Happy New Year! 2013... wow. It seems like just yesterday I was seeing in 2012. And what a year this has been! I seem to have been working non-stop. Plus, obviously, 2012 was the year I started T&C. I will hold it forever in my heart.

And that sounded so soppy. Ah well, just incase you didn't know, I'm a lickle bit crazy. You can see this side of me, and a little bit more, on my Wordpress site (luspeak. wordpress. com). I put a post up last night, uh, this morning, telling you about all that will be happening with my fanfiction this year, along with other things. Please check it out at luspeak. wordpress. (com/) 2013/01/01/happy-2013/ obviously without the spaces and brackets.

Plus, exciting news! The amazing IThinkILeftMyCoatOutside is uploading a new chapter of True Colours tonight. Yes, I know, I'm excited too! It is so good. And I mean SO good. If you don't check it out you're very silly indeed. But I still love you ;)

And I want to thank Coatsy for the name of this chapter. I've been really bad at that recently!


Story so far...

Blaine is getting increasingly nervous about the proposal, and he feels he has to let Kurt know that he loves him so much that Kurt is starting to worry. At work on Monday, Gina invited Kurt to meet Reggie, her boyfriend, on a date. Blaine was then later invited somewhere with Greg, his boss and Head of Dalton. He initially turned down but then accepted when he saw how desperate the man was.

Now, for the dates...


-*T&C*-


The rest of Tuesday trundled on quite normally. Blaine rang Kurt when he knew his boyfriend was on a break to fill him in on Greg's preposition and to ask for permission. Whilst most people may have thought it stupid to ask for consent for something so trivial, Blaine knew how important the date was to his boyfriend. He'd never let him down.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Gina's enthusiasm about Wednesday night had completely rubbed off on Kurt and he chattered excitedly to Blaine for the entirety of his lunch hour. Blaine just came in with the odd "mmh" or "yeah, that sounds..." before he was cut off again. And Blaine loved this. He loved how excitable Kurt could get about something, how he could seemingly turn his mind off to everything else and just focus on one thing. In reality, Cookies knew that Tears' mind was always buzzing and never really stood still or completely focused, but the air of control that he'd give to a complete stranger was astounding.

And while Kurt sat, eating and speaking at the speed of an F1 car, Blaine just watched. The animated movement of his lips, the way his bright eyes sparkled, how every word sounded as if it should have been crafted by Mozart... Blaine knew that if he wasn't already dead set on proposing and spending the rest of his life with this man, he would now. And, in all honesty, why would he ever have thought any different?

When everything was going right for Blaine, it was because of Kurt. When he'd had a rough day, he knew he had Kurt to come home to and to fall back on, who would hold him when it hurt and kiss away any pains, or even do anything in his power to distract him. And, with Kurt's power, that really wasn't all that difficult. And even when they fell out, Blaine knew that this was it. It was normal. It cemented them as a proper couple, not one of those fake pairings you got on those awful shows that Kurt loved to watch and Blaine would watch with him because Kurt wanted him to and Blaine would do anything that Kurt wanted him to do.

And sometimes, in the dead of night, Blaine would wake up and see Kurt sleeping. Without a doubt, by day Kurt was beautiful. Stunning, breathtaking. The most gorgeous sight Blaine had ever seen. Almost. For there was no sight quite as Earth-shattering as watching his man sleep, any stresses from the day gone from his face and just a gentle rise and fall of his chest. That sight, quite honestly, could make a murderer's heart melt.

And so yes, Blaine had come to realise that even the first time he ever saw that sight, when they'd just got together and were still at Dalton and David had a party and the two of them had ended up sleeping over, even then he realised he never wanted to wake to anything different. Kurt was the only man he'd ever truly wanted. And he felt that so strongly that he felt at any moment it may ooze out his pores for the whole world to see.

But, alas, Kurt merely continued talking, picking at his food, and then excitedly picking up a new strand of conversation and pedalling down that route at 100mph. And all too soon the hour was up and he was leaving, kissing Blaine goodbye and waving to Greg who had just walked in the doorway.

Blaine's eyes followed Kurt as he left.

"Shit, dude. You've got it bad."

Blaine's gaze slid across to where Greg was, leaning casually against the wall, arms folded. "Have you seen him?"

Greg chuckled. "I do believe I have. Unlike you, I do believe, whose eyes I think have actually turned to goo now, judging by how long they have looked that soft." Blaine's face flickered into a smile. "And there it is."

"There what is?"

"That 'I love him and everyone knows' look."

"Oh?"

"I see it on you often enough. You want the whole world to see just how much he means to you."

"Kurt is my whole world."

"I know. You found any shops in New York yet?"

Blaine didn't have to ask what he meant. "I've searched a couple. Their stocks look okay. I just need to make sure that I can slip away for long enough."

"You'll be fine. I know you will."

Blaine smiled again. 'Anyway, you wanted me for something?"

"Oh, just wanted to check in on how the boys were doing. Although really that's just the excuse. In truth, I wanted to see your man. I haven't seen him in a while and I just wanted to say hi. And catch that look on your face as you sat with him. You didn't let me down."


Everything was a rush on Wednesday morning. Blaine had decided there wasn't enough time between the end of work and the beginning of Greg's arrangement to go home and get changed first, so he needed to take his change of clothes with him to work. And then Kurt had to deem them appropriate for both Gina's and Greg's events (which wasn't too hard as they were both at theatres). And Kurt had to find his own outfit and match it with his boyfriend's.

And then Kurt had a minor freak out about a meeting at work that meant Blaine had to kiss him calm. Which he wasn't about to complain about. But Kurt had informed him that he'd be incredibly busy all day so he wouldn't be able to make lunch and he probably wouldn't even have time to so much as glance at his phone until the evening so there was no point texting him with updates because he wouldn't receive them anyway and I'll just see you later then alright alright I hope you have a good day at work Cookies you too Tears I love you I love you too bye.

Kurt did manage to make it into work with ten minutes to spare. Blaine didn't. He snuck in late, apologising profusely to Greg, who just laughed and told him to calm down.

"By the way, this thing tonight?"

"Ye-ees?" Blaine winced.

"We've, um, changed the time and place."

"Yee-eees?" Blaine repeated.

"Well, it's now half six at Marcella's ."

Blaine did a bit of mental calculation. "The Italian?" His boss nodded. "I should still be alright for that. Although I must warn you, if these events overrun I'm choosing Kurt's."

Greg smiled. "I didn't doubt that for a second."

Blaine nodded, bouncing his head, happy that his boss knew how much he loved his boyfriend. "By the way, you never really said what this mysterious 'event' of yours is exactly."

"Didn't I?" Greg's cheeks coloured slightly. "It's a date."

Blaine widened his eyes in confusion. "You are asking me out on a date?"

"No! God no! Just... no. It's sort of a double date thing. You know that girl I met?" Blaine nodded. "Well, her best friend has been pestering her to meet me. We thought we'd do a triple date type of thing. She's asked her best friend along and he's bringing his boyfriend. And I was going to bring you and Kurt. But, obviously, Kurt can't come, so basically I'm just bringing you."

"So, simply, it's going to be you making gooey eyes over your girlfriend, another couple staring at each other, and me longing to leave and find Kurt? All during a meal?" Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Am I sure I want to do this?"

Greg shook his head, then seemed to realise what he was doing. "No, I didn't mean that. I meant yes you want to do this but no it's not going to be like that. We'll sit down for the meal a bit after that. First we're meeting each other. And I don't want to feel really alone. I mean, everyone else there sort of knows each other. I'll know one person. I just don't want to feel so alone. And then when we sit down you can go and be with Kurt at his thing."

Blaine nodded slowly. "Yeah. Sure. Alright. You know what, I must really like having you for a boss if I'm agreeing to do this for you!"

Mr Jones smiled. "Whatever it is, thank you." A bell rang sharply through the air. "And now I must leave. I'll see you later. Want to travel convoy?"

"Sounds great."

"In that case I'll meet you at the front at six."


Six o'clock came and Blaine was stood, dressed and ready, at the front of the school. He looked out over the grounds and reflected about all the time that he'd spent there, as a boy and as a man. Dalton had helped him to grow up. It also brought him to Kurt. He would be eternally grateful to the place, with its perfectly polished corridors and neatly trimmed topiary and vast and beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and city. It took his breath away, really. Spiritually, he knew he would never leave, could never leave. He owed this place too much.

Blaine heard a door close behind him and turned to see Greg walking towards him, a nervous smile on his face and a skip to his usually dull walk. "Hi."

"Hi. Are you nervous?"

The headmaster nodded quickly to get it over with. "She's such a great girl. I just want you to meet her so that you can see that." They started walking over to their cars, Greg constantly flicking imaginary bits of dirt from his casual suit. "She's quite shy, you see. Before you get to know her. Her self-confidence is so low. If you were just to see her and share the knowledge with me that she is amazing, I think that might help a bit." At Blaine's furrowed brow he continued. "I don't know how it works. But you start to feel that she's amazing and she'll feel it too." They reached their cars and opened the doors. "I'll lead."


They managed to arrive in time before everyone else, an event which Blaine was thankful for because it meant that his boss could relax into the surroundings before meeting his girlfriend's best friend. Blaine insisted on buying their round of drinks in, insisting that as he couldn't be there for much of the night he should at least make some sort of contribution to the cost.

Blaine kept checking his phone to see if he got a reply from Kurt. As of yet, nothing. He'd alerted his boyfriend to the change in arrangements earlier. He must be really busy. He said he'd have a hectic day.

"It's fine. Just make sure you leave in plenty of time."

"I know," Blaine sighed. "But I do like him to know what's going on."

"He'll know. He'll check it later, but by that time you'll probably be with him anyway. Relax, okay?"

Blaine snorted. "Easy for you to say, eh? You've been panicking this whole time about everything and-"

Blaine cut off as he saw Greg face the doorway of the restaurant and freeze. Blaine swallowed. They've arrived then. He took a sip of his lemonade, stood up, brushed his trousers quickly and turned around.

And fuck if the single most interesting kid in the whole of Ohio didn't walk in at that very moment.

The approaching party paused, confusion etched into their faces. "Blaine? What are you doing here?"

"I, um, could ask the same. Greg told me there was a change in location and-"

Before he could say any more, Gina had left Kurt's side and had gone to greet her boyfriend. Greg cooperated, hands holding her head gently as he kissed her.

"Are they… just…?"

Blaine was just as speechless as Kurt. "I, er, yeah, guess so." They stood and watched, dumbfounded that two of their closest friends had found each other.

Uncomfortable after watching for about half a minute, Kurt cleared his throat. "Excuse me?" The couple broke their kiss and looked up. "Have you two got some explaining to do?"


It was forty minutes into the meal and all four people around the table were very drunk. The confusion of the weirdness of their situation had passed and they were now just enjoying themselves, despite the fact that they all had their cars parked outside and had been planning on driving back home.

Gina and 'Reggie' were sat on one side of the table, the girl's head tucked under his neck, his arm around her shoulders. Kurt and Blaine were sat on the other side, Kurt practically on his boyfriend's lap, Blaine's hand gripping his thigh. They'd been together for long enough to know what made the other uncomfortable (unlike Gina and Greg who seemed to be too careful with each other, even in their inebriated states), but were too drunk to realise that they were sat in a restaurant in Ohio. Although, Columbus was a lot more accepting now than it had been when they'd been at school and was probably now the most gay-friendly city that didn't permit gay marriage. One step at a time.

"You take care of my Gina, do you here me Greg? My girl has been through enough. You mess her about and just remember: I know where you live."

Greg gulped dramatically and grinned. "I have no plans to 'mess her about'. She's a great girl and I'm so lucky to have found her. I'm not letting her go any time soon." He failed to see the smile that lit up the girl's face. Kurt just nodded, still worried for the happiness of his best friend but content to leave it for now. He shifted in Blaine's lap, causing the younger man to groan and bury his head into Kurt's neck in an attempt to muffle it.

Gina lifted her head slightly so that she could talk to her boyfriend. "Does this not surprise you? Are they like this around you as well?"

"Oh yes. All the time. You are forgetting how many times Kurt comes to visit Blaine at work?"

Gina's eyes widened in recognition. "You work at Dalton?"

Greg coughed awkwardly. "Erm, I'm kinda the Head."

Gina snorted. "Ha, very funny." She rested her head back in the crook of Greg's neck.

Kurt frowned. "Uh, no Gina. He really is. And has been for a while."

She raised her head again. "Honestly?" Greg nodded. "Wow. Okay. Wow."

Just then a waitress arrived to clear their plates. "Can I get you the dessert menu?" The group shared a glance. "No thank you, just the bill," Greg supplied.

As soon as she was gone, Blaine nibbled Kurt's ear and asked him to get his wallet from his trouser pocket. As he was reaching his hand down, Greg raised his hand. "No need, I'm paying."

Blaine looked at him for a few seconds, eyebrows raised, and then said, "yeah right." Kurt's hand continued on its journey and pulled the wallet out of the pocket. He handed it to Blaine and the hobbit got his card out, throwing it on the table.

"But we asked you here," Greg protested.

"Yeah? And we ate the food and drank… God knows how much alcohol." Greg still didn't look happy. "Right, look at it this way. I work for you and you pay me, so it is practically your money anyway." Greg still didn't look happy, but consented for the bill to be split when the waitress arrived at their table again, this time with the bill and a credit card machine.

"I hope you've enjoyed your night. Are you doing anything later?" The waitress made small talk while she was waiting for the machine to accept their cards.

"No, just home I think. We've all got work in the morning," Blaine supplied, trying to type his PIN in with Kurt still sitting on his lap.

With the bill paid in full, plus tip, the waitress thanked them all for coming. "And, can I just say what wonderful couples you make?"

Kurt grinned. "You most certainly can. Thank you." He stuck his hand out and the woman took it, shaking it. "I'm Kurt. This is my boyfriend Blaine, and over there Greg and Gina."

The waitress smiled. "I'm Sandy."

Kurt turned to Blaine, a smile on his face. Blaine was also grinning like an idiot. Kurt turned back to her. "In that case, you'll definitely be seeing us again. Thank you very much."

Sandy smiled, nodded to the table and left, a skip in her step.

Kurt stared off into space. "Sandy."

"Sandy," Blaine echoed. "In our local restaurant." He squeezed Kurt closer. "Yep, we're definitely coming here again!"


After explaining the significance of the name Sandy to the confused couple opposite them, they left the restaurant. They knew they were far over the limit and couldn't drive; they'd have to come back for the cars in the morning. Greg offered to pay for a taxi and, all tired, they agreed.

The taxi dropped Kurt and Blaine home first and they waved goodbye to Gina and Greg as it sped off again with them inside. Blaine gave Kurt a quick peck on the lips before taking his hand and they went inside.

Right outside the door of their apartment was a parcel with Kurt's name on it. He frowned as he picked it up. "Sid must have brought it up for us." He pushed the door open.

As soon as they were inside, Kurt felt Blaine's hands at his waist and lips at his neck. "You were so hot tonight. I just wanted to take you on that table, show everyone how much you mean to me."

Kurt giggled but pushed Blaine off. "Just let me open this first, yeah?"

Blaine groaned but let his boyfriend lead him to the lounge to sit down. Kurt opened the package and laughed when he saw the contents. "Oh, she is amazing!"

Blaine frowned. "Who?"

"Cedes." Kurt showed Blaine the note. "She thought she'd send a sorry gift before she, how did she put it, invaded our house for a week."

"That's sweet." As much as Blaine wanted to show Kurt how much he loved him, he knew that his boyfriend was happy. He could wait for another minute.

Kurt pulled his gifts out of the parcel and, true to his name, tears started to spill down his cheeks. He showed the soft toy to Blaine. "It's a Little Monster." Blaine laughed. "And she's only gone and bought me Yellow Brick City."

"Gaga's new album? I thought that has only been out for a couple of weeks."

"It has. I haven't had time to buy it and- HOLY SHIT IT'S SIGNED!"

"What?!" Now Blaine was almost as excited as his boyfriend. "Fuck! Mercedes is awesome…"

Kurt grinned, tears of joy still in his eyes. "That she is…"


So, Nationals next chapter (hopefully). Who is looking forward to that? *sticks hand up*

I'll talk to you again next Tuesdays (or before if you follow my blog - I promise lots of fanfiction news and stuff about Chris Colfer!) Happy New Year.


IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

I never feel like I do enough for charities. Sure, all my old stuff goes to Cancer Research and I am always in the charity shops in my town. But I want to just go up to collection pots and put money in. So, for every review I get for this story, I will donate 10p to a charity. If you have a favourite, please let me know in your review and I'll see what I can do. Let's see how much we can donate, eh?


You really have to ask what the buzz sentence is? Really?! "Happy New Year".