Prompt: Person A isn't actually a workman, but he saw his co-worker Person B, for whom he has secretly been pining for months, staring at a good-looking construction worker at lunch and naturally assumes this must be his 'type'. So, he sets about trying to impress Person B with anecdotes about the handy DIY he does on weekends, the stories more exaggerated with each telling. Which is fine... until Person B asks him to lend a hand digging up his dad's driveway. Person A has never used a jackhammer in his life, but...
Words: Workman, DIY, Jackhammer
Thank you hkvoyage for tagging GFF and sarkyblueeyes for letting us steal your prompt.
A second thank you to kb. ellen (no space) here on FF for giving me permission to write a fanfic of her fanfic, A Summer Story. Go check it out…it's fantastic!
Kurt was reminiscing on his time in Cassville one night as he lay in the backyard of Darla's house, looking up at the stars. It reminded him of the night Blaine took him to Scandals, and they'd ended up in the middle of nowhere, laying in the bed of his truck and looking up at the sky, not talking about the things they should and simply enjoying the closeness of each other.
Nobody in New York would have guessed how seamlessly Kurt fit in in this small town, so far from the reality they lived there, least of all Kurt. One man, though, changed so much of that for him. Sure, the townspeople were nice to him and made him feel welcome. They were all kind and accepting and so incredibly generous, it made his head spin sometimes. It was one guy, though, the workman of the town, who really saw Kurt.
Sure, their first interaction at Darla's school hadn't been pleasant. Actually, it had been downright awful and left Kurt questioning everything that night and for the next couple of days. All of that changed after Kurt's first physical therapy session, though, the first time Blaine really saw Kurt for who he was and not who he thought he was.
One day, after the bathroom renovation at the school was done, Blaine took Kurt with him to one of his other jobs. He and Kurt spent their weekends together anyway, so Blaine thought why not ask.
"And you're sure the noise won't bother you?" Blaine checked once more.
"No, Blaine, it won't," Kurt replied. As snarky as Blaine could be, Kurt loved how protective he was, too. "Can you explain to me again what we're going to do?"
Blaine smiled that smile Kurt loved and turned the radio down, the country music fading so Blaine could explain to Kurt what they were doing without having to talk over it.
"Doug's patio in his backyard needs to be replaced," Blaine said. "He wants to put in a wooden deck, but first, we need to get all of the concrete up."
"And for that, you have to jackhammer it up," Kurt clarified. "Which is why I'll be sporting these awesome earmuffs." He held up the bright blue, over-the-ear earmuffs and smiled. New York Kurt never would have worn anything like them, but Cassville Kurt couldn't wait.
"Right. So, while I'm getting the concrete up, you'll be painting some planters," Blaine explained. "I know you want to help move the concrete, and you can as long as you promise to be truthful about your pain."
"I will, Blaine," Kurt said. "I've been feeling pretty good lately, and there is no way I'm going to jeopardize that."
"Right answer, Hummel," Blaine said with a dazzling smile.
They discussed how getting all of the concrete up would likely take all day and possibly the next. Doug's family was out of town for the weekend, so Blaine really wanted to get the loud stuff done during that time. None of this was a hardship for the boys, though. They found they loved being together no matter what they were doing.
The weekend passed wonderfully. Kurt worked on his DIY project of painting planters, taking inspiration from the backyard itself. Each one was different and featured a unique aspect: one with flowers, one with trees, and the last two with a rolling mural of the whole yard. When Blaine took breaks from his jackhammer, Kurt helped him move the smaller pieces of concrete into the wheelbarrow, thankful for the breaks in painting to stretch his muscles.
When the jackhammer wasn't running, Kurt found himself singing along to the radio they'd set up, falling in love with the country station Blaine loved to listen to that played music from the mid-90s and before. He especially loved Garth Brooks, Charlie Pride, and Alabama.
The one memory he knew he'd always remember, though, happened on the second day when they were taking their lunch break, feasting on Blaine's turkey sandwiches and Kurt's potato salad.
"Well, it was all
That I could do to keep from cryin'"
"I love this song," Blaine said, his grin getting even wider as he turned it up and started singing along with it.
"Sometimes it seemed so useless to remain
But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even called me by my name"
What surprised Blaine, though, was when the next verse started playing, and Kurt slipped in perfectly, matching the inflection of David Allan Coe's voice, singing like each of the artists he was talking about.
"You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings
And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride
And you don't have to call me Merle Haggard anymore
Even though you're on my fighting side"
By this point, Blaine's smile had never been bigger, and the two sang the chorus at the top of their lungs, not having a care in the world about who might hear them.
"And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standing' in the rain
But you don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even called me by my name"
They kept singing until Blaine started talking after the next chorus.
"This is my favorite part!" he crowed and watched, mesmerized, as Kurt recited it.
"Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song
And he told me it was the perfect country & western song
I wrote him back a letter and I told him it was not the perfect country & western song
Because he hadn't said anything at all about mama
Or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting' drunk
Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent it to me
And after reading it I realized that my friend had written the perfect country & western song
And I felt obliged to include it on this album
The last verse goes like this here"
Again, at the top of their lungs, they sang the next part together.
"Well, I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got run over by a damned old train"
They couldn't even finish the song, they were laughing so hard. Kurt felt so many pieces of himself healing, parts that he didn't even realize were broken or injured. And as the applause from Doug and his family rang out behind them, both boys took an over-emphasized bow.
Somehow, if by will alone, Kurt heard Blaine's old truck pulling into Darla's driveway, and he smiled. He had no idea what the future would hold, but for right now, he was living in the moment, not "future tripping." And this moment consisted of Blaine coming and laying down beside him, looking up at the stars, and lacing their hands together like they'd done this a million times before.
A/N: The song used is You Never Even Called Me By My Name (The Perfect Country and Western Song) by David Allan Coe and is one of my absolute FAVORITE songs ever.