A/N We just wanted to warn you that there is an incident in this chapter involving Raja the Tiger that may be a little traumatic. Please be aware of this when you read the chapter. If you think it might be a trigger for you, skip from where Kurt and Rachel are speaking outside his dressing room door to where Kurt confronts Adam backstage.
Reviews always welcome!
…
Chapter Seventeen
"How are you feeling?" Blaine asked as Quinn finished running through the levitating butterfly illusion Friday afternoon. They'd attempted to run through it the day before, but they'd needed to make some adjustments to the rigging to make it more comfortable for her.
"I'm fine, although I think I need to work on that spin a little. The wings kept brushing the back of the box."
"We can make the wings a little smaller, that's not a problem," Blaine assured her, before turning to look down into the first row of the audience section. Most of the crew were on dinner break, so the arena was almost empty. "What do you guys think? Did you see any tells or mistakes?"
Kurt, Elliott, Mike, Tina, Rachel, Wes and Sam had all been sitting in seats at different angles in the first section where the audience would have the best view, and the higher chance of spotting a problem.
"I didn't spot anything from this side," Sam said from the right section. The blonde man had been watching the performance intently, admiring the grace and beauty of the usually reserved assistant.
"Me either," Wes said from the left.
None of the others saw anything amiss either. "It was amazing," Kurt said, smiling at Quinn. "And you look beautiful in that costume. Blaine is right, I think if we make the wings about three or four inches shorter, it will be just perfect."
Blaine hugged Quinn, and turned back to the others. "Okay, let's get dinner before the show starts."
Sam and Wes each went their separate ways, but Blaine and all his assistants had dinner together in the hotel restaurant.
"I can't remember when the last time we did this was," Quinn said as they finished eating.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"All of us sitting down together for a meal. I like it. It feels like family dinner night."
Tina looked down at her plate. "I'm sorry. I know my attitude and attention issues are a big part of what caused the rift between all of us. We always used to have dinner together on Friday nights before shows, even before Blaine won The Illusionist, and it was just Blaine, me, and you," she smiled shyly at Quinn. "And sometimes Elliott. And you're right, it was like a family dinner."
"Well," Elliott said, looking around at them all, "I propose that from now on we establish Friday Night Family Dinners again. Maybe after the tour is over and we're back home in Vegas, we can invite Wes and all the crew, too."
"That's a lot of people," Kurt said, but smiled. "I like that idea."
"Good, it's settled then," Blaine said. They raised their glasses in a toast to seal the pact.
…
They were approaching intermission on the family friendly show, and Blaine and all six assistants were on stage. The assistants were lined up behind the magician, who smiled a little sheepishly at the audience.
"This is a little embarrassing, but I need you guys' help settling a disagreement between my assistants. None of them can agree on what to order for dinner. As you can see, each one of them has a manilla envelope in front of them, which contains their choice for take out. They've agreed to allow you all to blindly choose what we will eat tonight."
He moved behind the line of assistants, and started from left to right. "If you think Tina should choose our dinner tonight, clap now." There were some cheers and applause from the audience, and Blaine nodded and moved on. "What about Elliott? Should he decide our culinary fate tonight?" Again there were cheers and applause, maybe just a little louder than what Tina had received. He moved on. "Do you want Quinn to be in control tonight?" More applause and shouts. "How about Kurt? Does he deserve to pick?" The loudest round of cheers and screaming yet arose from the audience. He moved to stand next to Rachel. "Should Rachel choose?" There was some clapping and cheering. "Or finally, should the new guy, Mike, get to pick?" The final assistant received almost as much applause as Elliott, but Kurt was the clear winner.
"Well, it looks like Kurt will be picking our dinner tonight. Kurt, please, take your envelope and stand over there where everyone can see you and your envelope. Before we see what Kurt picked, let's find out what everyone else wanted. Tina, why don't you show us what was in your envelope?"
She opened the envelope and pulled out a photograph. The camera man knelt in front of her to show what it was on the big screen so the audience could see it. "Teriyaki Noodles," Blaine said. "Good choice. What about you, Elliott?"
The older man smiled and opened his envelope, to reveal an image of burgers, fries, and milkshakes. "Oh man, that looks good," Blaine said with a regretful sigh. "Quinn what was your pick?"
The blonde woman revealed an image of a steak and baked potato. "Always an excellent choice. Rachel?"
The petite brunette held up an image of a salad. "Vegan, of course. Mike, what would have been your selection?"
The newest assistant pulled out a picture of a topping laden pizza with lots of cheesy goodness. "Great, now my mouth is watering. I hope whatever Kurt chose is good. Kurt-"
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Sam, who rushed out on stage and whispered into Blaine's ear. "Well, it seems my manager has already called in our order, and the food has arrived. Please, show the delivery person out on stage," Blaine instructed Sam.
A moment later, an embarrassed looking guy who looked to be no more than seventeen came out on stage, carrying a white plastic bag. "Thank you," Blaine said, taking the bag. "Can you tell us your name and where you work?"
"Uh, my name's Tony, and I work at Yama Sushi House."
"Huh, sushi, go figure. Well, Sam, please pay the gentleman. I would, but I left my wallet backstage." The audience laughed at that. "Now, you, the audience could have picked any of my assistants tonight. There was a one in six chance that my manager would pick the right food, assuming he picked one of those six choices at all. We'll find out if Kurt chose sushi, but first, I think we should double check this order, don't you?"
He set the bag down on a table Sam and another stagehand carried out and set before him. He untied it and began pulling things out, listing them out loud as he pulled each item from the bag. "Let's see. Ebi, Ama Ebi, Uni, Unagi, Dragon roll, shrimp tempura roll…" He frowned. "Um, where's my spider roll?" He checked the bag again, and then glanced up at the audience. "I have an idea. Kurt, come over here please!" Kurt sauntured over, smiling. "Kurt, please open your envelope."
Kurt held the envelope flat in his palm as he opened it, and reached inside to pull out...a tray of spider roll. The audience clapped and cheered. Blaine bowed. "Thank you all! We're taking a thirty minute intermission now. You'll find free sushi for everyone in the lobby! Enjoy!"
…
As the curtain fell on the first performance of the night, Tina stood backstage, toweling her face and working out some stiffness in her neck from having to crouch under the stage for several long minutes during the next to last illusion. As Mike ran off the stage, he paused and smiled at her.
"You did great tonight, Tina. You looked so pretty in that sequined flower costume."
She blushed. "Thank you."
He smiled and rushed off to the changing room.
Rachel approached her from behind, sipping from a water bottle. "You know, it was really sweet of Kurt and Blaine to bring him in to make you smile. I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that. Not even when Blaine complimented you."
Tina smiled at her. "I think somewhere deep inside I knew Blaine was only being nice when he complimented me. Mike actually means it."
"Kurt said that Mike has always had his eye on you. And really, it must be great for you to have someone you know you don't have to worry about liking you back," Rachel responded. "Also, I really do like the Tina I've been seeing since you came back, much better."
She sighed. "I know I acted like a real bitch the last couple of years, even before you joined the cast. I've been talking with the therapist this week, and I think I narrowed it down to the exact moment crazy new Tina took over. It was just before Kurt joined the act. I'd been dating this guy for almost a year, before he admitted to me that he was gay, and he'd been using me as a beard so his parents wouldn't disinherit him." She shook her head. "That was actually the second guy I'd liked that turned out to be gay. I think that's another reason I didn't get off to a good start with Kurt. Him being gay just felt like salt being rubbed in the wound."
Rachel got a rather smirky look on her face, rubbing her chin in thought for a moment. "You know, maybe you could use your penchant for crushing on gay guys to make a profit in a side business like a gay dating service or something," she said with a laugh.
Tina rolled her eyes, but laughed with her. "Maybe. But somehow I don't think I'm going to have to worry about falling for another gay guy. Mike actually does make me happy. He's sweet, and he actually likes me."
"Honestly," Rachel said, "Kurt's kind of been so surprising since you were suspended. Almost as if he was hiding who he really was all along, or something. I feel like I've misjudged him."
Tina glanced around, then moved closer to the other woman. "Have you noticed he and Blaine haven't been as snippy with each other lately?"
Rachel went still for all of half a second before she quickly recovered herself and glanced at Tina with a raised eyebrow. She took a sip of her water, buying herself a beat. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Tina just shrugged. "I just mean they aren't bickering like they used to. Do you think they've called a truce as well?"
The petite diva shifted from foot to foot. She had to play this very carefully. She still didn't have any idea how Tina might react if she knew that Kurt and Blaine hating each other was a cover up for their very real, very serious relationship. And she also was aware that Kurt and Blaine were not ready to come out with it, yet. She was glad to know that they were just waiting for the right time, rather than being ashamed, which might have been her first thought. "I think everyone's just trying harder to put a wrench in the drama, especially after Blaine finally fired Sebastian," she finally said.
Tina nodded. "That's true. I hated the way it felt backstage just a couple of weeks ago, with everyone's egos getting in the way. And I freely admit my part in that. I hope we all can start fresh." She side eyed Rachel for a moment. "And maybe we can convince Kurt to find someone to make you happier, too."
Rachel stopped in her steps in surprise. "Me?" she asked. In all honesty, it had been quite some time since she'd really even thought about dating.
"Why not?" Tina asked. "I think you'd be a lot happier with someone to shower you with compliments and praise that they actually mean. I know it's your ambition to be a star in your own right, but wouldn't it be just as nice to have someone who makes you feel like one?"
She wasn't wrong. When was the last time someone had genuinely paid her those kinds of compliments? Rachel realized that she was kind of the only person complimenting her own talent. And she knew that it was true that if Blaine didn't think she was good at the job, she wouldn't still be here. "Huh, you know, I never really thought about that. You're right, it is nice to have someone encourage and compliment you like that."
…
As the music transitioned into the next illusion, Kurt exited the stage. They were about two thirds through the first half of the adults only show, and things had been going smoothly. He grabbed a bottle of water and began chugging it.
"Oh, hey Kurt," Sam said. The stage hand was pushing a cart full of fan mail and packages. "Beiste asked me to deliver these. I just dropped yours off in your dressing room. I gotta ask, is that Lord Tubbington a real lord? Like British royalty or something?"
Kurt snorted. "Lord Tubbington is a very fat grey tabby. His owner is a very eccentric blonde girl named Brittany. She's some kind of genius or something, but she lives in her own fantasy world drawn in crayons."
"Oh, well, I think she-" Sam was cut off as Rachel spotted Kurt and called out to him.
"I need to talk to you," she said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but this is really important."
Kurt frowned at her. "What's up?"
Rachel, always the blunt one, almost wanted to beat around the bush with this because she wasn't entirely sure how Kurt would react. Granted, she also still didn't know what Tina would think if she knew the truth about Kurt and Blaine. "Something came to my attention at the end of the earlier show," she finally started.
Kurt knew Rachel was holding something back, he could tell by her clipped words. "Come on, you can tell me as we walk to my dressing room. I need to get Raja ready for his trick." He led her towards the changing rooms.
She bit her lip, deciding not to dawdle anymore. "I was talking to Tina and...I think she might be onto you and Blaine."
Kurt frowned, pausing just outside his door. "What makes you think that?"
"She made a comment about whether I had noticed you two weren't as snippy as usual. So I told her that I thought it was probably because everyone was trying to avoid more drama after everything that had already happened," she said.
Kurt nodded. "Good thinking. What did she say to that?"
"She thought it made sense. I know she's the one you two are most worried about finding out. To be honest, I was almost tempted to find out what she thought it meant, maybe get an idea of how she would feel if she knew. But because I know where you two stand, I thought it was smarter to try and lead her away from that assumption."
Kurt smiled at her. "Thanks, Rach. Let me know if she says anything else, okay?"
She offered him a smile of her own. "I will, I promise. I just thought it might be important that you know she's getting suspicious."
Kurt gave her a quick hug, and then opened the door to his dressing room. He stopped at the smell of vomit, his eyes going wide as he spotted the puddle of bile on the floor. His eyes immediately darted around the room, searching for his feline companion. He spotted the large tiger just behind the small coffee table in the center of the room. The beautiful cat was having some kind of seizure. Kurt screamed.
"Call the vet!" he practically yelled at Rachel as he threw himself down beside Raja. "Come on baby, stay with me!" he sobbed.
The cat tried to look at him, fear and confusion evident on his feline features.
"What happened?" Sam asked, rushing in as Rachel rushed off to get the vet.
"I don't know!" Kurt said, looking around for some clue. He noticed what looked like bits of fish in the vomit on the floor. "How long ago did you drop off those packages? Was Raja eating anything when you came in?"
Sam looked afraid. "There was another one of those bouquets of dried fish in the deliveries. Raja smelled it, and I thought it wouldn't hurt to let him have one. Beiste had inspected all the deliveries, and said they were safe."
Kurt frowned. Brittany only sent those bouquets twice a year. Once when they visited Tucson, and again on Raja's birthday in June. No one else ever sent them, and he was certain Brittany would never do anything to harm Raja. "Go get Wes and Beiste. And tell Elliott to signal Blaine that something is wrong, without messing up the rest of the show."
Sam nodded and hurried away. A few moments later, Rachel returned with Dr. Rose, the veterinarian. Marley immediately began examining the large feline, checking his heart rate, respiration, and pulse. She even gently pried the cat's mouth open and leaned in to smell his breath.
"I can't be certain without drawing blood, but I'm guessing Ketamine overdose," she said, as Wes and Beiste arrived.
"Sam said you received a bouquet of dried fish," the head of security said. "I don't know where that came from. It didn't pass through security. Someone had to have snuck it in after the checkpoint."
Wes was frowning. "We'll go through the security footage. I had Beiste add additional cameras to the ones the arena already had in place after Blaine was locked in the bathroom last night."
Sheldon nodded. "I had our people working all last night getting them installed for tonight's performance. I made sure every nook and cranny in this place was covered. We'll catch the bastard who did this."
Kurt wasn't really listening. All he could think of was the way Adam had glared at Raja the night before, after the cat had swatted his hand. Rage filled the glasz eyed man, and he jumped to his feet, rushing out of the room, spotting the British bastard talking to a couple other crew men.
"You bastard!" he all but shouted, not caring if the audience could hear him. "What did you do to Raja?"
Adam stared at him with wide eyes. "What the deuce are you even talking about?"
"You fed Raja drugged fish! You were mad after he slapped you last night, so you tried to kill him!"
The British man narrowed his eyes. "I've been in the prop room all night tonight!" he said hotly. "And if you don't believe me, you can ask Artie! The Queen knows you'd believe me! And as much as that damn feline of yours probably deserved it, where the hell would I have gotten fish around here on short notice?"
Kurt looked like he was about to attack the man when Blaine suddenly appeared beside him. "What's going on?" He glared at Adam.
"He poisoned Raja!" Kurt spat out.
"I didn't hurt your stupid cat!" Adam shouted. "You just needed someone to blame so you wouldn't have to admit you were careless with him!"
Kurt lunged for the other man, but Blaine and Sam caught him.
"Kurt," Sam said, "they're getting ready to take Raja to the zoo hospital. Marley has already called them to expect you."
Blaine squeezed his shoulder surreptitiously, so no one would notice. "You need to calm down, Kurt. Raja needs you now. Go with him." Blaine watched Sam guide the auburn haired assistant back to the dressing rooms, before he turned to Adam. "You better hope Beiste can prove you weren't the one to harm that animal, or I will let Kurt shred you to pieces when he returns."
"I didn't do anything to that overrated flea trap!" Adam snarled, and walked away.
Elliott came up behind Blaine as he watched the crew leader stalk away. "What are we going to do about the rest of the show?"
Blaine let out a sigh. "You'll take Kurt's place for the rest of the show tonight, and we'll just skip Raja's illusion. We'll play tomorrow by ear."
…
UniqueAlwaysStandsOut: Great show tonight, darlings, but what happened to GlaszandPorcelain? He just disappeared (no pun intended) before the end of the first half of the show?
MRutherford11: I was in the third row, towards the left side of the stage, and at one point we could all hear shouting coming from backstage during one of Blackwell's illusions. I couldn't make out what was being said, but someone was really angry about something!
MottoLottoSugar: You all, I was taking my boyfriend out to dinner, and as I passed the Zoo, I swear I saw Kurt Hummel helping to unload that tiger of his from a pickup truck, and the man looked terrified! Did something happen to Raja?
DisillusionedDemonBlackwell666: I warned you my vengeance would be swift and terrible! First your precious little maggot ridden pet, next it will be you, Kurt Hummel!
yadivagirl: Raja? OMG! Please say he's okay! (prayer emoji, tiger emoji)
IShipBlina: No! Please say it ain't so! I can't take one more thing going wrong right now! Please don't let anything bad have happened to Raja! I don't care if Blaine and Tina are never together, just please let Raja be okay!
WildeKitty: I swear, if anything happens to that tiger, this Kitty is going feral!
BlaineKurtElliott: I'm ready to kick butt and chew gum, and I'm all out of gum! Whoever hurt Kurt's baby will rue the day he was ever born!
RajasRagina: OMG! Lord Tubbington is so upset right now! Please tell us Raja is okay!
IheartBlaine: oh please, god, no! Not Raja!
IStanKlaine: Oh, my poor, sweet Porcelain! Be strong! I shall send down the terrible, mighty fear of all things Cheerleader to destroy whoever has caused you this pain!
WeareTHENiff: Bro, say the word and we're on our way. We don't know what we can do to help, but we'll be there for you!
klainedreams34: Does anyone know what happened? Was Raja hurt? Is he going to be okay?
coffeegleek: Reported, DisillusionedDemonBlackwell666. If anything terrible happens to Raja, you better run and hide, you sniveling little coward!
grlnxtdr29: Sending healing energies to KingRaja! Whoever hurt him will burn in hell!
backslashdelta: BBlackwell's army is ready for battle to bring down the bastard who dared to harm a single hair on that animal's majestic head! This is WAR people!
FootballMechanic: Dude, I'm only four hours away! Just say the word and I'm there!
holdontoglee: I don't know what is going on, but I'm locked and loaded!
Taplove2015: GlaszandPorcelain, we're all here for you! Stay strong for Raja
coffeeorderwrites: I don't care if I lose my job, I'll jump on the first flight out to hunt down the piece of {redacted} that did this!
kurthummeldeservesbetter: Hell is too good for whoever did this! They must suffer even worse than the burning pits of fire for all eternity!
blaineys-boogie-shoes: Blaine's Army, Assemble! Time to take down a bad guy!
lucy8675309: I'm not a violent person, but so help me, if I find out who you are, you will pay!
klainetkm: Skin them alive and turn them into a rug!
lestersbonnet (Formerly Kina4eva): Feel the vengeance of BBlackwell and GlaszandPorcelain's seven hundred MILLION plus fans! You can run, but you can't hide!
RainbowsandRibbons: I'm in shock. How did this happen?
mardie186: I can't believe it was just a few days ago when KingRaja was here in the diner! Please let him be alright!
TheresaG: I'm crying and angry, and I want to hit someone so bad right now!
datshitrandom: I'm sending KingRaja a get well soon card I designed. If you want to add your name and a short message to it, DM me!
ButtonsandBows: How could anyone harm such a sweet, beautiful animal like that?
I_hate_Mosquitos: I need answers, and I need them NOW!
Kokofluff: Stay strong, Raja. Can you feel all the love being sent your way? We're all here, ready to fight for you. You just get better!
branches-are-looking-at-me: There are no words! I just discovered magic, and now this?
WMontgomeryMngmt: There has been an incident involving Raja, the Bengal Tiger. He has been taken to a local wildlife care center for treatment, and is in stable condition. Both Raja and his handler, Kurt Hummel will be taking time off from the tour to give Raja the time he needs to recover fully. Police and Animal Welfare are Investigating.
GlaszandPorcelain: Thank you to all the fans! Raja is stable, but is still very sick. Both he and I will be leaving the tour until it is safe for him to travel. Please give us time to heal in private. Sending all our love, peace to everyone
GlaszandPorcelain: To the bastard who did this, you think you will get away with it, but you won't. When I find you, no one will find your body.
Private Message: From Thattireguy
To GlaszandPorcelain
I'm so sorry, Kurt. I should have been there, no matter what Wes said. I know you don't want me there because you are afraid for my health, and for your peace of mind, I will stay here, out of harm's way. But I am sending Finn to watch out for you.
You're vulnerable right now, and I know Blaine has to go on with the tour without you, even though I know he really wants to be there at your side through this horrible time. I'm sure it's killing him inside right now. Don't let this ruin what you two have. Because what you two have is Magic, Kurt. Real, honest to god Magic. There is no other way to describe it. I see it in the way he looks at you, and I know you feel it too. Stay strong for him. Stay strong for Raja. And stay strong for yourself. I'm always just a phone call away if you need me.
Love, Dad.
...
A/N Just to let you all know, we have finished writing this story, and we will begin posting every other day now!