This chapter is being posted much later than I was hoping. I'm incredibly sorry about that, but August is a tough writing month for me. A lot of real life stuff going down. Anyway, I am expecting one more chapter and (perhaps) an epilogue if I can't wrap it all up in one chapter.
Blaine is hardly ever home. He's always out doing something or hanging with someone. If he's not working he's out with friends, driving across the state and camping in random locations. He and his friends will stay up drinking, laughing, and getting reacquainted with each other—trading college anecdotes and dreams for the future. He's stayed up for numerous sunrises, carting himself back to town in the morning so he can stumble into work on time and exhausted, but with a smile on his face nonetheless. If he's not sleeping in a tent with hordes of other people surrounding him to keep warm, then he's camped out in someone's basement playing video games and drinking beer. Not all of his friends are as adventurous as him. Though really, he has never been this bold or audacious. On days he can't travel far he finds himself relaxing with a few close friends, laughing and reliving inside jokes. He'll get home relatively early and pass out on his bed, leaving the next day as soon as he wakes up.
In between his camping and gaming and biking and swimming, he texts Kurt. They text more than they talk, but they Skype more than they call, so it's an even balance in the end of communicating through the written word and the spoken word.
Kurt seems to be just as busy as he is, but they schedule in weekly Skype sessions that last anywhere from fifteen minutes to four or more hours. When Blaine spends the nights at home, he often finds himself curling up in bed and talking to Kurt until the sun rises.
"I miss you," he says one night. It's so late that the heat has automatically been turned down and Blaine's a bit chilly. "If you were here right now you'd be keeping me warm."
It's three in the morning and he's feeling loopy on lack of sleep, his words barely censored and coming out slow and dopily.
"Yeah?" Kurt smiles. "Says who? Shouldn't you be the one keeping me warm?"
Blaine's lying on his side looking into the computer screen. Kurt's sitting up in his bed, his screen on his lap and his hair a mess.
"We'd keep each other warm," Blaine concludes. "And we'd do it in the nude."
Kurt laughs, his face stretching with happiness.
"Is that what you do to keep warm on those winter camping trips to God-knows-where?"
"Yes," Blaine nods. "Me and my friends all get in a naked, sweaty man pile and hump friction against each other. Big men," he says, his voice low and reminiscent of lame cavemen stereotypes. "Fat men. Men warm. Blaine warm."
"You are ridiculous," Kurt chuckles.
Blaine laughs back.
"There's something wrong with me," he admits.
"Yeah, it's called lack of sleep!" Kurt sasses back, his smile having not left his face.
"I really wasn't joking when I said I can't wait to sleep with you, though," Blaine replies honestly. "I miss just cuddling with you. And we haven't had a chance to cuddle since we've started…" he trails off, not sure how to categorize their current relationship.
"Dating?" Kurt supplies.
Blaine nods. "Yeah."
"Well," Kurt continues, "In less than two weeks we get to see each other and if you're good, I promise immediate hugs and cuddles."
"Two more weeks? I don't know if I can hold out that long," Blaine replies.
Kurt smiles. "Guess you'll have to go back to those big, naked, sweaty men and get your cuddle on with them."
Blaine laughs. "Ew. Gross. Half my friends are so hairy, Kurt! It's disgusting. Even seeing them in their bathing suits gives me the heebie jeebies." He scrunches his face up in distaste.
"Well, don't worry. There's not much hair coming from my side. So I can ensure you hairless cuddles."
"Can you ensure me hairless dates, too?" Blaine asks, sitting up against the headboard and placing his computer on his lap, wanting a better view.
"Huh?" Kurt asks.
"Dates," Blaine replies. "Can we date some more?" He realizes after he says it how lame he sounds, and he laughs at himself. "God, that did not come out how I wanted it to."
"How did you want it to come out?" Kurt asks.
"I was hoping to sound a bit more suave, actually," Blaine laughs.
"I guess we can go on a few more dates," Kurt says slowly. "But I'm kind of hoping we can go on those dates as boyfriends…" He trails off, not looking at Blaine.
"Oh my god, Kurt!I" Blane squeals. "Did you just ask me to be your boyfriend?!"
"Yes. And apparently I'm not very suave, either."
Blaine squeals and does a kicky-feet motion, causing his laptop to bounce up and down.
"Oh my God!" He exhales, dopy smile on his face.
"I hope that's an exclamation of acceptance," Kurt says, pointed look on his face, reminding Blaine that he should probably give Kurt an answer.
"Affirmative, Captain," he grins.
"Oh my God. That smile is so creepy," Kurt looks away, laughing himself.
Blaine doesn't stop smiling, but he does get a bit more sober.
"I was kind of hoping we'd be able to spend our first night as boyfriends together."
"Yeah, me too. But if I promise to stay on Skype with you, do you promise to not hold it against me that I asked you over Winter Break?"
"As if I'm upset you asked me now. Seriously, Kurt, you could have asked me before I met you and I'd still say yes."
Kurt quirks an eyebrow. "Really…" he says drily.
"Well, on looks alone I'd have agreed. The personality's not so bad either," Blaine jokes.
"It is a bit tough getting used to my high maintenance personality, larger than life ego, and incessant need to be pleased," Kurt jokes wryly.
They continue talking and joking and laughing into the morning, and when it gets really late they both lie down and look at each other, speaking softly and quietly, telling each other what they're going to do when they see each other. It's tame and romantic. Kurt promises to give Blaine all the cuddles he needs, and Blaine promises back that he'll hold Kurt's hand everywhere they go and give him a kiss for every day they spent apart. Kurt falls asleep first, and Blaine shuts his laptop, puts it on his desk, and rolls over to sleep. It's almost five in the morning and he has to work at ten, but he certainly doesn't regret his late night. Especially since he got a boyfriend out of it.
The next week and a half goes by quickly. Blaine has a few last get togethers with his friends, hangs out with his family, and makes enough money to hold him over until he gets a job on campus—something he neglected to do his first semester there that got him in trouble with his parents. He even manages to hound Kurt into accepting his relationship request on Facebook, something Kurt is initially unprepared to do, thinking it is silly and tacky, but that Blaine is able to convince otherwise using the extremely dirty tactic of phone sex.
He gets back to school before Kurt does and goes about unpacking. It's a Monday, and classes don't start until Wednesday, but most people are coming in today anyway. Kurt's bus is due to arrive at nine that night, and Blaine promises Kurt that he will meet him at the station, even though Kurt insists that he doesn't have to.
He stops by a corner bakery on his walk to the bus stop to grab Kurt a chocolate chip peanut butter cookie, thinking that while it may not be as romantic as a flower, it's tastier. Plus, it's big and Kurt and Blaine can share it.
When he gets to the bus station he waits against the wall with the other people. The bus comes a few minutes later and Kurt's one of the first people off the bus. When he spots Blaine he smiles, running up to him and hugging enveloping him in a bear hug, cheeks touching.
"Hey there, stranger," Blaine smiles, placing a soft kiss against Kurt's jaw line. "I got you something."
He pulls away from Kurt and hands him the bag with the cookie.
"It's no longer warm. But it's good," he promises.
Kurt takes the bag gratefully and pulls the cookie out, laughing when he sees a few large chunks missing.
"I see someone couldn't wait," Kurt smirks.
"Your boyfriend was hungry," Blaine blushes.
Kurt shakes his head and says, "Of course he was." He takes a bite himself and then grabs Blaine's hand, walking towards the back of the bus where people are grabbing their luggage. Blaine grabs Kurt's duffel while Kurt finishes off the cookie and they walk hand in hand to their bus stop, catching the first one back to their dorm room.
"Want to unpack?" Blaine asks when they walk through the door.
"Later? I really want to eat. I haven't eaten all day." Kurt shrugs out of his winter coat, flipping his shoes off as he walks to his bed and grabs the plastic box stored under it. It has some ramen, stale Cheez-Its, and canned soup. Before break he threw out everything that would spoil.
"Fuck," he says, standing up and kicking the box back under his bed.
"We can order in pizza? Ramiro's is still open. And they'll deliver!" Blaine's sitting on Kurt's bed, kicking his feet back and forth.
"Works for me. Order? I'll start unpacking."
Blaine orders a plain pizza and a bottle of Sprite, too lazy to walk to a store and buy one. After that they get started on unpacking.
"Here," Blaine says. "Give me all the stuff that needs to be hanged up."
Blaine gets to work on that while Kurt unpacks everything else. They talk a bit about their breaks, although they already know mostly everything. When there's a comfortable lull in the conversation, Kurt turns to Blaine and says, "I missed you."
Blaine walks up to Kurt and hugs him, arms squeezing tight around his shoulders and head dipped comfortably in Kurt's neck. "You have no idea," he responds.
They kiss, tongues touching lightly. But they're smiling too much to really do anything other than lightly peck each other. They pull apart when Blaine's phone goes off, alerting him that the pizza delivery man is there.
"Be back." He grabs his wallet and heads downstairs.
When he gets back to the dorm Kurt's in a pair of Blaine's basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt, sitting on Blaine's bed, remote in hand.
"I figured we could eat and watch TV or something. I'm not in the mood to go out," he says.
"Sounds perfect," Blaine replies. He puts the pizza on his desk so he can get changed into his pajamas before putting a few slices on a plate for himself and Kurt. They sit on the bed, backs against the wall, legs entangled and shoulders touching, as they watch TV and talk. When they finish eating Blaine puts the extra slices in their mini-fridge and puts the dirty plate on his dresser. He hops back to his former position and grabs Kurt's hand, entangling their fingers and leaning his head on Kurt's shoulder.
"I'm really glad you're my bee-eff," he tells Kurt.
"Me, too," Kurt replies.
"Next year, though. Next year we'll get our midnight, New Year's kiss."
Kurt nods his head. "Yeah, that sounds fair."
They fall asleep a few hours later above the blankets, hands still clasped.
