25: Betting On Love

"Hey." Carson said to Kurt as he sat beside him at the bar. It was late one Saturday night, and the brothers figured it wouldn't hurt to hang out. Both Chris and Finn had been caught up at work.

Kurt looked up from his glass of water. "Hey. What's up?"

Carson shook his head and didn't say anything. He got the bartender's attention and ordered himself a drink. When he finally got a beer, he answered. "Chris is driving me insane."

Kurt looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Carson sighed as he sipped his beer. "I mean I love him and all, but he is always at my house. Sometimes I have to tell him to go home at night. Shannon doesn't mind him being around so much, but between you and me, Chris is a huge cock block."

Kurt laughed loudly, making Carson look around at the people around them. "Awe. Is my baby brother being cock blocked by a gay man?"

Carson scowled. "It's not funny Kurt. It's extremely annoying."

Kurt laughed again, much quieter this time. He too sipped his drink as he thought back on the last few weeks. Chris had been around his apartment a lot too. Not to the point where he was in the way, but to the point of annoyance. "Yeah. I know what you mean. He's been at mine a lot too."

Carson nodded, knowing already. "Blaine told me. What do you think the problem is? Have you been to his place lately?"

"Yeah." Kurt said before gulping down the last of his water. "There's nothing wrong with it." Kurt thought for a moment or two. "I think he's just lonely."

Silence engulfed the brothers again. Suddenly Carson's eyes widened with an idea. "Hey Kurt?"

"What." Kurt rebuffed nervously.

An evil smile began to grow across the man's face as he continued to think out his plan. "I think it's time for another bet."

"Oh yeah?" A small smirk sat firmly on Kurt's face. He immediately knew it was going to be interesting.

"Oh yeah." Carson repeated. "The bet is... Who ever can find the better date for Chris wins."

Kurt's eyebrows began to rise up on his forehead. "Really? I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, it's not, it's a great idea!" Carson exclaimed, beginning to get excited. "We'll each set Chris up with a date, and we'll let him pick who he likes better."

Kurt sat quietly while he thought the plan through. "Ok I guess. I mean, it's worth trying."

Carson smiled again. "That's the spirit."

"Alright, but what does the winner get?"

Carson shrugged. "I don't know, twenty bucks?"

Kurt shrugged as well. "Alright, but what if Chris doesn't go for it?"

"He will. I know he will." Carson said positively.

"Okay but what if he..."

"No more what ifs!" Carson interrupted loudly, gaining himself a shush from the drunkard at the end of the bar. Carson ignored him with a middle finger in the air. "It'll be fine Kurt."

Kurt huffed. "Fine. But if he doesn't like it, this was completely your idea."

Carson smiled, feeling rather accomplished. "Sweet! You have a week to pick out your man and set up the date. Good luck."

Kurt smiled nervously again. Beside his empty glass, his phone went off. As he read the text, his eyes grew wide and a comical expression appeared on his face.

"What?" Carson asked confusedly.

"Nothing." Kurt said quickly as he began to get up out of his chair. "It's nothing, I've just got to go."

Carson huffed as he swallowed the last of his beer. "Alright, but it looks like a very exciting nothing." Carson began to pull out his wallet to pay. "Feel free to tell me later. I'm going to head out too."

"Alright, see you soon." Kurt said as he headed towards the door and out onto the bustling streets.

Carson smiled as he put away his wallet again. Instead of getting up to leave however, he began to look around the bar. There weren't many people, but there was one guy that stood out from all the rest.

This was because he was staring back.

Smiling, Carson signaled him over.

The man was rather tall, with white blond hair. He confidently walked over and sat at the stool that Kurt had previously been sitting on. "Hi." He said with a deep and raspy voice.

"Hey. Are you single by any chance?" Carson asked, feeling the need to get right to the point.

The man's eyebrows rose, and a grin slowly appeared. "Yeah, are you."

Carson laughed, earning himself another shush from the old man on the far end of the long bar. "No, I'm not. I've got a girlfriend."

Instantly, the smile disappeared from the guys face. "Then what's up?"

"Sorry." Carson said, deciding he should start over. "I'm asking for my brother."

"Oh." The guy said, still not looking very happy.

"It's for my identical brother." Carson said, over exaggerating the word identical.

The guy raised his eyebrows again. "Oh, you mean your twin that was just in here? That guy looked exactly like you."

Carson shook his head. "Nah, he's married. I'm talking about my other identical brother. We're triplets."

"Woah!" The guy exclaimed. "Interesting." He appeared to think about something for a few seconds before extending his hand. "The name's Tommy."

"Carson." He said as he shook his hand. "So... Are you interested?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah. When and where man."

Carson nodded too.

He began to dream about what he would spend his twenty dollars on.

"That sounds like a terrible idea." Blaine said as he laid in bed beside his husband. He had listened to Kurt tell him all about the new bet, and he couldn't help but express his opinion.

"That's what I thought at first too, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it." Kurt said as he snuggled into Blaine's side. "I don't like seeing Chris alone. You and I both know how lonely this city can be sometimes."

Blaine hummed, thinking back on some not so happy memories. "So who are you going to set him up with?"

"I don't know." Kurt whispered into the darkness. "There's a guy that works at the diner with me that I can see Chris liking. His names William."

"Oh yeah, I think I met him last time I was there. He seemed really nice." Silence followed Blaine's words. The two laid comfortably in each others arms with a small smile glued to their face.

"I can't believe we're going to be parents." Kurt whispered again. Blaine laughed softly.

"Yeah."

"You did what!" Chris exclaimed.

"You heard us. We set up some dates for you." Carson repeated. Kurt and Carson sat on the sofa in Chris's apartment the next day. After mentioning to each other that they had already found their brother a date each, they decided there was no point in waiting a week.

"I don't understand." Chris said as he struggled to figure out why his brothers would ever attempt something like this. He began to pace back and forth in front of the sofa.

"Well for starters, we're having fun. Secondly, I think it would be good for you." Carson said as he cast a glance towards Kurt. They had decided not to mention that it was a bet, feeling like Chris would completely abandon the idea all together. Instead, they agreed (more like Carson decided and Kurt didn't argue) that they would pretend that they were trying to introduce their two friends to their brother in a more than friendly manner.

Chris continued to pace as the silence grew longer. This caused everyone to jump when the sound of a door opening and closing rang throughout the apartment. Chris's roommate Elliot walked into the living room. "Oh, hey guys."

"Hey Elliot, what's up?" Kurt said to his friend. He had been the one to introduce Elliot to Chris, and they had instantly clicked and become fast friends. At the time, Chris had found himself in need of a roommate, and Elliot had discovered that, after Rachel had moved out of his place after a past fight had been solved, he was lonely and longed for company. Kurt was rather proud of the fact that he was the reason that the two had each other to confide in.

"Not much, I'm heading out. I'm going to spend the night at Dani's place." Elliot said as he put on a jacket.

"That's perfect!" Carson exclaimed. Everyone in the room gave him an odd look. "Well now you don't have to worry about your roommate interrupting you and your date while you guys are getting your love making on later."

Everyone groaned at Carson's suggestive words. "Really Carson?" Was all Kurt could find himself saying. Carson only shrugged in response.

"Alright. I don't want to know." Elliot said as he began to head for the door. "But you will tell me everything later." he added over his shoulder. If he had learned anything about the Hummels, it was always complex, and it always made for a good story later.

After Elliot had left, Chris turned to his brothers. "Wait, is one of your arranged dates tonight?"

Carson blinked innocently. "Oh, did I not tell you?"

"Carson!" Kurt shouted angrily. Again, Carson just shrugged.

"So will you go on the dates?" Carson asked curiously. He still expected him to not go through with it.

Chris seemed lost as to whether or not he should do it. After a few more moments of tense silence. Chris nodded slightly. "I guess, there's no harm in meeting new people."

Carson jumped up off the sofa in excitement. "Awesome! Your first date is in about an hour."

"Carson!" It was Chris who shouted this time as he ran out of the living room and towards his bedroom. The sound of a door slamming signaled that Kurt and Carson were alone.

"Well that went well." Kurt said sarcastically. Carson stuck his tongue out at his brother.

Chris was freaking out. He had never gone on a blind date before, and while this technically wasn't one since his dates had been picked out by his brothers, he had no idea what to do.

He sat in a nice homey restaurant that was rather quaint in his opinion. He sat in a booth that faced the entrance, looking up from the menu every time he heard the jingle of the bell on the front door. Every time he saw it wasn't his date, he grew more and more anxious. He began to get lost in thought about just how horrible the night could possibly turn into.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Chris looked up to see a young man with short brown hair and a slight scruff on his chin. He was surprised that he had missed him enter the restaurant. The man was unfamiliar to Chris, but from what Kurt had told him, this must have been William.

"Not at all. It's nice to meet you." Chris said kindly as he gestured for the man to sit down across from him. "My name's Chris."

The man smiled widely, showing off his very white teeth. "Hi, I'm Will."

From there, the two men exchanged pleasantries until a waitress came by to collet their orders. After that, they told stories about their family, siblings, and friends. All in all, Chris found that he could sum the night up to being rather successful.

"So?!" Kurt asked over the phone the next day. He and Blaine were currently over at Carson and Shannon's house having lunch when his phone started ringing. "How was it!" He asked his brother, referring to the night before. Beside him, Carson listened closely.

"It was fantastic!" Chris said happily into his phone. "He said that he wanted to meet up again."

Kurt silently pumped a fist in the air. Carson began to groan and dig out his wallet. "Not fair! he didn't even go on a date with Tommy."

Chris heard his brother's complaints and tried to think of a way to make him feel better. In that exact moment, Elliot happened to walk through the front door.

"Don't worry about it. I've got an idea." Chris said mischievously into the phone, causing Elliot to stop in his tracks and star back at his roommate. He was met with a solid stare.

"Well anyway, did you get your love making on last night Christopher?" Carson asked, trying to bring light to the conversation again.

"No! Gosh Carson!" Chris shouted. Elliot took that as his cue to run to his room.

"Really?" Shannon asked her boyfriend from across the table. Chris laughed at her bluntness through the phone.

"There goes my new shoes." Carson wined again, disappointed that all the dreaming in the world couldn't save him from coughing up twenty dollars. At this, everyone laughed at the man who was pouting childishly.