Shift

"Curse you, Santana Lopez and your ridiculous high heels," Kurt muttered under his breath as he wiped down a table at the diner. Santana had fallen and severely sprained her ankle, requiring her to stay off her feet for a week. Gunther told Santana it was her responsibility to find someone to cover her late-night shift, and after much cajoling and a little threatening, Kurt had agreed to take the first night. So, he found himself working at the Spotlight Diner this Sunday evening.

Things slowed down considerably at the diner after dinner time. It was coming up on midnight, and his last few customers had included some obviously intoxicated teenagers who (thankfully) found the place less attractive after a couple of New York's finest came in for coffee, as well as a weirdo who was very polite but insisted on calling Kurt "Steve."

A couple of college students were now holed up in corner with their laptops guzzling coffee and using the free WiFi, but other than that, the place was empty. "Two more hours," Kurt thought, glancing at the clock for the hundredth time that evening.

He heard the bell as the door swung open and cringed, wondering what new, strange customer would be his next challenge. He turned and raised his eyebrows in surprise. In the doorway stood a man, dressed in a navy wool pea coat and dark jeans. Dark, curly hair peeked out from underneath a gray and navy beanie, and a matching scarf was at his throat. His most surprising accessory was a guitar case slung over his shoulder.

Remembering his job, Kurt walked forward. "Hi, welcome to the Spotlight Diner," he greeted the man with more enthusiasm than he'd shown any other customer that evening. He winced, hoping it didn't sound too perky for so late in the evening. "I'm Kurt, I'll be your server this evening. Can I show you to a table?"

"Hi, Kurt," the man responded brightly, holding out his hand. "I'm Blaine."

Kurt looked down at Blaine's hand and back up at his face. Blaine flushed a little, whether from embarrassment or from coming in from the cold, Kurt couldn't tell, but with a chuckle, he decided to save Blaine's dignity and shake his hand. "Nice to meet you, Blaine," he laughed.

"Sorry," Blaine said, withdrawing his hand. "Not quite sure why I did that." So, the flush was embarrassment, Kurt thought. Kinda cute.

"No worries. At least you got my name right. The last guy in here kept calling me Steve."

"That's ridiculous," Blaine bantered back. He looked Kurt up and down appraisingly before continuing, "You're definitely not a Steve."

A cough from one of the college students in the corner broke the little bubble that the two had formed around themselves and they realized they were still standing near the door. "Come on," Kurt said, "have a seat." He led Blaine over to a seat at a booth. Blaine laid down his guitar across one seat, and sat down on the other side of the table.

"So," Blaine said, perusing the menu that Kurt had produced from somewhere, "what's good here?"

"Well, the coffee's passable for starters," Kurt replied with a face that may have indicated otherwise. Blaine nodded and Kurt took the few steps behind the counter to pour him a cup. "Be right back," he said as he put it down. Blaine watched as he swiftly crossed to the other side of the diner to check on the college kids. They paid their tab and left, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone in the dining room.

Returning to his now only customer, Kurt gestured toward the bench across from Blaine and asked, "May I?" It had been a long shift, and he could use the break. Blaine agreed with a smile. Kurt carefully slid the guitar case over a few inches and perched himself at the edge of the bench.

"So, what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" Kurt said with an exaggerated wink.

"Wow, you talk to all of your customers that way?" Blaine asked, causing Kurt to blanch momentarily. "Kidding! I'm just kidding," Blaine hurriedly added. "Since you ask, I'm just coming from a recording session at a studio down the block."

"A recording session – at this hour?" Kurt inquired.

"Yeah. I'm working part-time as a session musician for the studio – you know, doing background music for demos and such. The pay is lousy, but the guy who runs the place is a friend of a friend, so he agreed to let me use the studio in the evenings to work on my own demo. I just called it a night and was heading for the subway when I saw this place and realized I hadn't eaten in hours."

"Wait a minute," Kurt said, dramatically holding out his hand. "Are you trying to say you are literally a starving artist?"

"Um, no, I think you are the one who said that. Me, I'm just sitting over here hungry."

"Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry!" Kurt said, jumping to his feet and grabbing his notepad. "Geez, Blaine. What can I get you?" he nervously clicked his pen and poised it above the notepad.

Blaine laughed but took advantage of the situation to order because he was really close to starving. Order placed, Kurt disappeared behind the counter to do some busy work, staying close to the kitchen so he'd be able to grab Blaine's order the second it was ready. Returning to the table with Blaine's burger, fries, and milkshake, he asked if Blaine needed anything else. He expected to be asked for condiments or napkins, but wasn't expecting the request that did come.

"Some company, if you're not too busy?" Blaine asked, looking around at the empty restaurant with a smirk. There really wasn't anything to do, and Kurt was due a break, so he accepted with a smile and resumed his place across the table.

The two chatted away happily, Kurt doing more talking at first to allow Blaine to eat. He told Blaine how he was working while going to NYADA, about his roommates Rachel and Santana, and even about Santana's accident which had resulted in his turn on the night shift. Blaine eventually chimed in with his own story of being a music student at NYU, working at the studio as well as playing gigs in a couple of coffee shops.

The conversation flowed naturally, covering common interests, families, and the like. When Blaine was done, Kurt got up to clear the table and Blaine rose to help him. "Blaine, just sit. It's my job to clean up."

"Sorry. Force of habit." Kurt smiled at the well-mannered young man, obviously a product of the private school he'd talked about earlier. He returned to the table to find that Blaine had taken out his guitar and was sitting on the table strumming. "So, I thought this was one of those restaurants where the servers are supposed to perform," he asked, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning.

"Ordinarily, that's just for the lunch and dinner crowd," Kurt paused, tilting his head, "but if I had some accompaniment, I might be prevailed upon to sing for you – provided, of course," he added saucily, "you can keep up."

Blaine laughed and picked a few notes on the guitar, tuning it after having gone from the warm studio to the cold outdoors. "Let's see," he said, narrowing his eyes and staring at Kurt. "If I was a song to be sung by you, what would I be?" He played a few notes, then said, "Ooh, I've got one. You know this?" He played a few opening notes, and Kurt nodded in recognition. Taking a seat on the table across from Blaine's and folding his hands in his lap, he began singing.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blaine's breath caught in his throat at the sound of Kurt's voice. His speaking voice was a little high, but Blaine hadn't been prepared for the bell-like countertenor tone that came out of Kurt's mouth with seemingly no effort at all. He hadn't planned on singing along, but couldn't help chiming in with some background vocals as Kurt continued.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Kurt smiled when Blaine began to accompany him vocally. He had a warm, deep voice that fell together beautifully with Kurt's own. Blaine switched from just singing "bum bum bum" in the background to harmonizing on the lyrics when Kurt reached the chorus.

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

As the guitar sounded its last chord, the two looked at each other. "Kurt," Blaine said with wonder in his eyes and a slight catch in his voice, "that was beautiful."

Kurt blushed at the praise. "I was going to say the same thing to you," he replied shyly. Unable to continue looking into Blaine's golden hazel eyes, he glanced at the clock and saw it was just past two a.m. Blaine followed his gaze and then looked back at Kurt. "Am I keeping you?" he asked.

"We close at two," Kurt answered remorsefully. "I've got to close up and head home."

Blaine gazed at Kurt for a second, then gave a small smile and slipped off the table. "I should get out of your way, then," he said quietly, putting his guitar away and grabbing his coat. Kurt stood from his own table and was just trying desperately to figure out a way to ask for Blaine's number when Blaine suddenly spun around and asked, "Are you working the late shift again tomorrow night?"

Startled, Kurt responded, "What? Um, yeah, I mean, yes, yes I am." This would be news to Santana and Gunther, as Kurt had sworn he'd only be working one night shift this week.

"That's great," Blaine said excitedly, then widening his eyes and backtracking a little, "I mean, I'll be working late at the studio all week, so maybe I could drop by again or something." The warmth in his eyes belied the nonchalance he tried to convey with his voice.

"Sure," Kurt said, his courage returning a little. "That would be nice. You can tell me more about your demo album."

"And maybe we can do another duet – your choice, next time."

"I'd like that."

An awkward silence fell between them. Blaine finally said, "Well, I should go and let you get out of here." He picked up his guitar case and put it back upon his shoulder. "Walk me to the door?" he said, holding out his arm for Kurt to take. It seemed someone else had found his courage, as well.

Giggling, Kurt took Blaine's arm and walked him to the door. "See you tomorrow, Blaine," Kurt said, moving to remove his hand from Blaine's arm.

"See you tomorrow, Kurt," Blaine returned, catching Kurt's hand in his own and holding it lightly. Kurt subconsciously bit his lower lip as Blaine leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek before releasing his hand and walking out the door. Kurt watched him walk away, waving when Blaine looked back.

With a sigh, Kurt locked the front door and headed back to close the diner down. He grabbed his phone as he walked out of the diner and sent a quick text to Santana to let her know he'd cover her late shift for the rest of the week. As he put the phone back in his pocket, he muttered, "Bless you, Santana Lopez, and your ridiculous high heels."

A/N: The song is "Blackbird" by The Beatles, of course. A gorgeous song in its own right, and one of my favorite Glee performances...