Heat
The roar of the machine in his hands drilled into his head, and the vibrations rocked his body. As he began to move, taking slow, deliberate steps, sweat poured over his skin, matting his thick curls to his head and causing his already grubby tee to cling to his torso. He pushed the lawn mower across the tall grass, back hunched over, muscles aching after a few minutes. He occasionally glared up at the sun as it smiled down at him mockingly.
Why did the Hudson-Hummel's yard have to be so big?
He knew, of course, that his own yard at home was much vaster than this one, but mercifully he was not tasked with the job of keeping that one well-trimmed; his father used a lawn maintenance service for that. Though he was built well, the physical exertion of the job and the incredible heat of the day quickly got to him.
From inside the garage, his boyfriend, too, worked hard. The pale boy stretched out on the cement floor underneath his precious Escalade. Earlier in the week he heard some odd noises coming from its inner workings, so he decided to have a look. Wiping his hands on his dirty overalls, he scooted out from under the vehicle and stood up, reaching for a tool. In doing so, he caught sight of his boyfriend, who had just then decided to stop and strip off his soaked tee shirt. Gasping slightly, the mechanic forgot completely about whatever it was he was supposed to be fetching; the other boy's long, lean torso glistened in the sun, sweat trickling down his chest hair. Before he resumed his mowing, he whipped his hair back and forth, sending perspiration flying everywhere.
"Damn, Blaine," Kurt muttered under his breath.
Just then a pair of high school girls, maybe sophomores, jogged past the yard. Each spotted Blaine, gave the other a look, and giggled intensely. The one closest to the house waggled her fingers at the boy, who smiled back shyly.
Kurt rolled his eyes. He was used to girls hitting on his boyfriend. (Could you blame them? The boy was smoking hot.) Some days he found it hilarious—just knowing that they had no idea that he wasn't the slightest bit interested in them tickled Kurt's funny bone. Other days, though, like that day, it was merely annoying. He finally ripped his gaze away from Blaine's glorious body and wracked his brain trying to remember what tool he needed in the first place. He quickly recalled, and once he grabbed it from its place in the tool box he knelt to slide under the car once more.
Before he could do so, however, he heard a loud thump from the yard, and the stationary whirring of an engine. He looked out and gasped in horror—Blaine had collapsed.
Tossing the tool aside, Kurt darted into the lawn, crashing to a halt next to his boyfriend. "Blaine!" he shouted, shaking the unconscious boy by the shoulders. "Blaine, wake up! Blaine!" He turned toward the house and yelled, "Dad! Finn! Help!" He struggled to pull a barely-breathing Blaine into his lap.
Within a minute both his father and his stepbrother were flying out of the house, reaching the two boys on the ground in a flash.
"What happened?" Burt demanded, kneeling down to check Blaine's pulse.
"I don't know!" Kurt fought back tears. "One minute he was mowing the lawn, and the next he was passed out!"
"He looks overheated," Burt said. He then motioned Finn to come closer. "Here, let's get him into the AC."
Without hesitation, Finn bent down and scooped the much smaller boy into his arms, whisking him into the house. The Hummels scurried after him quickly. Finn laid Blaine on the couch and without being told dashed into the kitchen to fetch ice and water. Kurt knelt beside Blaine again, clutching on his hand for dear life.
Burt placed a hand on his distressed son's shoulder. "Kurt, give him some room. He needs to cool down, and with you so close he can't do that."
Kurt nodded and scooted a little farther away, but he never let go of his boyfriend's hand. Just then Finn rushed in with a large bowl of ice and few washcloths doused in nearly freezing water. The three of them stretched the towels across Blaine's forehead, arms, and legs. Then each took a cube of ice and ran it over his skin, trying to cool it down.
A few minutes later, Blaine's eyelids fluttered open.
"Blaine!" Kurt squealed, throwing himself across his boyfriend's still-soaked chest. "Oh my Gaga, Blaine, you nearly scared the fabulous out of me!"
Blaine groaned, but lifted a hand to stroke Kurt's hair nonetheless. "Well, by looking at you, I can tell I've done a pretty good job."
Frowning, Kurt sat up and looked at himself. He wore nothing but dingy overalls and ragged work boots. He had to concede that Blaine was quite right; nothing about that outfit was fabulous. He feigned a look of indignation. "This is mechanic chic, mister."
Blaine laughed softly, and then looked at the other two in the room. "What...happened?"
Finn leaned over the back of the couch. "Too much heat, man. You should've taken a couple of breaks, come inside, cooled off."
Burt suddenly realized something. "Wait. Why were you mowing our lawn in the first place?"
Both Blaine and Finn's faces grew sheepish. "I lost a bet," Blaine mumbled.
"What?" Kurt snapped, his eyes flicking accusatorily between his boyfriend and his stepbrother.
Finn cleared his throat. "Well, um...I bet Blaine that I could get to second base with Rachel before the end of the week." He said this very fast.
"I didn't think he could," Blaine said. "But...I was wrong. So I had to mow the lawn for him for the rest of the summer."
Burt was visibly trying to fight back a laugh, but Kurt just glared at his stepbrother. "So this is your fault?" he growled.
Finn's eyes widened in fear. "No, man! He was the one who didn't have confidence in me!" He pointed at Blaine, who held his hands up in surrender. "I didn't make him take the bet. He's a big boy." Then he smirked. "Well, metaphorically."
Blaine scowled.
Burt had to ask. "So, what would you have had to do if you lost, Finn?"
That wiped the smirk off of Finn's face. "I...um...it doesn't matter, I won."
This time Blaine smiled. "He would have had to change his relationship status on Facebook to In an Open Relationship for the rest of the summer."
Burt lost it. He burst into laughter, imagining the brown-haired diva's reaction to such a change. "Oh, you lucked out there, son."
Kurt was still glowering at the other teens. "Well, I hope you're happy, because you're juvenile deal nearly KILLED Blaine."
The sheepish expressions were back. "I'm sorry," they both mumbled. Then they caught each other's eyes and started to snicker.
Kurt threw his hands up in exasperation and marched back outside, determined to fix his baby in the garage and to find some way to get Blaine and Finn back for nearly giving him a heart attack.
First things first: shout-outs to Artist-Writer-Lover-Fighter and Horsegahl for this awesome prompt! Coincidentally, both of you suggested Blaine mowing the lawn and getting all sweaty and whatnot. Not that I blame you. I pretty much want to see Darren perform simply because the boy is so sexy when he sweats...
And I'm back! Guys, I've gotten many reviews and many suggestions, and I want you to know that I've read each and every one, and I love them all! I spent forever last night going through and responding to each one, so if I somehow skipped over you, just shoot me a message telling me what a dumbass I am. It's cool. I especially love suggestions, so if you have something you'd like me to make Blurt do (I get SUCH a god complex when I word it that way!), let me know! I don't care if you think it's stupid-tell me anyways! That's an order!
ALSO! Virtual bear hug to Lgleek95 for finding the AVPM reference from "Under the Stars"! (It was "Hey, you," by the way.) You are awesome!
Love you guys! LTT!