My work has a staff meeting on Wednesday. Usually the most interaction I have with the other staff members is twenty minutes or so in the shift changeover because I always work my shifts alone. So that in itself - seeing these people for a prolonged period of time - will be weird. But there's this new guy who's starting tomorrow. He's apparently my age, really nice, good head on his shoulders... and my manager thinks we'd be great together. And it's honestly the first time I've seen a guy my age excluding customers for about two months. So I'm happy about that.

The only depressing thing is that Gok is currently doing his Australian Westfield tour and I was dying to go... and it's on Wednesday. So not happy.

From MusicalEscape: Blaine transferred to McKinley, and he & Kurt are walking down the hall talking. Azimio comes by and slushies them. Kurt drags Blaine to the girl's bathroom and is distracted by the red ice on his mouth, and can't resist... ;)

So many slushie fics…

Ice

"I still can't get over the fact that you're here."

Blaine shrugged nonchalantly, adjusting the strap on his bright red bag that Kurt would never admit to loving as much as he did. "Do you blame me for not wanting to go back to Westerville?"

Kurt shook his head instantly. When Blaine had first told him the stories about his experiences at Westerville, Kurt had felt awful for making such a big deal about his own problems. But Blaine had made it clear that what Kurt was going through was a big deal… big enough, it seemed, for Blaine to transfer to McKinley.

Of course Kurt knew that Blaine hadn't just picked up and left Dalton because Kurt was struggling. Blaine's parents were having trouble affording the tuition - just like Kurt's family would, otherwise he would already have been at Dalton, that was for sure - and Blaine had decided it was time to call it quits before he ran his parents into a second mortgage. And when Kurt had shown up, apparently that was the kick start Blaine needed. So when Blaine had arrived at McKinley the previous week, a month after they had met, out of uniform and holding a sheet of transfer papers, Kurt had been stunned. But Blaine had been so compelling in his arguments that Kurt could only accept it. Besides, he had no choice, Blaine was already here.

The first week hadn't been without its struggles. Blaine had a lot to get used to with the McKinley dynamic. Everything was louder, kids were crueler and Blaine had struggled being accepted into New Directions, something Kurt had certainly had a lot to say about. Rachel was convinced that Blaine was a spy and the others were also hesitant, no matter how much Kurt told them otherwise. It was only when Blaine actually got up and told them all his story and why he had to be at McKinley now - something that Kurt hated that he'd had to do - that they finally accepted him. Especially when he was more than happy to take a back seat as Sectionals came up, knowing he hadn't been at the school long enough to get a solo and expecting one would only put him in bad books with New Directions.

The jocks hadn't taken too kindly to Blaine's presence in the school either. Karofsky was keeping a wide berth as Sue was watching him like a hawk, but the others had no such qualms. A new addition to Glee club would be enough for them but considering said addition spent all of his time around Kurt and didn't check out any of the girls that sauntered past in their Cheerio uniforms… well, conclusions were being drawn, and fast.

It was a pity only half of them were correct.

Of course Kurt knew he shouldn't be thinking that. Blaine was his friend and nothing more. Just because Blaine was the first openly gay guy that Kurt had met didn't mean Kurt had to crush on him. Unfortunately, telling himself that only worked for the first few coffee meetings with Blaine before Kurt realized that it might be a little more than just an infatuation.

Yes, it was too early, yes, things were still rough at McKinley and if Blaine did like him back (which Kurt had no illusions about) there wasn't a premise for a stable hate-free relationship. But clearly none of that mattered to Kurt's heart which had fallen quite badly for one Blaine Anderson.

"You okay?"

Shaking his head lightly, Kurt turned to Blaine who was watching him in confusion. "You completely zoned out on me. Is something wrong?"

Yes, Kurt thought to himself, but you can't fix it.

"No," he said instead, smiling back at Blaine and trying not to notice the way his curls fell gently around his face now instead of being slicked back with gel. "Everything's fine, I was just thinking about Regionals and what we're going to end up singing."

Blaine hummed in agreement. "I know the Warblers are bummed that they didn't make it past Sectionals again but they did have to rearrange everything so they knew it would be unlikely. Do you think Rachel's going to get her standard solo back or will it be switched up again?

Kurt's answer was lost in a sea of red ice and pain.

"Welcome to McKinley, homo!" came the yell as two slushie cups were dropped on the floor and Azimio and one of his lackies disappeared around the corner, giving each other a high-five. Kurt shook his head, feeling the slush drip down the back of his neck and wiping at it hastily before it could continue its path.

"Oh my god," came the quiet response from beside him. "You guys seriously put up with this?"

Kurt turned to Blaine to see the boy wiping the slushie from his eyes and nodded, doing the same to his own. "We really can't control it. Come on, bathroom's down this way." Resting a hand on Blaine's arm and trying really really hard not to think about the action, Kurt gently steered him towards the bathrooms, hesitating for a second before pushing open the door to the girls room. "We'll be safer in here," he explained before raising an eyebrow at the group of cheerleaders around the sink. "Well, are you leaving or not?"

"You really do boss people around here, don't you?" Blaine murmured as the group of girls brushed past them, taking care to avoid touching them. Kurt allowed himself to believe that it was only because of the slush on their clothes.

"Well things don't get done otherwise." Pulling out the chair, Kurt gestured for Blaine to sit. "I'll do mine first if you can stand to wait a few minutes, it'll take longer for yours since you're not used to it."

Blaine nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. Frowning, Kurt quickly tipped his head over the sink and began the familiar process of washing the slushie out of his hair and off the back of his neck. Without looking he knew that his shirt was stained and sighed. "I forgot to replace my spare outfit from last time," he muttered into the sink, grabbing a handful of paper towels and quickly running them over his face and through his hair. "So we'll both have to go around like this for the rest of the day."

"F-Fantastic."

Kurt quickly raised his head to see Blaine shivering. "Oh hey, alright, let's get that out now. Sorry, I didn't realize you were so cold." He tossed the paper towels in the bin and moved over to Blaine's sink, running the water for a few seconds in an attempt to warm it up somewhat. "Okay, lean back."

Blaine leaned his head back slightly awkwardly, closing his eyes and Kurt frowned, trying to work out the best way to get the ice out. Blaine's head was just that bit bigger than the girls and washing it out from the sides wouldn't get all of it out. Kurt thought for a few more seconds before coming to the only logical conclusion. "Um, Blaine… I'm going to need to…"

"Kurt, I don't care what you have to do, I'd just really like this crap out of my hair now." Raising an eyebrow, Kurt took a deep breath before placing his legs on either side of Blaine's and straddling him, essentially sitting in his lap. There was a sudden inhalation and then a quiet, "Oh."

"I can move if you… I just, I can't see a better way -"

Blaine opened his eyes and gave Kurt a half-smile. "It's fine, I just wasn't expecting that. And hey, if I get a cute guy in my lap in the process, then so be it." This time, Kurt was the one catching his breath as he stared down at Blaine. Did he just call me cute? And… was that flirting? Blaine's smile died and he quickly began to look awkward. "I - was that too much? I shouldn't have said that -"

"The only reason you shouldn't have said it is if you didn't mean it," Kurt said quickly, refusing to let himself read into it. After all, thinking someone was cute didn't mean you were attracted to them. "Anyway, let's get this stuff out of your hair." Blaine looked disappointed for a second before nodding, his usual smile coming back as he closed his eyes. Kurt frowned, trying to work out what he had seen as he absently began to wash Blaine's hair but coming up blank. What would he be disappointed about? "Um, is the temperature okay?"

"Mm?" Blaine muttered lazily. "Oh, perfect." Kurt's hands stilled for a second and Blaine opened his eyes again. "What is it?"

"I've never seen anybody enjoy this before," Kurt murmured. And it was true, usually getting slushie washed out of one's hair was an embarrassing and uncomfortable experience, especially for Kurt who had to spend the next half hour fixing his hair which he would have to do this time as well once he was finished with Blaine. But Blaine was lying there, his neck twisted against the frame of the sink and smiling while someone washed ice out of his hair.

Blaine smirked. "I love getting my hair played with. And hey, you're good with your hands."

This time, Blaine gave him a slow, almost smouldering look before allowing his eyes to flutter shut. And there was no doubt about it this time - no matter what feelings he may or may not have, Blaine Anderson was flirting with him.

Well, two can play at this game.

Leaning forward a little, Kurt dug his hands into Blaine's hair and began to weave his fingers through, tugging lightly at the locks. Blaine stilled before tilting his head back into the touch silently, his eyes still closed as Kurt worked every individual piece of ice out. And yes, maybe it was taking him longer than usual but maybe this time it was worth it. They were only missing Geometry anyway.

And then Blaine moaned and every comprehensible thought Kurt had went out the window. Blaine's eyes shot open, clearly surprised by the sound that had come out of his own mouth and, if Kurt was correct in his suspicions, slightly embarrassed. He opened his mouth to speak and it was only then that Kurt noticed the red tinge to his lips and the small pieces of ice sitting there just begging to be wiped away.

So he did. Just not in the most conventional of ways.

Kissing Blaine was something Kurt had imagined far too many times in the past five weeks, but never had any of his fantasies involved the girls bathroom at McKinley with Blaine bent awkwardly over a sink, his hair still dripping wet and the taste of cherry still lingering on both of their lips. It certainly wasn't romantic and Kurt was about to pull away, to apologize for doing it at all, until he realized that Blaine was kissing him back. Snaking his hands into Blaine's hair tighter, Kurt tugged gently until they were both upright again, still kissing like they had been doing this for years.

Blaine was the one to finally break the contact, staring intently into Kurt's eyes with a mostly unreadable expression. "I think," he finally said, "I'd like to continue that when I'm not still dripping slushie and shivering."

Kurt frowned as he realized Blaine was still shaking from the cold. Without a word, he unzipped his jacket and slipped it around Blaine's shoulders. "Here. Lean back and I'll finish with your hair."

As they resumed their previous position, Blaine raised an eyebrow in thought. "Huh. We're going to walk out of the girls bathroom together and I'll be wearing your jacket. If that doesn't start rumors, I don't know what will."

"Does that bother you?"

Kurt didn't mean for his voice to sound quite that insecure but the last thing he wanted now was for Blaine to change his mind or to realize that it wasn't going to be easy for them to have a relationship and decide that it was too much work for just Kurt. But Blaine's expression softened, eyes growing earnest. "Kurt, I would love nothing more than to walk down these halls holding your hand and being proud of it. I know it's not safe sometimes and there'll be issues that we'll have to work through, but I don't want to hide our… what is this, anyway?"

Kurt shrugged. "I'd - well, I was hoping for boyfriend but if you didn't want -"

Blaine pressed a finger to his lips gently. "Stop doubting yourself, alright? I had hoped that that kiss would show you just how much I want to be your boyfriend." Kurt couldn't quite stop a smile at the word that was actually being applied to him and Blaine offered a similar smile in response as Kurt grabbed the paper towels and began to dry off Blaine's hair.

"You know New Directions are going to interrogate you, right?" Kurt asked almost anxiously as he climbed off Blaine's lap, allowing him to sit up properly. "And Finn's going to pitch a fit and my dad and…"

He was cut off by Blaine's lips pressed up against his again, overwhelming him for the second time that day. "Do you think I'd give you up for any of that?" Kurt slowly shook his head, realizing it was the only answer that Blaine would accept. "No, I wouldn't. Not ever." Taking his hand, Blaine led them towards the door, kissing him lightly on the forehead before pushing it open and turning to him again.

"Let's go take on McKinley."

MusicalEscape (addressing the topic we've all thought about at least once):

"Kurt, where did you get the costume?"

"Oh, the ND costume room."

"But... how do you have money for all those costumes if you don't even have enough for a bus to Sectionals?"

"...I honestly don't know. Huh."