A/N: To all my lovely readers, if you're still here with me, THANK YOU! I'm so sorry it took me a month to update. Real life interfered in far too many ways, but some of those ways are finished now, so hopefully I can get back into a better writing schedule. Consider this my holiday gift for your patience. I wish all of you & your families a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy :) xo
As Kurt drove them to BreadStix, Blaine sang along to the various Christmas carols playing on the radio. Kurt smiled fondly at his boyfriend and reached out to squeeze his hand. When they pulled into the restaurant's parking lot he was relieved to see only a few other cars there. He wanted to be able to enjoy his first date with Blaine without having to worry about interference from any of the neanderthals he went to school with. Thankfully, it looked like they were all still stuffing their faces with their families.
After Kurt turned off the car, Blaine leaned over and whispered "Wait there." Then he opened the passenger car door and ran around the vehicle, so he could open Kurt's door for him.
Kurt couldn't suppress his happy giggle, as Blaine bowed and said "After you, sir."
"Thank you, kind gentleman," Kurt replied sincerely.
Blaine offered Kurt his arm and noticed when Kurt hesitated with a quick glance around before placing his arm through Blaine's. Blaine knew better than to take it personally. He remembered all too well what had first brought them together. He was just happy to be in Lima with Kurt and hoped they could make happy memories to replace the painful ones Kurt already had in abundance.
When they entered the restaurant, Kurt disentangled himself from Blaine to step up to the hostess booth. As they were led to their table, Blaine purposely remained a step behind, but once they were seated, he didn't hesitate to link their ankles together under the table. He knew better than to try to hold Kurt's hand, especially after he saw Kurt take inventory of each patron already seated at BreadStix. It seemed that no one caused Kurt any great concern though, because when his eyes settled back on Blaine he returned Blaine's smile easily.
Kurt relaxed even more after the waitress took their drink order and didn't seem to care (or notice) that they were two guys looking a little too longingly across the table at each other for some people's comfort.
"So, should we act all awkward now, you know, to give this first date some authenticity?" Blaine teased with a wink.
Kurt blushed and shook his head. "I don't think I could ever act awkward with you. Even when we barely knew each other."
Blaine smiled in relief. He felt they were long past the first date stage, but he hadn't been sure if Kurt would agree.
"This may be our first date by the standard definition, but I'll always think of our Skype date on your balcony with the snow falling and two cups of hot chocolate, as the true beginning of us," Kurt revealed.
"Me too," Blaine stated.
"Well that's good I guess, since we have a ton more Skype dates ahead of us," Kurt mused.
"No melancholy talk tonight. Or at all during this week actually. We'll have plenty of time to miss each other once I'm back home. Let's just focus on the time we have together and make some memories to get us through until the next time," Blaine insisted.
Kurt nodded, "My boyfriend is very wise."
Blaine smiled at the praise. He was serious though, he didn't intend to dwell on the distance between them until it was reality. He knew that he might be setting himself up for a painful shock when he got home, but he just couldn't imagine wasting a moment of worrying about the future, when he had Kurt sitting right in front of him.
So instead they enjoyed every second of sitting across a table from each other, being able to clearly see every twinkle in an eye, every blush (no matter how pale), and every touch. Although they were both still hesitant to draw attention to themselves, once the table was crowded with plates, glasses and food, it was easier to sneak in gentle caresses and the occasional hand holding. Their conversation flowed, as it always did for them, with no awkwardness or uncomfortable silences.
Kurt told Blaine about some of his family's holiday traditions, like going to cut down their own tree and how he'd had to threaten Finn's life when his brother attempted to hit him with a snowball. Blaine chuckled.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting Finn. Actually, I'm really looking forward to meeting all your friends," Blaine confessed.
Kurt's heart thudded in his chest. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. Blaine had flown hundreds of miles to meet him face-to-face, had already asked him to be his boyfriend, but for some reason, the thought of Blaine meeting his friends gave his heart a whole new reason to dance. He thought about it a moment longer, maybe a moment too long, because Blaine looked like he was beginning to think he'd said something wrong.
Kurt reached across the table and grabbed Blaine's hand, "I can't wait for them to meet you." As soon as the words left his lips, Kurt understood why it was so important. Up until now, Blaine had been in a separate world from the rest of Kurt's life. He'd been an escape when Kurt needed it most. But he didn't need that anymore, nor did he want it. For them to truly be boyfriends, Blaine needed a place in Kurt's everyday life. A place where he mixed with everything else. Kurt was more than ready for his friends to meet Blaine, so when he gushed about how amazing Blaine was, or when he cried about how much he missed him, his friends could picture the actual boy and not just the 'fantasy' they all had in their minds. Yes, he was more than ready for Blaine to join his reality.
After dinner, and a shared piece of cheesecake, Kurt drove Blaine to his hotel.
"I'm sorry to end our date so soon, but I'm really exhausted," Blaine apologized for the third time during their short drive into downtown Lima.
"Blaine, I understand. You woke up this morning in New York. I think it's understandable that you're tired. Besides, this means we can get an early start tomorrow. My favourite coffee shop-" Kurt didn't get to finish his sentence.
"The Lima Bean." Blaine grinned widely at Kurt from the passenger seat.
"I see you've been paying attention," Kurt replied with a wide smile of his own. "Yes, The Lima Bean, is just a couple blocks away from your hotel. So let's meet there for date number two tomorrow morning. Okay?"
"Sounds perfect," Blaine reached over and squeezed Kurt's thigh.
Kurt was grateful that he had pulled into the hotel's parking lot that instant because Blaine's touch was very distracting and driving them off the road was not how he wanted their first date to end. In fact, Kurt was suddenly sad that it was ending, despite what he'd just said to Blaine.
Blaine noticed Kurt's hesitancy to say good night. "Will you walk me to my door?" Blaine inquired. Always the gentleman, Blaine was careful not to invite Kurt into his empty hotel room. That just would not be proper for a first date, no matter how badly he wanted to.
"Yes. Absolutely!" Kurt exclaimed and jumped out of his car, grateful for the excuse to spend a few extra minutes together.
Blaine tried to hide a giggle at Kurt's enthusiasm, but failed miserably. Kurt would have been offended if he wasn't so happy to be at Blaine's hotel, knowing they'd see each other in the morning. And he was grateful that Blaine had made his expectations clear. Kurt wasn't quite ready to be alone in a hotel room with his brand-new boyfriend.
Blaine picked up his room key from the front desk and wheeled his suitcase behind him, as Kurt stepped up and pushed the button to call the elevator. They rode to Blaine's floor in a comfortable silence, holding hands as they smiled shyly at each other.
Blaine stopped in front of Room 527, "This is me." He placed his suitcase in front of the door and tugged Kurt into his arms.
"Getting on that airplane this morning was the best decision I've ever made," Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear before he nuzzled his neck.
Kurt felt his knees weaken. He missed the support of his bed from when they'd kissed earlier that day. It was very different now that they were standing up. Kurt could feel Blaine's body pressed against his as he leaned back against the wall. Their lips met in a searing kiss, all the hesitancy of earlier gone completely. Kurt moaned into their kiss as they both opened their mouths and let their tongues explore, sharing the taste of the cheesecake in a completely different way now. Kurt placed his hands on Blaine's hips and pulled him in closer. It was Blaine's turn to moan when they were lined up chest-to-chest and groin-to-groin.
Kurt would have been embarrassed that merely kissing Blaine was causing him to get half-hard if he hadn't felt Blaine's growing erection against him. And just that thought, that he was the cause of another man's erection sent shivers down his spine and his hips jolted forward seeking friction for them both.
As Kurt's hips tried to find a rhythm, Blaine put his hand on Kurt's chest and pushed himself off a couple of inches, creating a small space between their bodies. Kurt whined at the loss of contact and Blaine leaned forward to give him a chaste kiss.
"This is," Blaine paused as he tried to get his breathing under control, "amazing. But this isn't where I want to be standing the first time we orgasm together."
Kurt turned bright red and hid his face in his hands.
"Hey, don't do that," Blaine admonished as he reached up and pulled Kurt's hands into his own. "This might have been our first date but we are long past pecks on the cheek to say good night. Don't you think?"
Kurt nodded.
"I've, um, dreamt about this a thousand times already. What you would taste like, what noises you would make..." Blaine trailed off as he swam into Kurt's bright blue eyes, that were currently wide with surprise.
"Me too," Kurt confessed as he leaned forward and kissed Blaine softly on the lips.
"And I want to do it all with you, just not tonight," Blaine spoke softly, wanting nothing more than for Kurt to know that this had zero to do with rejection and everything to do with making sure they took each step together when the time was right.
Kurt understood immediately. He could see only love reflected back at him in the gold of Blaine's eyes. And the fact that Blaine had stopped them, had prevented them from going too far too quickly, eased any remaining anxiety in Kurt's heart about Blaine being more experienced than him. Almost too embarrassed to admit it to himself, but Kurt knew that he wouldn't have stopped them. Blaine felt too good, too right, pressed up against him, but when he'd gone home alone afterward, he would have felt used. Kurt was amazed, yet again, at how wonderful Blaine was, he hoped that amazement never went away.
Thirty minutes later, Blaine stood in a cold shower replaying the scene in the hallway, while his hand finished what he wouldn't let Kurt. He'd been right to think that kissing Kurt would be unlike any other kiss he'd ever had. He had felt the warmth from Kurt pulse through his entire body as his smell enveloped him in a way that he had never experienced before. And while standing in a shower stall masturbating, seemed like a lonely way to finish what had been a wonderful day, Blaine was grateful he hadn't let them get out of control. They may not know when they will see each other again after this week, but Blaine was determined not to let that set the pace. If this relationship was going to last, then they both needed to respect each other and themselves at every stage. He knew, without a doubt, that Kurt wouldn't have respected either of them in the morning if they hadn't stopped. Blaine knew it was unrealistic to expect that he'd always make the right decisions, especially in a relationship, but he wanted to always do right by Kurt and that's what tonight had been about.
All dried off and curled up on the hotel bed, Blaine felt relaxed enough to open his laptop and log into tumblr. It was time to see what his friends had been up to in his absence.
His heart froze in his chest when he saw that his dash was filled with posts about KLAINE being everyone's 'real life OTP' and for a minute he wished he didn't know full well what that meant. It also didn't help that every single Klaine related post seemed to have the same source - WarblersAreMyLife. He was going to kill Jeff when he got home. Although, the gif of Kurt (in his cheerleading costume) and Blaine (in his Dalton uniform) sitting in a tree, while the letters K-I-S-S-I-N-G flashed on the screen in rainbow colours was hilarious. But he would never admit that to Jeff.
Blaine hesitated before opening his inbox, but knew hiding from it wasn't going to make it go away.
warblerwes asked: Since when do you fly to another STATE without telling anyone?! We will discuss this when you get back. What if there had been an emergency Warbler meeting, Blaine?! Less than impressed with your impulsive behaviour, Wes
Anonymous asked: Get it, Anderson!
WarblersAreMyLife asked: I may have told a few of the guys that you're in Ohio visiting with Kurt. Hope that was okay. Jeff
WarblersAreMyLife asked: PS I may have also told all of tumblr. You're welcome!
warblerwes asked: I'm sorry for my earlier message Blaine. I was clearly in shock and I shouldn't expect you to put your life on hold for the sake of the Warblers. I hope Kurt knows how lucky he is to have you. Sincerely, Wes
SassyWarbler asked: Blaine, you flew to Ohio to meet Kurt?! That's awesome. I hope one day a guy thinks I'm worth that kind of effort. Let's meet for coffee when you get back. Love ya, Trent
newyorkbound asked: Blaine, I know we just saw each other, but it didn't seem right to end the day without sending you a message on here. Also, I think we may need to discuss your friends' enthusiasm for our relationship ;p I especially love the image of us sitting in a tree! Kurt xo
Blaine's emotions were all over the place, but he was relieved to read Kurt's message and know that his boyfriend wasn't freaked out by the posts on tumblr.
Blaine typed responses to his friends: he told Jeff he'd better hide when Blaine returned to New York; he thanked Wes for coming to his senses and assured him that his relationship with Kurt wouldn't interfere with any official Warbler business in the future; and he made plans to see Trent for coffee.
He saved his response to Kurt for last, knowing they'd probably message back and forth a few more times:
warbleringthrulife answered you: Kurt, I was hoping to get Jeff to take down all the posts before you saw them! I'm relieved you aren't upset. "Enthusiasm" is an excellent choice of words. Hopefully they'll get bored of us soon and go back to harassing some other poor couple. Blaine :)
newyorkbound asked: Blaine, I'm just glad your friends did something embarrassing first. Now if my friends are awful, I feel like we can just call it even! By the way, I had a really great time tonight. It's so different sending these messages to you now, knowing you're my BOYFRIEND :D Kurt xo
warbleringthrulife answered you: Dear Boyfriend, I hope when you say "different" you mean in a good way :p I know it feels amazing to be able to think of you that way now! Your adoring boyfriend, Blaine :)
newyorkbound asked: Dearest Adoring Boyfriend, Of course I meant in a good way. You make everything better. And I can't wait to see you tomorrow. But if I don't go to bed now, I'm afraid I'll have ugly dark circles under my eyes and you'll change your mind. So until tomorrow...Sweet Dreams, Love Kurt xo
warbleringthrulife answered you: Dear Beautiful Boyfriend, I don't think you could ever look less than impeccable, even in your pajamas today you looked amazing! I'm already exhausted, and I don't want to oversleep, and miss our second date. See you in the morning. I know I'll be having the sweetest dreams of you :) Blaine