments, and now Blaine's first love.
"That's what love feels like, B. It's like you can't breathe half the time—the whole time really. But you get used to it. It's scary at first, but after a while you get used to it. You lose your breath when they smile, or laugh, or even look at you."
"Yeah," Blaine says anxiously. "Coop…have you talked to…talked to Sarah recently? I know you two broke up, but—"
"No," Cooper says quickly. He cannot have this conversation. Not yet. "No. We broke up a while ago, B. It's not…we're not…"
"I'm sorry," Blaine sighs. "Coop, I'm sorry." Cooper winces at the sympathy, the concern, in Blaine's voice. He knows Blaine can hear how soft and choked his voice is. "I know you loved her. Love her. I'm sorry. I wish I could be there."
"S'okay," Cooper mumbles. "I'm over it. And it's not like I've been there for you so much, either. We need to work on that." Blaine grins into the phone.
"We do. You should come home…for Christmas? Something."
"I…" Cooper knows he would hate going home. Ever since the Sadie Hawkins Dance, and ever since Blaine came out to their parents, Cooper's hated being home with them. He can so clearly see the way they look at Blaine now, ever since he told them that he's gay. He can't stand it. They look at their own son, his baby brother, with such barely disguised disgust and disappointment. Cooper hates them for it. He doesn't hate his parents—he loves the two people that raised him (even if they weren't around as much as they should've been), the people that taught him how to love, how to look after Blaine, who brought him to the park and kissed him goodnight. But he hates, hates, the two intruders who have taken over his parents' bodies, the two people who are so not his parents that have decided it's okay to hate and push away their own son. "Maybe I could fly you out here?" Cooper suggests lamely. "That would be fun, right? Just you and me in Boston!"
"…Oh. Yeah! That would be really fun," Blaine says. He's excited, thrilled at the fact that he might get to spend time with Cooper when it's just the two of them. But Cooper can detect the hurt, the uncertainty. Blaine can sense his unwillingness to go home, and like always, Blaine wants to blame himself. "But how will you meet Kurt?" Blaine jokes.
"I'll meet him soon," Cooper says. "I'll fly him out here, too." He considers it though, even if he mostly meant it as a joke. "Look, Blaine…squirt. Listen, okay?"
"Okay," Blaine murmurs.
"It's not that I don't want to see you. I want to see you more than anything in the world, B. I just…I just can't come home right now. You trust me, right? You trust me that this has nothing to do with you?"
"Yeah." Blaine seems to understand that Cooper can't say anymore. "I trust you."
The silence is tense for a few moments, until Cooper rolls his eyes at himself and laughs a little.
"What am I saying? This isn't supposed to be about me! I have to get you ready to talk to Kurt tomorrow!"
"Oh, I almost forgot," Blaine smirks. "Totally slipped my mind."
"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Sarcasm. Now, you are entering into the uncharted waters of Cooper Anderson's love advice. Not a lot of people get this privilege, so you better be grateful—" Cooper pauses and listens with a wistful smile at Blaine's snorting laughter through the phone.
"Oh god. Thank you, Almighty Cooper!" Blaine clears his throat and adds in a mock whisper, "the same Cooper Anderson that's only ever had one real girlfriend—"
"Hey! Watch your mouth, kid! I'll have you know, I've had plenty of girls in college! And one-night stands require even more stealth and cunning than girlfriends—or boyfriends—so listen closely!" Blaine grins.
"Alright, alright. What is your fantastic love advice?"
"Well," Cooper starts. "First, you have to remember to act confident. Confidence is key…"
()()()
Cooper rushes home from work the next day, expecting to have at least ten missed calls from Blaine. He actually did turn off his phone today, but when he checked it at five o'clock, he hadn't gotten any missed calls, any voicemails—not even a text. When he checks his answering machine, he's got nothing. He's starting to get a little worried. Did something bad happened when Blaine told Kurt? Did Kurt break his heart, and now Blaine is lying crying somewhere? Or maybe Blaine chickened out and is too ashamed to tell Cooper. Cooper, rolling his eyes at himself, dials Blaine's number, only to get his voicemail.
"Hi, this is Blaine, sorry, I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll call you back! Bye!" It's so Blaine. All cheerful and adorably earnest. Cooper can't help but laugh whenever he hears it.
"Blaine Anderson, if you do not call me back within the next hour, I am going to be very upset with you. You can't just tell the boy you love that you're in love with him and then not call me. What am I supposed to think, hmm? So yeah. And also, if you chickened out, expect to find me on your doorstep with a very angry…expression. I don't know. But the consequences will be fatal. So yes. Call me. Or else."
Cooper hangs up, feeling pretty smug with himself. He waits a few minutes, just standing in his kitchen, before he starts to make dinner, just for something to do. After he eats, Blaine still hasn't called back, so he turns on the TV just so that he doesn't start doing something incredibly cliché, like pacing the length of his apartment.
It's not until what feels like years later, when Cooper's just starting to drift off to a Law and Order episode that he's seen a billion times, that his phone buzzes in his pocket. Cooper jumps and digs it out in a record two seconds, sliding his thumb across the screen.
"Finally. Goddammit, B."
"Well, hello to you too, Coop. Rude." Cooper opens his mouth furiously, than closes it again. Blaine's voice…there's no way to describe it, really. It's like Cooper can feel all of the happiness and disbelief radiating off his brother's entire body from hundreds of miles away.
"Hi. Tell me everything. Now."
"Tell you everything about what?" Blaine asks innocently. Cooper knows he's kidding, he can see the cheek-splitting grin on his face through the phone. " I told him."
"And? Come on, B, I'm dying here. Are you dating? Did he say I love you back?"
"Oh…about that…" Blaine bites his bottom lip. "I…I didn't tell him I love him. I tried to…it just. I couldn't get it out." Cooper is silent for a long moment.
"What did you tell him?"
"I…" Blaine swallows, but he can't keep the smile off his face. "He asked why I picked him to sing that duet with…and I told him that…well."
"What?" Cooper asks.
"It's really…dorky." Blaine sighs, and Cooper knows he's either running a hand through his hair or rubbing the back of his neck. "Cheesy." Cooper grins. He knew Blaine wouldn't be able to resist slipping some romantic lines in there.
"Tell me anyway!"
"Okay…so I tried to explain to him that feeling I got…I get around him now. I told him that…that...oh god I can't say it. You'll make fun of me."
"Blaine," Cooper warns. "I going to make fun of you even more if you can't say it."
"Fine. I told him that there's a moment when I said to myself…that...um, there he is. You know that realization kind of thing? And that…that I'dbeenlookingforhimforever."
"What?"
"I…I told him that I'd been looking for him forever. Don't say it, Coop."
Cooper tried to hold it in—he really, honestly did. But god. He could feel the weight of Blaine's glare through the phone as he howled with laughter, rolling right off the couch and onto the floor.
"Cooper," Blaine whined after a while. "Stop. Stop laughing at me. Kurt liked it, okay?"
"O-okay, okay. God, Blaine, that is so cheesy." Cooper gasps and clutches his side, trying to catch his breath.
"I know. But it just came out!"
"Okay, so what did you say next?"
"I…" Blaine groans. "God, now that I say it to you it sounds so cliché. But I promise it went with the moment! I tried…I tried to say 'I love you.' But I just couldn't. I don't know why, I was scared. But I said 'you move me.' instead. With his song. Do not laugh. I swear, I will murder you." Cooper does manage to hold himself back, though barely. He presses his lips together.
"Did you at least act confident? And then what happened? What happened to our entire planned speech highlighting all the points in your relationship?"
"I don't know," Blaine admits. "I was going to say all that. But then I saw him and I just forgot everything. I don't think I even came off as confident. I mean, I made the first move, and I held his hand, but I couldn't stop shaking and I hardly knew what I was saying I was so nervous."
"Wait, made the first move?"
"I…I kissed him." Blaine listens to the dead silence on the other line, before Cooper whoops loudly.
"You kissed him? Damn, Blaine! That's…that's fantastic! I knew there was some of my confidence in you somewhere! He kissed you back right? What kind of kiss—a peck or a full-blown real kiss?"
"Thanks…? And yes. It was a real kiss." Blaine sounds breathless all of a sudden, just thinking about his first kiss with Kurt. It makes his knees weak, thinking about the warm feeling of Kurt's lips, Kurt's hesitant sweep of tongue, Kurt's hand cupping the side of his face. "God, it was definitely a real kiss." Cooper whistles.
"Damn," he says again. "Just…damn. No sex in the practice room?" Blaine squeaks a little, flustered, and Cooper's mouth drops open. "Whoa, whoa, what? Was there sex in the practice room, Blaine?" Holy shit.
"No, no!" Blaine exclaims. "But…but there was a really, really awesome make-out session on the couch."
"Blaine!" Blaine laughs.
"I was the one who said we should practice! But he…he wanted to keep kissing, and he's so distracting and gorgeous—"
"Wow, Blaine, you're in so deep, little bro."
"I know," Blaine sighs. But he's smiling, dazed and love-struck.
"So….that's why it took you so long to call."
"Yeah," Blaine says. He doesn't even care anymore, he doesn't feel embarrassed. "I was with Kurt." Cooper beams at the simple joy in Blaine's voice when he says Kurt's name.
"I'm happy for you, B. Even if you blatantly ignored my love advice."
"Oh shut up," Blaine laughs. "And thanks. You helped a lot, though. I couldn't have done it without you. I'm not very brave sometimes, even though I tell Kurt to be." Cooper waves his hand in dismissal, even though he knows Blaine can't see it.
"Oh, everyone's a coward when it comes to love. Wait. That didn't come out right. I meant…it's normal to be scared when confessing your feelings." Blaine laughs at Cooper's fumbling.
"I know. Thanks, Coop. You really are the best brother anyone could ask for. I've got to go now, though. I promised Kurt I'd call him before I went to bed."
"Aww, the honeymoon phase has started already. I wish I was there, I'd take a picture of your puppy-eyes right now. And don't lie, I know you're making them."
"Grow up, Coop," Blaine groans, but there's no venom in the statement. Cooper grins cheekily.
"Never. Alright, I'll leave you and Kurt to your phone sex, then. Goodnight, baby brother. I'll talk to you later. Oh, and congrats."
"Thanks," Blaine smiles. He ignores Cooper's sexual comment, even though the tips of his ears are bright red. "And goodnight. I'll call you."
"Okay. Bye, B, love you."
"Bye! Love you too."
As soon as Cooper hangs up with Blaine, he flops back onto the couch with a huge sigh of relief. He's so, so happy for Blaine. Like, ridiculously so. There's a huge grin on his face, and he could fly he feels so light. Blaine deserves a break—he's had so much crap he's had to deal with over the years, just with their parents and those stupid dumbass kids beating him up (Cooper's never forgotten what they did to Blaine). But more importantly, Blaine deserves someone to love him. And Cooper hopes with all that he is that Kurt loves Blaine, because he can't stand to see his little brother's heart broken again. It breaks everyday when their parents reject who he is, and it broke when those boys hurt him—people who Blaine thought were his friends, or at least trusted them.
But this. Kurt. Kurt is opening Blaine up to a whole new level of possible hurt and heartbreak—and god, Cooper's scared. He's scared out of his mind. He knows he's more scared than Blaine is—Blaine just throws himself into what he loves, especially if it's another person. Cooper's so, so happy that his little brother is happy and in love. Hell, he's so happy that Blaine knows it's okay to be in love with another boy. That in itself is a miracle because of how Blaine was raised.
But Cooper is also…strangely empty. Like…like a part of him is missing. Maybe like Blaine is finally growing up, moving past his childhood, moving past a part of their lives that Cooper has always seen as sacred. Cooper knows Blaine loves him, but he is moving on with his life now, he's growing up so fast, and god, when did that even happen? Cooper feels like he's missed so much.
But he also knows he's gong to be there for Blaine no matter what.
Suddenly, Cooper stands and stomps over to his computer. Screw his parents. Screw his fear. He is going home for Christmas. He is going to suffer through the family dinner and the thoughtless gifts, if only to be with Blaine.
Of course, it's once he gets to the page to book his flight that he freezes up again. He can't do this. He can't. He can't look in his parents' eyes and see their indifference towards the one person he loves more than anyone in the whole world. He can't look at them and not want to get Blaine the hell out of that house, one way or another. He can't look at them and not be scared for Blaine's sanity, and his big, loving heart. Cooper stands again, ashamed, and so angry with himself.
He grabs a bottle of tequila from the cabinet that is usually reserved for parties only, and pops it open.
"I'm sorry, Blaine," he whispers.
He collapses face-first on the couch, feeling so much happiness, relief, anger, fear, and self-hatred that he doesn't knows what to do with himself. He sends out a desperate prayer, suddenly (plea? he's not even praying to a god, really, just begging whoever or whatever is out there).
"Please let Kurt take care of him," Cooper mumbles into the couch cushions. "Just don't let Blaine get hurt. Please, just let Blaine be happy."
My baby. :( Cooper is adorable and I love him, that's all I can say. ;) Also, I was wondering if you guys would be interested in reading a little bit more about Cooper's relationship with Sarah. It obviously wouldn't be all about them, and would probably have more of a supporting role to Klaine, but I don't want to include anything you guys don't want to read. So let me know! And thanks so much for reading, you're all the best! Pretty please review, it makes me so happy!
hope
