You're all wonderful! You know why? Because I am currently 38 reviews away from 2,000... *mind blows* Let's get over that target, okay? :)
In two weeks time, I'll be in Australia. I only told one person (excluding family of course) over there that I'm coming back and swore them to secrecy. I'm going to show up at my closest friend's houses and just confuse the hell out of them because last thing they heard, I was in New Zealand. It's going to be awesome. As long as I don't show up at my closest guy friend's place and find out my ex is there, because they hang out all the time. I plan to go the next eight months not seeing him once, or at least not talking to him.
Oh, hey, the poll's working! Well... I believe so anyway. I've gotten one vote on it, so everybody go check and see if you can vote. And vote, obviously. I think the issue was I had it as multi-select and it didn't like that for some reason. So now you can only vote for one, but at least you can potentially vote!
From The Codebreaker: Shopping: screw blazers! But keep ties. And for a good reason too ;)
*minor fangirl squeal*
They're not wearing their Dalton ties, I'm afraid. But there is definitely a tie! And I don't know enough about stores in America to even hazard putting a store name on it.
For the purpose of this fic, the male section has a wide enough range that it covers Kurt's flamboyant fashion sense as well as Blaine's more practical style. As much as I want to show Kurt having a fight with some random girl in the middle of a sale over a piece of clothing, this works a lot better for my story.
TGTDOSBDK - and I don't mind where this is set after that. It just is. It's probably non-canon when you look at the couples, but whatevs.
And Angela hasn't edited it. She's in Vegas. I don't know how I'll cope without her... I'm feeling lost. And alone. And less crazy.
Shopping
"Okay, show me the back?"
Blaine tried to suppress a yawn as the figure on screen turned around, revealing the back of a dress. To Blaine it looked like ... well, the back of a dress. But Kurt hummed approvingly. "That's great, Tina. Put your hair up with those dangly earrings we bought last time and Mike will fall at your feet."
"Awesome, thanks heaps Kurt." The girl returned to her seat, smiling at the boys. "And you too, Blaine."
Blaine nodded, smiling politely as Kurt and Tina chatted about something. He allowed his thoughts to drift away to homework and solo ideas -
"WHAT?"
Blaine jumped, almost falling of his seat as he turned to face Kurt. "Why am I only JUST hearing about this?"
"I thought you knew!" Tina raised her hands defensively. "Santana found out first, she told Quinn who told Mercedes who told Rachel who told me. I figured someone had filled you in along the line."
Kurt was shaking his head rapidly. "No, but it's okay. I don't have any plans for tomorrow."
"But who's going to help you carry your bags?"
Kurt frowned for a second before a smile lit up his face. Blaine just had enough time to realize he should be concerned before Kurt was signing off, promising Tina he'd catch up with her tomorrow before turning towards him.
"Blaine...?"
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Kurt?"
"I have a favour to ask." Kurt was looking slightly nervous and Blaine felt his dread growing, knowing there were only a few things that got Kurt this excited, and judging by the look on Kurt's face it was going to be one of the ones he hated.
"There's this sale tomorrow -"
Blaine groaned, effectively stopping Kurt mid-sentence. "Kurt, why me?"
"Because you're my boyfriend and you love me and you can be my Ken doll who I dress up in pretty things?" Kurt pouted.
"I thought this was meant to be you trying to convince me I wanted to go?" But Blaine knew he was sold. As much as he detested shopping, he knew shopping meant spending the day with Kurt and seeing Kurt in various outfits...
"Pleeeeease?"
He sighed. "Fine."
Kurt squealed happily. "Okay, we need to get there first thing to fight the crowd, so I'll meet you in the foyer at seven -"
"What? Oh no, I didn't sign up for that!" Blaine raised his hands in protest. "The shops don't even open until ten. I'm not leaving here before nine."
Kurt pouted again but Blaine refused to waver. He was not losing his Saturday sleep-in as well as being dragged through shops. As much as he loved spending time with Kurt - and he loved spending time with Kurt - shopping was not his thing and he planned to make the experience as short and painless as possible.
"Kurt, I really don't think you needed to park all the way down the road."
Blaine made his way along the footpath in a half-run, trying to keep up with his boyfriend who was striding ahead determinedly. It was quarter to ten and Kurt had been complaining that they were going to be too late, which Blaine couldn't understand because the shop wasn't even open yet.
"Trust me, Blaine. We did."
"Why? How many people are actually going to be there?"
And then they turned the corner and Blaine's question was answered. Hundreds. His mouth dropped open as he took in the mass of people jostling each other eagerly as they waited for the door to open.
"Come on, there's Mercedes!"
Kurt grabbed his hand, pulling him through the crowd in search of his friend. Blaine allowed himself to be dragged along, still enjoying the sensation of Kurt's hand in his. After all, they had only been together for a couple of days, all of these experiences were still new and wonderful for both of them.
"Mercedes!" Kurt grabbed his friend's hand before the crowd pulled him away and the two of them were dragged through to a small clearing of sorts where a group of the New Directions girls were standing. They all immediately engulfed Kurt in hugs, Blaine stepping back slightly to let them.
"You too?"
Blaine turned to see Mike Chang standing beside him. He raised an eyebrow. "Me too?"
"The bag carrier." Mike gestured to the other boys standing there; Finn, Puck and Sam.
"Um, yeah, I guess. You guys do this voluntarily?"
Puck pulled a face. "No way. I'd rather be trying to woo Lauren, but Quinn blackmailed me into coming. Finn got promised a long make out session, Mike's just kind of whipped and Sam's working towards asking Mercedes out. Brittany carries Santana's bags while she shops for both of them, so that's everyone covered, now that you're here to help Kurt. Assuming you're doing this for Kurt and not equally as fashion obsessed."
Blaine pulled a face. "Definitely not, though he does make me try stuff on." The other boys winced sympathetically. "So, who carried Kurt's bags before me?"
Mike and Finn looked at one another. "Well... nobody. Kurt never asked and we all had girlfriends at the time. I mean, we'd take a few of his bags when we dropped some at the car, but he never had someone to carry them around the shop."
"Which is why it's good you're here," Finn added, before his eyes suddenly narrowed. "Wait, we call this the Boyfriend Club." Blaine bit back a laugh at that. "Are you and Kurt..."
Blaine watched with amusement for a few seconds as Finn's hands waved around before helping him out. "Dating? Yeah, I thought he told you, he called his dad the other night and let him know..."
Finn frowned. "No, he didn't. Why wouldn't he -"
"THEY'RE OPENING!"
Both boys were saved from the awkward situation as the girls and Kurt turned to their respective bag carriers, grabbing their hand and pulling them into the store. Blaine found himself being dragged behind Kurt again as they pushed through the doors.
Thankfully the store was huge, meaning the shoppers could spread out inside without fear of being crushed by one another. Blaine found himself separated from the rest of the guys as he and Kurt headed to mens clothing, Kurt calling a quick goodbye over his shoulder. As soon as they got there, Blaine realized the advantage of being guys; their section was almost completely deserted while the sound of yelling and squabbling rose over from the girls side already.
"Alright, let's see." Kurt turned and looked at Blaine for a moment as if making a decision. "Hold your arms out."
Blaine obediently stretched his arms out in front of him. Kurt nodded. "Follow me."
"What -?"
But Kurt was already pulling things off the rack. "No... no... this might work.." The first item landed in Blaine's outstretched arms, followed by another and he quickly caught on to his role. Hey, at least I'm not trying things on.
Following Kurt through the shop, Blaine's arms progressively grew heavier until he couldn't take it anymore. "Kurt, can we go to the change rooms now, please?"
Kurt sighed but led Blaine over to the change rooms. There were only two in the male section and one had an OUT OF ORDER sign displayed. Blaine didn't think anything of it at first until Kurt looked at him, biting his lip.
"What's up?"
"There's clothes in there for you too. So we're either going to have to take turns, which will take forever, or -"
Kurt's voice trailed off but Blaine knew what he was thinking. His mouth was slightly dry as he responded. "Share? I - I'm okay with that. You know, if you are."
"Yeah.. yeah. Shall we?" Kurt gestured towards the door and Blaine stepped in first, dropping the clothes gratefully on the bench and stretching his arms. Kurt followed him, locking the door behind him.
For a moment the two boys stared at each other until Blaine coughed. "Well, how about you face that way," he gestured vaguely to the wall behind Kurt, "and I'll face this way, and we'll just turn around when we're both ready?"
Kurt nodded. "Okay." His confidence seemed to return as he began sorting through the clothes. "So these are yours. Try this shirt with those jeans first and - yeah. I'll just -"
He turned to face the wall, Blaine doing the same. They both changed in silence, Blaine incredibly aware that behind him was quite possibly a half naked Kurt and his mind was going places that a charming dapper young mind was not meant to go.
"I'm done," he said, still hearing a slight rustle of fabric from behind him.
"Okay, hold on - I just need to ... alright."
Blaine turned and his eyes widened. The shirt was not particularly flattering on Kurt, possibly a size too big. But those jeans...
"Hm, that colour's good on you, though I think I'll prefer the green, but the cut doesn't quite work. Same for the jeans. These will probably be better -" Kurt pulled another pair of slightly tighter looking jeans out of the pile with a green shirt, adding a silver tie to the pile. Blaine fought hard not to stare at him as he did so, but his legs just looked incredible.
"Did you sew those on or something?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.
Kurt began to laugh, looking down at the jeans. "No, not quite. Like them?"
Like them? Blaine knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mind off those jeans for the next few weeks. "Yeah, they look great," he stammered out.
Kurt blushed slightly, smoothing his hands over the fabric. "I don't like the shirt though," he decided. "Anyway, try those on."
Blaine obediently turned around, pulling off the other clothes and discarding them on the floor, figuring he'd pick them up later. He shrugged into the other pair of jeans, noting they were a lot tighter than he was used to, then pulled the shirt over his head. Grabbing the tie, he deliberated tying it properly before deciding to just hang it around his neck for now. Feeling slightly self conscious, he ran his hands over the soft fabric for a second before clearing his throat.
"I'm done."
"Alright, turn around."
Blaine turned and felt his eyes glaze over. Kurt was wearing the same jeans as before - though the effect hadn't lessened at all. Oh no, quite the opposite. Paired with a light blue, fitted shirt, Kurt looked - wow.
Blaine suddenly realized he had been staring at Kurt for a few seconds and looked up, expecting a look of embarrassment or awkwardness. Instead -
Kurt was staring at Blaine's chest, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. A second later, his eyes shot up to catch Blaine's and the two stared at each other.
Blaine thought he would feel his own share of embarrassment when this moment finally came. Instead, he felt something shift inside him and he stepped towards Kurt who still hadn't moved. The tension in the room crackled as if electric, and something shot between Blaine and Kurt, a pulse of understanding and acceptance and -
Blaine reached out a slightly trembling hand to run across his boyfriend's face before letting it drop. He wanted to kiss Kurt so badly but he still wasn't sure if Kurt was ready for that sort of thing and he didn't want to rush him -
Kurt reached out to grab the loosely hanging tie around Blaine's neck and pulled him back in, crushing their lips together.
Okay, maybe it's alright.
Blaine allowed his thoughts to drift away as he kissed Kurt back, feeling himself pushed back into the wall with Kurt still gripping onto the tie. Their lips moved together and Blaine could't resist nibbling slightly on Kurt's bottom lip, feeling it part, giving Blaine access to his mouth and -
There was a sudden knocking on the door and Kurt pulled away with a gasp. "Hey, is that Kurt or Blaine?" Mike's voice drifted through the door.
"Um, yeah." Blaine replied, still staring at a breathless Kurt.
"Oh, okay. Where's Kurt."
There was an awkward silence for a second before Kurt spoke up. "Hi Mike."
"Oh! Sorry guys! Um, the girls just want to let you know that they're pretty much done, Quinn just wants Kurt's input on something but - yeah, you guys just... um, take your time. The guys'll be out the front, Blaine."
"Thanks, Mike," Kurt replied and they heard the sound of footsteps disappearing.
Kurt let out a sigh of relief and Blaine looked at him curiously. "Well, imagine if it was Finn."
Blaine winced. "True." He gestured to their clothing. "We need to -"
"Yeah." Kurt eyed him reluctantly for a few seconds then turned around, Blaine doing the same.
As they stepped out of the changing room, clothing in tow, Kurt leant over and grabbed the outfit Blaine had just discarded. "Go meet the guys, I'll get these and meet you out there."
Kurt turned to walk away and Blaine let his gaze linger for a moment before turning away.
He couldn't wait to get Kurt back in those jeans...
The established couples in my story are; Klaine, Puckzies, Finchel, Chang-Chang and future Samcedes. I'm unsure about Brittana, all I know is that Artie probably wouldn't be a great deal of help shopping. Quinn's single. Poor Quinn! I like writing her single though, I think she needs to learn to stand on her own feet without the security of a guy. Like Rachel was meant to but totally failed to. Yeah. Just another plotline that sort of sunk.