So Perfect was perfect and whoever said Kurt would be having a good cheerful and light-hearted Senior year fed us a bunch of lies.
Now onto the important stuff.
I met one of you guys today - Chrisie and I arranged to meet up since we live in the same city. Anyway, she arrives with a bag in hand and I already knew something was scheming because Angela had been all cryptic with me. What I was not expecting was to open a scrapbook filled with letters from about 20 of you guys to me.
You guys...
I cried. I sat there in public flipping the pages going 'oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,' and crying and I just can't believe you would do something like that for me. I will talk to each person who sent me a letter personally and I'm putting up photos on Tumblr tomorrow for everybody to see it. It's just so amazing.
From ILoveHim91: paintball
I absolutely just imagined the lunchroom scene here in TPPP with Kurt hiding behind a tray. Lost it.
Oh, and this hits on angst. Just a warning. I mean, we know Karofsky's bullying of Kurt was affecting him really badly and that includes the physical but, once again, we never saw any kind of follow up to how Kurt coped with that and got over it.
Paintball
It turned out the Warblers did know how to have fun.
Well, actually, that much was debatable because their idea of fun was kind of Kurt's idea of hell. Yes, it was an excuse to pull out some of his best military style boots - the waterproof ones naturally - but the rest of the outfit certainly wasn't going to be as flattering. And the activity itself?
Yeah, Kurt was staying in bed.
"Come on," Blaine urged softly, hand running down Kurt's back. If he was actually trying to convince Kurt to get out of bed then he was doing a pretty poor job because now all Kurt wanted was to lie here with Blaine pretty much petting him for the rest of the day. "You'll have fun."
"You can't prove that. Plus, I'm sick."
Blaine laughed. "You're not sick. If you were sick then you'd be doing a lot more complaining and making me stay here and run around after you all day instead of encouraging me to go. Besides, you told me you never get sick. Immune system of an ox and all that."
And oh damn, he had told Blaine that hadn't he? "Well I think it's exhaustion," Kurt said, allowing his eyelids to slide closed. "I've been very busy lately and -"
"You fell asleep on me for three hours yesterday and then went to bed at seven and slept for another twelve hours," Blaine pointed out before sliding his palm under Kurt's head and lifting it from the pillow. "If you're actually tired enough to sleep more then I'm going to start believing you are sick." Kurt opened his mouth hopefully but Blaine continued. "And if so, I'll be getting you down to the nurse. Probably by carrying you."
Kurt sighed. "You're going to make me do this, aren't you?"
He sat up, Blaine's hand still cupping his face. "Well I'm not really going to force you," Blaine finally said. "But I want you to come. I want you to come and have fun with us and… well, it would kind of be our first event together as a couple."
"Oh," Kurt said softly. "That - yeah. But you want it to be paintball?"
"I want it to be something. And I don't want to go today without you."
Blaine's expression was so earnest that Kurt found himself relenting before he had even made the conscious decision to do so. "Okay, fine. But if I get a single bruise, you will be the one paying for it."
"Done deal." Blaine jumped off the bed and headed for the door. "I want to see you out here in five minutes, Mr. Hummel!"
"Five minutes?" Kurt yelled indignantly at the closed door. "It takes longer than that to pick an outfit, let alone do my hair and -"
Blaine was laughing, Kurt could tell. "Whatever you wear is going to be covered up anyway, your hair will no doubt be ruined and you will probably be covered in paint."
"I will not!" Sighing, Kurt pulled together one of his more casual outfits, teed it up with his boots and gave his hair a few minutes of attention before wrenching open the door. "You said I wouldn't get a bruise. To be covered in paint means those pellets would have to have hit me and you're not letting that happen."
Blaine raised his hands placatingly. "I'll take care of you, don't worry. I can't promise you won't get hit but I'll destroy anybody who does."
"Protecting my virtue via paintball. How charming."
"I'm just a charming kind of guy."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "You are, that's the bad thing."
Blaine stopped him, taking his wrist gently. "Is it really a bad thing?"
"Of course not, silly." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes again, Kurt maneuvered Blaine's grip so they were holding hands properly. "It's endearing and actually pretty cute."
Blaine looked as if he was contemplating that one. "Huh. I've gotten dapper, charming, mentor-like and a myriad of names from David that we won't even go near, but cute - that's new."
"I'll be sure to tell you more often then."
They continued their playful banter all the way down to breakfast, slipping into the comfortable routine that felt like it had really been going on for much longer than the six days they had been dating - on one hand, dating felt so foreign and Kurt was convinced he was going to wake up soon; on the other, it was like he and Blaine had been dating since the moment they met. So really it was strangely comfortable.
The other boys were used to it too, barely batting an eyelid as Kurt and Blaine entered the cafeteria together and joined their table. That said, it was more likely than not due to their avid discussion about the events of the day which Blaine immediately joined in on, leaving Kurt to realize that he was the only Warbler who wasn't thrilled with the prospect of spending the day firing small bullets that exploded in a burst of colour and pain at one another. Even Jeff - who Kurt had been sure would be in the same boat when it came to events that possibly ruined hairstyles - was enthusiastic.
"Okay, listen up!"
Kurt groaned under his breath and Blaine chuckled as Wes jumped up on his seat. "We're going to split into teams now to save time when we get there. I'll lead Team A and David -" David shook his head and Wes smirked. "Fair enough after last time."
"What happened last time?" Kurt whispered to Blaine.
Blaine was smirking too. "His entire team performed a tactical maneuver and ganged up on him. Nobody's in the habit of going against Wes any -"
"Blaine! How about you lead the second team?"
Now it was Kurt's turn to smirk but Blaine simply shrugged. "Fine by me, as long as I get Kurt. And Nick and Jeff for that matter."
Wes nodded and began sorting the rest of the group out. "I thought nobody went against Wes?" Kurt asked.
"As I was saying, nobody's in the habit of going against Wes anymore except me," Blaine said happily. "I'm his tactical enemy, Nick and Jeff have always been my wingmen and now I have you."
"And what good am I to your team?"
Blaine grinned. "You give me something to fight for."
Kurt really had managed to pick the cheesiest boyfriend ever.
They were down for four rounds. Home bases had been decided on - even though there weren't any definitive rules saying that home bases had to be respected, apparently the Warblers played that way - and Blaine was currently running through their strategy. And when everybody else had disappeared, heading out to their spots, Kurt turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "So I now have no idea what's going on."
"Okay," Blaine said calmly. "Just follow me, shoot the others and don't get shot. Of our team, myself, Nick and Jeff are the biggest targets - Nick as our sniper, Jeff as the one who can change plans at the blink of an eye and myself as the one who can pretty much read Wes's mind and know when their group has changed plans or what he's going to do."
"So I'm hiding behind the person that everybody's aiming for?"
Blaine laughed. "Stupid plan, I know. You can always stick with Cameron -"
"Oh my god," Kurt interrupted. "No. Let's just go."
Seeing Blaine hit by a paintball not two minutes after they had left their base had Kurt freezing up with fear, especially when Blaine hissed at the sting like someone had punched him and Kurt had tried to imagine what it would have been like for Blaine getting beaten up at his old school and this hit a little too close to home for that. But Blaine shrugged it off, fired back at the person who had hit him and then ducked back down next to Kurt. "You're alright?" he asked anxiously.
Blaine nodded. "It's a part of the game. I'm used to it by now. Now, come on, we need to get over to where Nick and Jeff are." He pointed to a set of mounds over by the trees at the back. "It's a risky spot but they know what they're doing and I know Wes is over there too. Ready?"
No.
"Yes."
Blaine grabbed his hand and they began to sneak through. Kurt was surprised that they got to the area without seeing anybody from the other team but the reason why was clear the second they made it - most of them were over here. "You didn't warn me about this!"
"I didn't think they'd all be over here," Blaine whispered back before turning to Cameron and Andrew. "You two need to sneak back and sacrifice otherwise we're never going to win."
Kurt watched as the two did exactly what Blaine asked without complaint. "They're going over there to get shot on purpose?"
"Cameron and Andrew always sacrifice first. They know they suck at the game." Blaine was watching them go, waiting until they popped up halfway back across the field and drew the attention of nearly half of Wes's team. "The stupid thing is that everybody from theirs except for Wes and his three lackeys always seem to fall for it. And now we attack."
And the game was clearly on. Jeff was covering Nick who was taking well calculated shots at Trent, one by one until he finally admitted defeat and fell. Kurt found the whole idea of playing dead disconcerting but Blaine assured them that it was the most interesting way to play the game and easier than trying to get off the field without getting shot at again. With Blaine covering him, making sure a single pellet didn't hit him, Kurt was actually starting to have a bit of fun. He wasn't a particularly violent person - or at all considering what he had been through himself - but watching the paint splatter against people and objects awoke the artist within and now all he wanted to do was add a nice splotch of green to David's shoulder just like … that.
"Nice shot!" Blaine praised him, ducking behind his cover before glancing around at their team. Nick and Jeff were on either side, shooting rapidly but both looking a little worse for wear. Blaine was calculating, his eyes landing on Kurt who knew what was going to happen. "Babe, can you cover the back? Just for a few minutes, I only need a few more shots on Wes until he's out and then they're going to crumble."
Kurt hesitated for a second before nodding. It was only a game after all and he would be fine even if he did get hurt, it would just be another bruise to add to the collection and no his mind was not going there today. "Okay," he said, spinning around and eyeing up the trees behind them before kneeling up a little and taking aim, waiting. He figured Blaine would cover his back as well because Kurt was pretty much a sitting target right now with Wes hiding out somewhere behind him.
What he hadn't planned on was Blaine running out of ammo at that exact moment. "Crap. Kurt, I'm reloading, just hold tight -" And then there was a burst of laughter, even as his boyfriend ducked down and frantically fiddled with his gun to load it up. "Nice, Jeff, real nice."
The first paintball hit him and Kurt flinched because they hadn't been kidding, that hurt. But it wasn't just the pain that shocked him, it was the fact that knocking into his back like that felt exactly like the handle of a locker, like every time Karofsky had shoved him, knocked him to the ground, proceeded to call him worthless and horrible names and there was another one and no, Kurt really could not handle this.
"Blaine."
Still laughing, Blaine spun around to look at him. "Kurt, I - what?" It only took one more second for Blaine to understand and he paled. "Oh god. Nick, cover us!"
"But I've got a good spot and -"
"I swear to god, Nick, cover us now or I'll never recommend you for a solo again. This is about more than the stupid game."
Nick turned to stare at them before his eye fell on Kurt and he clearly understood. Without a word he jumped out from his hiding spot, allowing Blaine to usher Kurt in there, pulling him into his arms straight away. "Come on, come here, it's okay, you're safe." Kurt buried his head into Blaine's neck, knowing Blaine could probably feel the tears against his skin now. Sure enough his grip tightened and his voice turned a little more desperate. "Don't cry, it's alright. Shh, please don't cry, Kurt, you're going to be okay, nothing's going to hurt you."
"I'm sorry," he finally got out. "I'm sorry, I tried, I didn't think it would be like this -"
"I know, it's okay. It's okay, it's not your fault, not at all, I should have thought -" Blaine gave up and simply held him tighter. Kurt calmed down quickly, suddenly feeling ridiculously ashamed for breaking down like that over a game and - "And you are not allowed to apologize," Blaine said softly.
Kurt huffed out a laugh and raised his head. "I really should though. We probably just lost because of me."
"Screw the game. Are you alright?"
Kurt nodded. "It didn't hurt that much, I just -"
"Not talking about the physical here."
"I know." Kurt sighed. "Is there any way I can get out of here without being shot at? I mean, you can keep playing, it's just kind of uncomfortable down here is all."
Blaine nodded, poking his head out. "Nick, how many are still in?"
"Just us three for our team and they've still got Wes and David."
"Okay." Blaine gently unwrapped his arms from Kurt who got the hint and shuffled out of his lap before watching in shock as Blaine stood, placing his gun at his feet and raising his hands. "We call surrender!" he called out to the others. Wes let out a victory cry and the others joined suit. "Jeff," he said in a quieter voice, "you're taking over as team leader and get one of the others onto your team. Kurt and I are out."
"You don't have to -" Kurt began as he climbed to his feet.
"Yes I do." Blaine led him back out of the course and into the building where they had changed. They returned their uniforms and guns before Blaine gestured to one of the seats in the corner of the otherwise abandoned room. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Kurt shrugged. "I'm fine now, if not a little embarrassed. It was a really strong reaction, I know, it just took me back, reminded me…"
Blaine nodded and his hand came to rest over Kurt's, their fingers lacing together instinctively. "I know. I'm so sorry, I should have thought of that at the start and definitely shouldn't have pressured you to come."
"I didn't know it was going to happen though," Kurt explained. "It took me by surprise which was probably why I panicked so much, I thought it would just hurt."
"You haven't really reacted much to what happened to you," Blaine said thoughtfully. "I mean, yeah, you flinched a little at some of the locker slams but you never really got jumpy when people grabbed your shoulder or anything. So this might just be all of that pent up and coming out now. And I understand that completely, you know that."
"But it's not like you reacted that way or anything."
Kurt winced, aware of how bitter his voice had sounded and immediately opened his mouth to backtrack, apologize, but Blaine was already talking. "No, but what happened to me happened a few years ago. You're still recovering from what happened to you -"
"You're saying I'm weak?" Kurt demanded, suddenly hating where the conversation was going and simultaneously egging it on because they needed to talk about this, because Kurt had been thinking about it for the past six days and it might very well be driving him insane already.
Blaine shook his head earnestly. "No. God no, Kurt! You're one of the strongest people I've ever met."
"Then… I don't know, am I broken? Not worth it? Used goods?"
"No. Kurt, where is all of this coming from? I've never said anything of the sort to you -"
"Then why won't you kiss me?"
Silence.
"Kurt?"
Kurt shook his head, refusing to look up. "It's fine," he said flatly and obviously untruthfully. "I'm used to being undesirable, I guess I shouldn't have assumed that you would -"
"Stop it."
Kurt froze. "Blaine?" he asked tentatively because he had never heard his boyfriend use that tone of voice before, like Blaine was disappointed in him.
Blaine sighed. "Kurt, I'm trying really hard not to get angry here and I know part of this is because you're shaken up from before but please, please do not sit there and tell me that I don't want you. I want you more than you would believe, Kurt, but I also know that you've had some pretty screwed up experiences in the past and you're also a romantic. I didn't just want to throw it at you, I wanted you to have a say."
"Then why didn't you talk to me about it?"
"I'm not sure," Blaine admitted slowly. "I've been wanting to but I didn't want to put pressure on you in case you thought that me bringing it up just meant that I wanted it. I mean, I do want it but I only want it if you want it and if you're ready and -"
"Okay, this right here?" Kurt finally looked up, fixing Blaine with the softest glare he could. "This is you mollycoddling me. This is you treating me like I'm broken and like I can't make a decision on my own or that you can't say anything without it affecting me. And I get where it's coming from and I appreciate it but I can't read your mind if you stay silent for fear of hurting me. I want to know what you're thinking, Blaine, and I want to know how you feel and what you want. Because chances are that I'll want the same thing."
Blaine nodded. "I can respect that. And in the spirit of honesty, I've never wanted to kiss you more."
Kurt smiled. "Neither."
And Kurt was sure that now was the moment, that now Blaine was finally going to lean in and kiss him just the way Kurt had always dreamt but no, Blaine was still talking. "So, just a quick question, you've been waiting all this time for me to kiss you?" Kurt nodded a touch impatiently. "Why didn't you just kiss me?"
Well, now that is a very good question.
Blaine must have realized that he didn't have an answer because he was laughing. "Just look at us," Kurt said, shaking his head. "We really can't get this relationship thing right, can we?"
"Do we really need to?" Blaine asked, suddenly serious. "For one, we're not the stereotypical teenage relationship but also… Kurt, I like us the way we are. And that's not me saying I don't want to kiss you or take things further but I like that things are comfortable between us, that we take each other for granted, that we sometimes get it wrong but we work through it together. Because that's what we're doing now and I just like you and -"
And Kurt leaned in and kissed him. Blaine recovered from the surprise fairly quickly and began to kiss him back and they could have been doing this for the past week and Kurt literally kicked himself for that one.
"Not that I'm complaining," Blaine asked when his mouth was free to talk again, "but why then?"
"You reminded me of how much I like you," Kurt said simply. "And that's what the first kiss is meant to be about, showing the other person how much you care about them."
Blaine was staring at him with an intensity that made Kurt shiver, but whatever was going to have come from that disappeared as the rest of the boys entered the room, most of them making a beeline for the food area. "Looks like the second round is over," Blaine said. "And judging by the looks of it, Wes won again."
"Hey, just curious about something," Kurt said, tugging at Blaine's hand and standing up on the bench so they could see the battlefield outside. "If you got Jeff to hide over there with you and me two mounds in front, it would look like he's actually hiding in that one there and he'd get a lot more people, especially if you put Cameron in as a decoy. And then just spread the others out along this series here… oh, and then you should put Nick here because nobody would be expecting him here, they'd all think he would be near Jeff and if he's the sniper then he could handle long distance and nobody would suspect him."
Silence. Kurt frowned and turned to Blaine who was staring at him with his mouth open. "What?"
Instead of answering, Blaine was turning away, searching the room. "Jeff!" Blaine called out, waiting for the blonde boy to join them. "You're fired as tactical advisor," he said immediately. "Kurt's in charge and the name of the next two games is to listen to him and make sure not a drop of paint touches him. Understood?"
"Ouch!" Jeff exclaimed. "What did I do to deserve that?"
"I think the question is, what did I do to deserve your spot?" Kurt said, winking at the blonde who he knew wasn't actually angry. "It helps to be boyfriend of the general, you know."
"Plus," Blaine added as Jeff left, "it helps to have lips that taste as delicious as yours."
Kurt snorted. "Your lines need work."
"Please. You like my lines."
"I like you," Kurt bantered back. "Your lines could use some work. I'll give you the length of the relationship to get it right."
"Oh, so a lifetime then?"
Instead of calling him out on cheesiness, Kurt simply smiled. "A lifetime it is."
Oh god, can someone call me out on my cheesiness?
MusicalEscape:
"So, Jeremiah, do you like Harry Potter?" "Nah, he's kinda stupid if you ask me." *states at in silent horror* "KURT, SAVE ME!"