1x07 Meet the Family - Pt2
Kurt was a nervous wreck as he was getting ready for his first New York performance and was now seriously regretting not allowing his friends and family backstage before the show. He could really need some reassuring words right now.
Kurt had been in school plays before but he had never had a role like this, one that required him to sing, act and dance. There was also the onstage kiss with Nick, the one they still hadn't done and were saving for opening night. What if he freaked out on Nick again when he tried to kiss him, and ruined the whole show for everyone else.
Disappointing everyone and being labeled the school freak wasn't the only thing worrying him though. He really wanted his first consensual kiss to be with Blaine, but since their discussion about it, Blaine hadn't even kissed him on the cheek unless Kurt had done it first and he was getting frustrated with himself. He was sure he was ready to kiss his boyfriend but he wanted it to be special this time and the opportunity for a huge romantic gesture just hadn't arisen yet and Kurt was running out of time.
He was getting more and more worked out up, so far gone into his own world, that he only realized Blaine coming up to him, when the junior and his huge bouquet of red roses were right in front of him and Kurt gasped because wow, those flowers were beautiful. Blaine must have gone all out for him.
"I love them," he gushed but refused to accept them from Blaine. "What if I cut myself and pass out or worse – fall into a hundred year sleep. I can't risk anything that could jeopardize my performance," he explained to Blaine who seemed to have a hard time keeping a straight face. He would have to deal with his boyfriend laughing at him later though.
To his surprise, Blaine gently put the flowers down on his make up chair, took his hand and led him away from the stage and into a small and empty classroom, maneuvering him until he was seated on the teacher's desk and Blaine was standing right in front of him.
"I know you are nervous but you really don't have to worry. I've seen you during rehearsals and you are amazing Kurt. You are going to blow them away," Blaine assured him and Kurt gave him a small smile. He still wasn't fully convinced that he wouldn't cause a disaster of epic proportions but he was ready to believe he wasn't a hopeless case.
"And even if something goes a bit wrong, the audience most likely won't even notice it unless you lose your cool and freak, so really, you can do whatever you want in case you forget the lyrics or something because we can always claim that was supposed to be like that. I forget the lyrics to songs all the time and make up my own and no one has ever questioned me about that. And if someone says something meant to you, they are stupid and not worthy of your time, because you are great and will be a huge star one day. I believe in you, which means you have to believe in yourself."
Blaine kept rambling on, telling Kurt how amazing he was, and Kurt knew he was falling in love with his boyfriend. Before he could catch himself he followed his instincts and leaned forward to briefly press his lips to Blaine's in a chaste kiss that maybe lasted two seconds.
Yes, when he had thought about his proper first kiss, Kurt had always envisioned it being super romantic, maybe at the end of a date, or after being serenaded by the boy he liked. Kissing someone in an empty classroom to shut them up had definitely not been on his list of approved first kiss locations. Was it less perfect though? No way. It had felt natural to lean in and kiss Blaine and he hadn't even had time to be nervous about it or freak out. He had just followed his instincts and he couldn't be happier.
Blaine looked a bit dazed before giving him a dazzling smile.
"You're going to be great out there, I know it," he whispered again and Kurt couldn't help himself either and leaned in again. Their second kiss lasted longer and was less chaste than the first as Kurt began to respond to the movement of Blaine's lips. When Blaine started to lick at his bottom lip he pulled back though, because he didn't want to move too fast and he also didn't want to mess up his makeup a few minutes before the show started.
Blaine didn't look fazed though and only pulled him into a tight hug before releasing him and whispering into his ear, "go get them."
Suddenly his nervous were pretty much gone, and Kurt walked backstage with a spring in his step after saying goodbye to his boyfriend, who would watch the show with his family.
Nick was waiting for him backstage, looking a bit anxious as well, but he relaxed when he saw Kurt approach.
"Are you ready to do this?" he asked and Kurt knew he was talking more about their stage kiss than about the show in general.
Kurt nodded, a smile still on his lips and Nick must have caught on to its meaning because he offered Kurt his fist for a fist bump and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'way to go dude".
Kurt tried not to blush as he touched his fist to Nick's, but in that moment he was just too happy to care. He had kissed Blaine and it had been wonderful.
After making sure Kurt was safely back behind the stage, he tried to stop grinning like crazy as to not alert everyone to the fact that Kurt had kissed him, and made his way into the auditorium to watch the performance with Kurt's friends and family. Everyone was already seated when he found them, but to his relief Kate moved over, so he could sit down between Kate and Mercedes away from Kurt's dad. He couldn't face Mr. Hummel right now and have to lie to his face, especially after what he had just shared with Kurt.
Blaine knew most of his friends would probably think he was crazy for acting the way he was over something as insignificant as a kiss, but it was important for him and Kurt and he wouldn't let anyone tell him otherwise.
Mercedes and Kate both kept trying to ask him questions about his relationship with Kurt, but Blaine was barely paying attention, keeping his eye on Kurt at all times. Kurt was as good as he had predicted he would be, but as the play was drawing to its close after a brief intermission during which a blunt Kate explained to Kurt's dad what 'My Junk' was all about, Blaine was starting to get nervous.
He had seen how Kurt had reacted the last time Nick had tried to kiss him on stage and he was just hoping Kurt would be able to pull it off this time without having a flashback. He had seemed fine when they had kissed, but Blaine was convinced that was only because Kurt was the one to start kissing him.
He only loosened up his grip on the arm rest when Mercedes leaned over and whispered "jealous?" into his ear and Blaine managed to shake his head as he released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding over the realization that the scene was over and everything had gone over well.
"Just worried about his family's reaction," he lied before subtle checking on the Hummel-Hudsons and Rachel. Mr. Hummel and Carole – as she had told him to call her – looked at ease but then again, he couldn't see Kurt's father's face very well in the dark auditorium. Finn was checking the score of some game on his phone, which he found incredibly rude, but at least he wasn't reacting negatively to Kurt kissing another boy, and Rachel was scribbling god knows what into a small notebook on her lap. He didn't check Mercedes and Kate's reactions because he knew they were okay with Kurt dating boys.
Once the show was over, they were waiting for Kurt in the foyer and even Blaine, who had been raised to be polite to people, had a hard time not to snap at Rachel as she went on and on about how she would have made a better Wendla and was hoping the Wendla to Blaine's Melchior would be better. Now at least he knew what she had been writing into that notebook.
Still, Blaine was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt but when she started criticizing Kurt's performance he had to take a step back so he wouldn't so something stupid. Maybe he should introduce her to his brother Cooper because they were both self-absorbed and arrogant when it came to their perceived talents. His brother always meant well though, and he hoped Rachel did too on some level and wasn't just a vicious bitch – pardon his French.
Again the family went out for dinner, this time though to a restaurant Kurt and Blaine had picked, which earned him a grateful smile from Mr. Hummel. Dinner was nice, as Rachel stopped her critique as soon as Kurt's parents were around, but Blaine got a bit flustered when Kurt's dad told him they would come to his show as well because Kurt said he was amazing on stage. Listening to Burt made him a bit sad as well, because he knew his own father would never be this excited about a performance of his unless it was piano or violin. Apparently it went over better in his father's circles to have a son who was a pianist than a son who liked to dress up for the stage and sang show tunes.
"What are your plans for Thanksgiving, Blaine?" Kurt's aunt asked him while they waited for dessert to be served. "Are you going home or staying in the city with your family?"
Blaine shrugged. "I'll probably cook dinner with the other students who can't be with their families. I don't think my dad is going to stay this long or take me back to Ohio with him." He didn't like the pitying looks he received because it was what it was. He knew his father cared, but after the divorce he had thrown himself into work and was usually too busy to spend much time with his son. At least they would spend Christmas together.
… okay, Blaine?" Blaine looked up when he heard his name and blushed when he realized he had missed Kate's question. "Sorry, what?" he asked, hoping his face wasn't turning too red.
"You should come to my house in New Jersey for Thanksgiving dinner if you can't be with your family," Kurt's aunt repeated. Blaine was conflicted. He wanted to spend Thanksgiving with Kurt, but after catching the look Mr. Hummel threw in Kate's direction, he decided he'd better decline. However, before he could say anything on the subject, Kate assured him she wouldn't accept a no unless Blaine had family plans by then.
Blaine would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to a big family dinner with homemade pies and turkey that wasn't bought at a restaurant. He just wished he didn't have to lie to Kurt's family about his relationship with Kurt. But he also knew Kurt needed to tell them on his own terms, so for the time being he would try to enjoy their time spent together and try not to slip up in front of Kurt's family.
The next morning, Kurt invited Mercedes over while his dad and Carole were out sightseeing and Rachel was dragging Finn around as well. He wanted to introduce his best girl from Ohio to his new girlfriends because he wanted all of them to get along.
Santana, Brittany and a reluctant Quinn were already lounging on his and Jeff's bed when Kurt got a text from Mercedes telling him she was outside. He quickly went to the front door to let her in, after instructing the girls not to touch anything.
Maybe he should just stop trying because when he got back, Brit had her head in his closet and Santana was going through his drawers while Quinn sat on the window ledge blowing smoke out into the cold November air. Kurt glared at her until she rolled her eyes and stabbed the cigarette out, before turning to Brit and San, while Mercedes looked on, probably bewildered by his friends' behaviors.
"Britt, I told you before. My clothes don't fit you, so hands off. Satan, why are you going through my drawers again?" he asked going for exasperated but ending up sounding fond instead of strict.
"Just trying to find the porn I'm sure you must have. I know you are not getting any from the hobbit, so I assume your right hand is your best friend," Santana answered blunt as ever and Kurt felt his face color.
As a teenage boy, of course he had tried to watch those movies last summer after Finn's friend Puck had sent him a link to his surprise. However, he had slammed his laptop shut the moment the two men on the screen started going at it because all he could think about were their families and what would they think if they knew what their children were doing or accidentally came across a video like that. He hadn't tried again after, preferring his own rather PG fantasies that heavily featured Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Lautner.
Sex was something he thought about in the abstract but not as something that had anything to do with him. Society had been doing its best to tell him that sleeping with another man was wrong and so far it was working, because Kurt mostly just felt guilty if he thought about another boy when he tried to touch himself.
Kurt shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts while he shooed Santana away from his drawers. "Sorry to disappoint you San, but we aren't all depraved like you," he shot back at her with probably more heat than was warranted in this situation, but he couldn't help it that talk about sex made him uncomfortable.
"Um, hi. I'm Mercedes, Kurt's best friend from Lima," Mercedes tried to lighten up the atmosphere as she fully stepped into the room and introduced herself for which Kurt was immensely grateful.
He sank back onto his own bed and watched the girls get to know each other for a few minutes. He was glad they seemed to be getting along, because he had feared that Mercedes would feel neglected if he talked about and hung out with the other girls a lot.
"So, are you all staying in New York for Thanksgiving as well?" Mercedes asked when Kurt tuned back in. All three of them shook their heads and Kurt felt bad for Santana when he caught her expression. He knew that she wanted to go home but couldn't.
"San and I are spending Thanksgiving with my family," Brittany exclaimed excitedly "And afterward she is going to introduce me to her mom." Kurt looked at Santana in surprise and she gave him a short nod before narrowing her eyes signaling that Kurt was not to question it.
"What about you Quinn?" he asked instead. Quinn just glared.
"My father has ordered me to come home so the family can go to church together and show everyone we are still a family. As if going to church will somehow make it okay that he is sleeping with his secretary, my mom thinks wine is acceptable for breakfast and my sister pretends to be in a catholic college while working in a bar in San Francisco. And they think I'm the black sheep of the family."
That was probably the most he had ever heard Quinn say about her life and it made him realize that just because she was a straight white girl from the east coast didn't mean her life was problem free and her family without faults.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, not wanting to risk her anger by offering up some platitudes.
Mercedes was the one who diffused the situation again. "You promised to tell me all about Blaine as soon as we got rid of your parents, so spill," she demanded and Kurt suddenly was smiling like crazy again.
"We kissed," he announced happily. When no one reacted he added. "On the lips." Mercedes gave him a thumbs up but the other girls were staring at him like he had grown a second head.
"That's all?" Santana asked incredulously. "You are both hot guys and neither of you can get pregnant. If I were you I would be all over that."
Kurt felt his face color even more but he was also getting angry. Why did they have to belittle his experience? Just because the girls apparently didn't have a problem doing god knows what with boys and girls that early in their lives, didn't mean he had to do the same things. He and Blaine had just started dating so they definitely weren't in a rush to progress further. He was sure Blaine would give him all the time he needed.
Santana seemed to realize though that what she had said was pissing Kurt off because she quickly backtracked. "I'm just surprised this is your big news. I mean, you've been dating for like a few weeks now."
"Don't listen to San," Britt chimed in. "She's just teasing. We both want you two dolphins to be happy and have dolphin babies."
Catching Mercedes' confused expression he leaned in and whispered, "I'll explain later," into her ear.
"But seriously," Santana started again, clearly not ready to fully give up on embarrassing Kurt. "If you ever need something, lube, condoms, toys, or whatever else floats your boat, I'm your girl. I do demand to know all the dirty details in exchange for my discreet services."
Kurt groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Santana and Quinn could be a pain in the ass, but he was still thankful that Britt, San and Quinn were in his life now as well. Maybe he was a masochist or something like that.
AN: I hope you don't think their first kiss was anticlimactic but I like things progressing naturally and it felt right for me in that situation. The rest should be up in a few days...
