A/N: This hiatus is killing me. And the new promo? Gah! I need to see that scene. Hurrrry up!
Blaine hated planes. Hated them.
It wasn't a fear of flying (though he had watched probably too many late at night plane crash documentaries to be completely comfortable with the idea that the plane would definitely stay in the air). It was just the plane itself. It was small, and somehow managed to be unsettlingly quiet, yet so noisy her couldn't hear himself think at the same time and he didn't know how that was possible. The air was stuffy, it was always just a fraction too cold, the plastered on smiled of the flight attendants too fake, the food too stale, and the seats just too uncomfortable.
He hated planes.
He tried reading, but couldn't focus on the words, they blurred into each other and he'd turn the page only to realise he hadn't taken in a bit of what had just happened. He stared blankly out the window, not that he could see much. It was cloudy. Every now and then there'd be a glimpse of green. But mostly it was the pale grey of the clouds staring miserably back at him.
Kurt moved in the seat next to him and Blaine glanced over. His heart skipped a beat at the sight. Kurt had thought to bring his iPod with him and whatever he was listening to seemed to have lulled him off to sleep. His head was on an angle (dangerously close to falling on Blaine's shoulder) and his mouth was open ever so slightly.
He looked so peaceful, so... adorable.
Had it only been a week ago he'd been so close to having him only to freak out and push him away?
It felt like much longer.
They were on their way to LA. Kurt had had a friend of his, Brittany (and while Blaine had known Brittany during the year he spent at McKinley, he hadn't kept in contact with her. He hadn't kept in contact with any of the New Direction guys) send over clothes, but hadn't trusted her to pack anything else properly (and even with the clothes he got her to send over what mattered least to him, he didn't trust the postal service with anything too valuable). The plan was Mel would go with him, because he didn't want to go alone. But at the last minute she had been asked to write about an event for work, and therefore had to go to said event because she needed to payslip. And so, Blaine found himself on the plane.
There was a sudden weight on his shoulder and he sucked in a breath before slowly looking. Sure enough, Kurt was now using his shoulder as a pillow.
It was taking every bit of strength Blaine had to not wrap his arm around the man and pull him closer to him. It was taking an equal amount of strength to not push him away.
He hated planes.
X X X
"Excuse me, sir."
Someone was tapping Kurt's shoulder. He blinked several times.
"We're getting ready for landing, could you wake up your boyfriend?"
"What? Oh, ok." Kurt quickly became aware of his surroundings. He was on a plane, he was leaning against some... one, his arm was slung across their body and they had their head resting against the top of his and their arm on top of his. Crap. Crap. Crap. He quickly pulled himself away. The jerky movement woke Blaine.
"Huh? What?"
"We're landing soon." Kurt said, he pulled out a mirror from his bag and started checking his hair. It was ruffled, and not in the hot 'I just had awesome sex' way, but the 'I've been sitting on a plane for three hours'way, which was not acceptable by any standard. He heard a laugh from beside him and blushed. "Shut up."
"Your hair is fine." Blaine said.
"Says the man who doesn't seem to know what de-frizzer is. Honestly." he reached over and tugged at one of Blaine's loose curls.
"Hey," Blaine slapped his hand away. "I know what it is just fine. I just don't use it anymore."
"Yeah," Kurt laughed. "I think you used more than a lifetime's worth of product while you were in high school."
"Thank you for pulling me out of that phase."
"Your curls are hot. You need to own them."
To hide his steadily growing blush, Blaine teased Kurt. "Aw, you think I'm hot?"
Kurt went bright red. "Shut it."
"I think you're hot too." Blaine leant forward and whispered his Kurt's ear, not quite sure what was possessing him to do so. Kurt shuddered and quickly pulled away from Blaine.
"Make sure all electronic devices are turned off." he said.
"Uh, yeah." Blaine shifted in his seat to be as far away from Kurt as he possibly could. He didn't know what had come over him.
X X X
Melinda grinned at the satisfying hiss of the can of coke she'd stolen from Blaine's fridge as she settled back in the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table and settled in front of the Supernatural marathon that was playing.
She was a genius.
Kurt had been living with her for a week now and they got along famously. Honestly, Mel had never met someone that could so evenly match her in snarkiness (then again, she was severely off game, all this stuff with Blaine had made her soft) and attitude. He was an excellent housemate. He did the washing without being asked, he cleaned and tidied things out of habit. And they got along, which was rare for her.
However, Kurt refused to talk about Blaine. He was excellent at changing the topic, the conversation would move on before she even realised what was happening. Likewise, Blaine refused to talk about Kurt. Only he was more direct about it. He would bluntly say 'I don't want to talk about Kurt.' and leave it at that.
She'd been going to fly to LA with Kurt to get more of his things (though how it would fit in her tiny apartment was beyond her), because he'd begged and pleaded (well, it more with his eyes than his words) to not have to go alone. So she'd caved. Because Kurt did the whole 'kicked puppy' look so well, it was adorable and he could probably get anything he ever wanted off anyone with just that look.
And then she'd come up with a genius plan.
At the last minute she'd pulled out. Fabricating a story about a 'work event' (well, the event existed, and she had been asked to go, but used her impromptu trip to LA to get out of it, she weaved a complicated web) so... Blaine was forced to go.
Right now, Kurt and Blaine were on a plane, next to each other... maybe even talking. Or maybe not... maybe they'd just be all cute and staring into each others eyes and holding hands and all that shit that she helplessly found adorable. Or, alternatively they'd just be awkward and silent (which unfortunately was the most realistic scenario).
Either way, she was a genius.
Two episodes later (and she really needed to get laid or something because Jensen Ackles was looking so good it nearly hurt) there was a knock on the door. She groaned, and decided to leave it.
They knocked again. Apparently they weren't going anywhere.
She ran fingers through her hair several times to try and fix it... but whatever. Who would be visiting Blaine on a Saturday afternoon?
"What?"
When she swung the door open she was surprised to find a dishevelled looking Tyler Blake. The hood of his jacket hid unruly, messy hair and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked awful.
"You look like shit." Mel saw no point in not pointing it out to him. She already wasn't a fan of this guy. "Why are you here?"
"Is Blaine here?" he asked. He pushed the hoodie down and ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more.
She shook her head.
"When we will be back?"
"Tomorrow night. He had to fly out to LA."
"Oh," the blonde boy looked lost for words. "Why?"
"Uh, not sure." she lied. "Are you alright?" She had to admit, the person standing in front of her was a stark difference to the person she'd met a week ago. That Tyler had been cool and composed, confident to the point of being arrogant. This Tyler looked unsure, nervous and… a little broken.
Only two months ago she would have been the sort of person to simply say. 'Blaine's not here. So, bye.' And shut the door in his face. Now she was… softer… and, kinder. And she couldn't help but ask that question.
He shook his head.
"Wanna come in?"
He nodded. She suppressed a groan as she realised, that was not a question to be asked out of politeness because she now she was stuck with he guy and had no idea what to do. Tyler hadn't made the greatest of first impressions on her and after Blaine's date with him had gone terribly she'd hoped she'd never have to see him again.
"Uh, do you want a drink?"
"What's the strongest you've got?" he asked
She raised an eyebrow. "Coke. The Cola kind, just to clarify." (Blaine had finally decided a 'no alcohol in the apartment ever' was a good policy to have)
He shrugged. "Yeah, sure."
She tossed the can to him and he caught it with one hand, she kept her face neutral, hiding the fact she was mildly impressed.
Mel went and sat down on the couch, and Tyler followed her lead. She watched Jensen Ackles kill something (and look oh so hot while he did) then sighed, she couldn't believe she was about to do this.
"So, why are you here?"
He shrugged. "I wanted to talk to Blaine."
"Blaine's not here and I'm all you've got. Why'd you wanna talk to him?"
He was silent for a while. "She's getting married."
"Who?"
"Kayla. We've been broken up two weeks and she's engaged."
"Oh." Mel said. "Uh... well, bright is, that's not going to last."
Tyler slumped forward, burying his head in his hands. "Yes it is. She got back together with the guy she was with before me, her high school sweetheart or something. I think she was always in love with him. Just like, apparently, Blaine was always in love with Kurt. And what does that leave me with? Nothing. Fucking nothing. No one."
Mel bit her lip. "I know how that feels." She said.
"Yeah, right. Someone as beautiful as you?"
"The first guy I ever loved was just using me. He didn't care about me at all. But I was stupid and young and kept going back to him even though he... he hit me and pressured me into stuff and... you know, that kind of crap people shouldn't go through but they do." She had no idea what she was doing, why she was telling him this stuff? She hadn't even told Blaine about it (she'd tried, several times, but always ended up backing out, always too afraid of what he would say) and here she was telling Tyler Blake of all people. "And it's like… I'm kind of damaged goods you know? Who would truly want me?"
"I'm sorry." Tyler said, he reached out put a hand on her knee, in a comforting way. "Really I am."
"It gets better." She let out a short laugh. "The second guy I ever loved, the only person I've ever truly been able to let in, turned out to be gay. Very gay."
"Wait..."
She nodded. "God, I have no idea why I'm telling you any of this. Don't tell him. Please."
"You're in love with Blaine?" He sounded surprised.
"Was. I wasin love with Blaine. I mean, I suppose part of me still is but... I see how happy he could be with Kurt, if they ever get over their issues, and there's no way I'm getting in the way of that."
"Guess we're in the same position then." Tyler said
"No." She shook her head. "We're not. I always knew I never had a real shot with Blaine. You however... you probably did."
"If it hadn't been for Kurt." he said.
She nodded. "If it hadn't been for Kurt."
"Do you think they'll make it work for them?"
"For their sake, I really hope so. I mean, the tension between them is like… something I thought only existed in movies. Not real life." She shook her head. "It's borderline ridiculous, actually." She muttered the last part more to herself.
"You know what I'm suddenly thinking?"
"No. I'm not a mind reader."
"Damn, that would have been sweet. But really, I'm thinking... it's Saturday, the night is still quite young. We've both established we're equally pathetic, we should go out."
"Go out where and do what?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, but we're in New York City. The possibilities are endless. What do you say?"
She bit her lip. "I say... and really, I can't believe this, we need to dress up more before we go anywhere."
"I live on the other side of the city."
"The jeans are fine. And I'm sure Blaine has something that would fit you."
"Blaine who has no idea about clothes Blaine? I mean, I honestly didn't think I'd ever meet anyone who dressed so poorly."
"It's not that bad. And I'm sure most of what you've seen has bee the stuff he wears to work. He has more than that. Come on."
She stood up and grabbed his hand pulling him up as well and lead him to Blaine's bedroom.
"Oh this could be so suggestive right now. I love a woman that takes control."
She turned back and winked at him. "I'll keep that in mind."
As she searched through Blaine's wardrobe she couldn't help but think about how weird the situation was. Her she was, with Tyler Blake, the guy who had a record of being a bit of (or, a lot of) a jerk and she was actually going to go out with him. Most probably to a club. It felt like forever since she'd really been out anywhere, though really it was only about a month. She loved the clubbing scene. There was just something about dancing, all hot and sweaty with a stranger, having the music pulse through that she just loved. It was addicting and it had been far too long since she'd gone out.
She finally found a plain white shirt of Blaine's that he never worse because it was too big. She tossed it to Tyler. "Here, he won't even notice it missing." She said.
"It looks very... school boyish."
"Leave the top few buttons undone, and keep it untucked. It could be kind of hot."
"True, I can pull off most looks."
"You really need to learn to be less arrogant."
X X X
"Well, this is it."
"Home sweet home?"
"Not anymore."
Blaine stepped into the apartment. It was bigger than he'd expected. And very tidy. Everything was shades of grey and white, clean cut and polished with that sleek modern feel. Currently, the room was lit up in an orange glow with the setting afternoon sun. It didn't feel much like the place Kurt Hummel would live. Blaine knew Kurt. Blaine knew Kurt couldn't resist some colour, some variation. Sure, sleek and modern was his thing, but not to the point of it being this impersonalised and 'model home' esque. Everything was dull and muted.
The incident on the plane had gone unmentioned by both of them. It was an unspoken agreement between them to not bring it up. The drive from the airport had been one very long hour of silence (with the original Broadway cast recording of Wicked filling the dead air).
"It's... clean." He said finally.
"I'm a tidy person."
It went silent and neither knew what to say.
"Are you hungry? We should get food." Kurt said.
Blaine nodded. "Yeah that would be good."
"There's a nice restaurant a few blocks over. We can walk there, if you'd like. I'm kind of sick of sitting down."
"Yeah, alright."
It was close than a couple of block, and several of the staff seemed to know Kurt and said hello to him as they walked past to their table. Blaine wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the waiter that lead them to their table had at one point whispered to Kurt.
"This new guy's cute. So glad you got rid of Karl."
And Kurt had gone a bright shade of red.
Being out together was… different.
It was slightly uncomfortable, and awkward. But they managed to keep the conversation flowing well enough, keeping to very safe, very mutual topics.
As Blaine paid the bill (after being extremely persistent about it) he couldn't help the ache in his chest, because missed this. He missed it so much. The idea of being able to buy Kurt dinner and it not being strange, the idea of just being out with him, talking about everything and nothing. Just being able to look at Kurt and know that he was his. He missed it so much it was actually hurting.
His credit card was handed back and he glanced over to Kurt who was waiting by the door of the restaurant.
Who cared about the past anymore? Their relationship had ended six years ago over stupid miscommunication. They had been young and the pressure of a long distance relationship had become too much.
He walked over to Kurt and smiled, when Kurt gave him a smile back, Blaine was positively grinning. He resolved then and there that he was going to prove to both of them that it could work between them. It would take small baby steps. But they'd worked together once before, who said they couldn't again?
X X X
They stared at the bed.
"Oh," Kurt said. "I didn't think this through."
"Think what through?"
"Where we're going to sleep."
"I'll take the couch."
Kurt shook his head. "No. The couch is leather and hard and really uncomfortable. I'd take the floor but... It'll mess up my sleep and that's... what would you say to sharing the bed?"
"I don't think..." Sharing a bed wasn't taking it slowly. Sharing a bed wasn't small steps. It was more… one giant leap and Blaine didn't trust his subconscious enough.
"It's a king size, and we could out pillows down the middle. There'll be plenty of room. We won't be... sleeping on top of each other or anything."
Blaine had to quickly push away the image of Kurt cuddled up against him, using him essentially as a pillow, the two of them wrapped around each other.
"Uh… ok." He couldn't believe he agreed. "It's only one night anyway."
How much damage could it do?
A/N: When there's opportunity for two people who clearly really like each other but won't do anything about it to share a bed… yeah, I'm going to take it. That is all.
I didn't make good on most of the promises of last A/N but that is because they've been bumped to chapter 12 :). Blame Mel and Tyler and their scene that wasn't supposed to happen, but did for that one (well, it was going to happen, just not in this chapter, but there you go).
Oh also, the Alpha Male thing? Torn. Completely torn to the point of I stopped voting. Jensen and Blaine against each other? This fangirl hates it. Haaaatteesss it. I mean, my two biggest celebrity crushes ever and you want me to chose?
No. Not doing it.
