The beginning of spring break found Sam and Blaine driving to Kentucky to visit Sam's family. Sam hadn't seen them in forever and he was really excited. Blaine was trying to be excited and happy too. From everything Sam had told him they sounded nice. Sam had told them as soon as he and Blaine started going out, and they didn't seem to be too upset about Sam having a boyfriend. But Blaine was nervous.
His parents wrapped Sam in a tight three-way hug as soon as he stepped out of the car. And then Sam's little brother and sister wedged their way into the middle. One of them—Blaine couldn't tell which—was yelling "I'm the beans!" and the other was yelling "I'm the cheese!" Sam had to explain to him later that it was a thing they did: the Bean and Cheese Burrito game. Sam and his parents were the tortilla.
Sam knelt down and let Stevie climb on his back and Stacey climb on his chest. He stood back up, with both kids hanging on, and said, "Mom and dad, this is my boyfriend, Blaine."
Blaine shook their hands. "Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Evans. Mr. Evans."
They told him to call them Mary and Dwight. "Come on in," Mrs. Evans said. "You'll be in the kids' room."
Blaine opened the trunk, but before he could grab the luggage, Sam's dad had it all and was carrying it into the house.
"Sam, mom said me and Stevie can camp out in the yard if you'll set the tent up for us!" Stacey said.
"Hmm, I don't know," Sam said. "What are you guys gonna do if you see Bigfoot?"
"Everyone knows Bigfoot's territory is uninhabited areas," Stevie said seriously.
Blaine followed Sam's dad to the kids' room and started to unpack. Except there wasn't an empty drawer or anything, and he didn't know where the bathroom was so he didn't know where to put his toothbrush and gel and whatnot. So he just put everything back in the suitcase. Sam walked up behind him and put his arms around his waist. "See? I told you they're nice."
"I never thought they wouldn't be."
"But you were nervous."
Blaine turned around and rested his head on Sam's chest. "Yeah, but only because they're the parents of the boy I can't stop thinking about doing dirty things to."
"Any time you want to actually do those things..." Sam let his hands slide down until they were resting on his boyfriend's ass. He was still being patient, but he didn't want Blaine to think he'd lost interest.
"I know. But right now," Blaine said, taking a step backwards so that Sam's arms fell to his sides, "you have to keep your hands to yourself if you want me to be able to look your parents in the eye."
Sam sighed. "Okay. C'mon. My mom made cookies." He led Blaine to the kitchen, where Stevie and Stacey were sitting, each with two cookies and a glass of milk in front of them, each obviously struggling to wait until they were allowed to eat them. Sam poured a cup of coffee for Blaine and a glass of milk for himself. As soon as they both sat, the kids started devouring their cookies. Sam took one and handed one to Blaine.
"You're not allergic, are you?" Sam's mom asked. The cookies were peanut butter.
"No." Blaine took a bite. "Thank you, these are delicious."
"We really wish we could have driven up to see regionals. Sam tells us you're the star of glee club."
"No, I wouldn't—"
"I didn't say the star. I said he's the best one."
"I wouldn't say that either..."
"Isn't he adorable when he's modest?" Sam asked, smiling widely.
Sam's parents smiled too...a little uncomfortably, Blaine thought. But maybe he was being paranoid. "And you're a...male cheerleader?" Sam's dad asked.
"Well, yes..." He didn't know how to even begin to explain the crazy drama that was Sue Sylvester to Sam's parents.
"Co-captain," Sam said. "Of the national champion team."
"Well, from last year..."
"You'll be national champions again this year," Sam said confidently.
"No," Sam's mom said sharply, startling Blaine. But he quickly realized she was talking to Stevie, who was stealthily reaching for another cookie.
Stevie withdrew his hand. "Sam, could you set up the tent for us now?" he asked.
He asked Blaine quietly, "Are you okay if I...?"
"Yeah, of course," Blaine said, trying to act confident.
"All right, come on, guys. You want a fort or a castle?" Sam asked, leading the kids out the back door.
"Another cookie?" Mrs. Evans offered.
Blaine took one, mainly so he'd have something to do with his hands and mouth. Sam's parents watched him take a couple bites, and he realized his awkwardness around them was stupid. "I know this is probably unexpected for you..."
"No, Sam called and said you were coming," Mr. Evans said.
Blaine shook his head. "No, I meant—"
"We were surprised when Sam told us he was going out with a boy," Mrs. Evans said. "But not because we don't like gay people!"
"It was just surprising because Sam had never shown any...inclination in that direction before," Mr. Evans added.
"But...well, you know how Sam is," his mother said with an indulgent smile.
Blaine was nodding along before he realized he had no idea what that meant. "I'm sorry...?"
"Oh, you know. How he gets excited about something and then he's all in. Like how he made up that superhero persona...Blind, uh..."
"Blond Chameleon," Blaine said.
"Right. And he even made a costume and everything and it was all he could talk about for a while. He doesn't stop to think things through before he dives right in."
"That marriage to Brittany!" Mr. Evans added. "Thank goodness you seem like a level-headed kid."
XOXOXO
"Is it okay if I push the beds together?" Sam asked as they were getting ready to go to bed. "Or would it make you uncomfortable?"
"It would be nice." Blaine knew he should probably think through what Sam's parents had said, and he knew that being physically close to Sam might not be especially conducive to clear thinking, but it was definitely what he wanted. It felt like he needed it, in fact. He helped Sam push. Then he untucked the sheets and blankets where the beds met so they'd be able to touch under the covers.
Blaine took his pajamas out of his suitcase. But then he saw Sam strip to his underwear and get into bed and he decided to do the same. After he neatly repacked the pajamas, of course. He got into the other bed but scooted over so much that he was in Sam's bed, almost of top of him. He pulled the covers over them.
Tracing patterns on Sam's chest and giving him little kisses, he said, "I don't think we should wait anymore."
"Shouldn't wait anymore for what?"
"You know. It."
"Really?" Sam pulled Blaine all the way on top of him and looked up into his eyes. "Are you sure? Now?"
"Not right now. I don't think a quick, furtive fuck in your little brother's bed is what you had in mind when you said you wanted our first time to be romantic."
"No, but..." But, fuck, taking it slow had been harder than he'd expected.
"When we get home."
"Like, as soon as we get home, or...?"
"Um...Do you wanna figure out the details right now?" He placed a wet, nibbly kiss under Sam's ear while rolling his hips against him. "Or would you rather...?" He nibbled some more, running his hand down Sam's side and letting it rest at his waistband.
Sam rolled his head to the side to better accommodate Blaine's nibbling. "I guess there'll be plenty of—oh!—plenty of time to talk in the car." He lightly scratched down Blaine's back, sliding his hands under his underwear and cupping his ass. He pulled Blaine toward him while thrusting up against him. The pleasant jolt caused by that first thrust was accompanied by a not-totally-pleasant bite on the neck, but Sam barely registered that. Only enough to make sure Blaine's mouth was occupied elsewhere, namely, with Sam's mouth, before the next thrust.
His hands never left Blaine's ass. He was sort of obsessed with it, actually, and not only because he wanted to get in it so bad. It was just so perfect. It looked amazing and felt amazing. It was the exact perfect balance of soft and firm. And it fit in his hands perfectly.
Blaine decided that they both needed their underwear off. He rolled off Sam—who still didn't let go of his ass—and pulled down on his waistband.
Light flooded the room from the hallway and they both froze. "Sammy? Stacey's scared."
"Fuck," Sam whispered. "You have to knock before you walk into someone's room, buddy." Blaine was impressed by how calm he managed to sound.
"But it's my room."
"Yeah, but we have a guest. Close the door and knock, and don't come in until I invite you."
The door closed and there was a quiet knock. "Hold on a minute!" Sam said, scrambling to put some pants on. "I'm sorry," he whispered to Blaine before he opened the door. Blaine pulled the covers up to his nose. "What's up, Stevie?"
"Stacey's scared," he repeated. "Bigfoot is out there."
"Jesus," he whispered. Out loud he said, "He only appears in uninhabited areas, though."
"Come outside and check?"
"Okay. Just a second." He bent down to whisper to Blaine, "This might take a while. There's Kleenex on the dresser if you need to..."
He didn't make it back inside at all that night. Stevie convinced him that he needed to stay because Stacey was sure she'd heard Bigfoot outside. (Stacey herself slept peacefully throughout this exchange.) It was Sam's own fault for joking about Bigfoot in the first place. What the fuck had he been thinking? It took him a long time to get Stevie to calm down, and Sam fell asleep in the tent before his little brother finally crashed, propped up against him.
It was not the most restful night's sleep he ever had—shirtless, with no sleeping bag, nothing but the thin tent floor between him and the cold, hard ground. Not to mention a young boy's arm hitting him in the face every so often. So he found himself up early, drinking coffee in the kitchen with his mother, who had always been an early riser.
She asked him the normal questions about school, about the Hudsons and Hummels. When she asked him about his plans for after graduation he dropped his head on the table. "I haven't heard yet," he said, "from any of the colleges I applied to."
"And did you expect to have heard by now?" She'd never done this before either and had even less idea what to expect than Sam did.
"My friends have mostly heard. Of course, they've all gotten in everywhere they've applied."
"Oh. Not everyone has to go to college, Sam."
"No. I know." Neither of his parents had gone, although his mother had wanted to. He didn't want to imply that he thought less of them or anything. He didn't. He appreciated how hard they had always worked to raise him and his brother and sister.
"Do you have any backup plans? Just in case?"
"Look for a job, I guess."
"Does Mr. Hummel need any help at the tire shop? You have a lot of mechanical aptitude. You don't know everything yet, but you pick that stuff up really quickly."
"He probably doesn't need anyone." He actually thought Burt probably would give him a job if he asked. But with all that that family had already done for Sam... And now that he'd repaid Burt by dating his son's ex... Anyway, what reason would he have to stick around Lima after Blaine and everyone else was gone? "I'd probably look around here. I could move back in, couldn't I?" He felt terrible that he hadn't been helping out this whole year.
"Of course. But there aren't a lot of jobs around here right now."
Sam had noticed on the drive into town that the strip club was still there. He didn't mention this, however. He said, "Or there's always the military."
"Yes...But it's not as if I don't already worry about you enough."
He knew she would worry. He knew Blaine would worry, which was why he hadn't mentioned it to him again. But it actually made a lot of sense. He was in good shape; he didn't see any reason why he couldn't get in. He would be able to send money to his family when they needed it, and when they didn't he could save it. Then when he got out—assuming he survived—he'd have a better chance of getting into college and get help paying for it.
He didn't want to talk about it, though.
The coffee wasn't waking him up. He stood and announced that he was going to try to get a little more sleep. "I don't know how you ever get any rest with those two around," he joked.
"Oh, you get used to it. Besides, you were the most difficult."
"I was not!" he protested, although he knew he had been.
"Go back to sleep," she told him. He went into the kids' room, cuddled in next to his warm, sleepy boyfriend, and did just that.
