9
Blaine looked down to see the actors rush to their places as the curtains opened and the crowd went wild with cheers and even started prematurely throwing things onto the stage: rice, toast, a roll of toilet paper—the normal cult Rocky Horror fare. The screen behind the stage illuminated to play the movie that the actors would perform in front of it.
Blaine couldn't believe where he was or what he was doing. There he was— suspended above the stage, watching the action unfold below him, waiting for his gorgeous date to make his debut.
The cast was a mix of older teens and young adults, and they were doing and phenomenal job. As the show unfolded below, Blaine found himself more and more enveloped, mouthing along the songs and forgetting himself in the general absurdity until Quinn's occasional, soft laughter would ground him back in the moment. He could not stop smiling.
And then, Kurt came on, and the smile was immediately replaced with an expression of open-mouthed awe. The cast was unfolding Rocky from his bandages and then bam, there was Kurt. He was Rocky himself in all his barely dressed glory. All Blaine could do was stare. His eyes scanned over every inch of Kurt's exposed porcelain skin, stretched thin and almost translucent over taut, toned muscles. Suddenly, David's comment about him being pleased with what he'd see tonight made perfect sense.
Blaine decided he had been right in his first assessment of Kurt's figure at the coffee shop two weeks prior—this boy had absolutely nothing to be self-conscious about. Kurt's long legs seemed to go on for miles between his only two items of clothing: shiny golden combat boots and a pair of equally shiny skin-tight briefs. Blaine didn't dare let his eyes rest too long on those, though. From there, he followed Kurt's lightly defined abs up to his well-formed pecks and toned biceps. It was true that Kurt was probably skinnier than your average Rocky, but he was certainly striking enough be believable as a creature created as the ideal for human beauty.
"Like what you see?" Quinn suddenly asked.
Blaine whipped his head over to her and snapped his gaping mouth closed. "Oh, uh…"
Quinn just laughed and shook her head. "Man, you were practically drooling."
Blaine felt his cheeks burning.
"Hey, I don't blame you. Kurt is looking fine since he shed the last of his baby fat. Puberty has been good to him."
"Yeah," Blaine said with a smile. "Apparently so."
The rest of the show passed in blur of audience chants, lingerie and kick lines. Blaine was enthralled with every minute of it, but couldn't bring himself to look anywhere else but at Kurt when he was on stage. Rocky had very few lines, but Kurt nailed each on of them. He seemed so comfortable on stage, even in just his skivvies. It was obvious that he was a real natural, and Blaine was impressed beyond all expectation.
The final curtain closed after the cast bowed to the cheering audience and the house lights came up. Blaine's eyes were glued to Kurt from above and he was pleasantly surprised when he saw his date turn and look up to the scaffolding to find him.
Blaine waved to catch Kurt's eye and the other boy waved back, huge smile in place.
"Let's head down," Blaine said to Quinn, anxious to get to Kurt.
The two of them shimmied their way over to the ladder and down onto the stage.
Kurt was waiting at the bottom of the ladder and, to Blaine's surprise (but not is dismay), he reached out and placed a supportive hand on the small of Blaine's back as he approached the end of the ladder. Goosebumps erupted all over Blaine's body.
"Thanks," he breathed, turning to meet Kurt's eyes. "Kurt, that was incredible!" He surprised himself by reaching out for a hug.
Kurt enthusiastically returned the embrace and Blaine felt himself blush when he made contact with Kurt's bare shoulders.
"Thank you," Kurt replied. "I'm glad you liked it." He released the hug. "I'm also glad I didn't choke."
Blaine shook his head. "No way. You're such a natural. You looked so comfortable."
Kurt smiled a thousand-watt smile. "You're too kind."
Quinn stepped down from the ladder next to them. "Hey boys."
"Quinn!" Kurt exclaimed. He pulled her into a hug as well.
"Nice job out there, Kurt," she said, eyes sweeping over his now lingerie-clad body and high heels. "You made a good Rocky. Color me impressed."
Kurt laughed. "Thanks. It was, uh, not my first choice in a part, but I'll take what I can get. It was fun."
"Well, you rocked it." She looked around the stage expectantly, and a smile turned up on her face when she spotted Puck on the other side through the throng of people. "Now if you'll excuse me, I want to usher Puck out of here ASAP. We're seeing Beth tomorrow morning so I don't want to make it too late of a night."
"Okay, Quinn. It was great to see you. Tell the Glee club I say hi."
They hugged goodbye and Quinn turned to Blaine. "I'm glad I met you, Blaine. We should get the babies together sometime soon for a play date."
"That would be awesome!" Blaine exclaimed. "Ollie needs to meet more kids his age."
"Perfect. I'll let you know next time we're babysitting in town."
They exchanged numbers so they could get in touch and then Quinn curtsied away with a flourish. Blaine caught the quick wink she threw Kurt's way.
"Well, I guess I should go get changed," Kurt said, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly more nervous looking—like he just remembered he was standing next to his date in a pair of lacey panties and four-inch heels.
Blaine smiled. "Oh, do you have to?" he asked mischievously.
Kurt was beet-red now but he laughed. "Yeah. I think this outfit might be a bit of a scandal at the next place we're going."
Blaine's eyes lit up. "There's more?"
"Oh, yes. I'd actually like to spend some time with you on this date, if that's okay."
Blaine mock-grimaced and sighed dramatically. "I suppose I could bear it. If you must."
Blaine followed Kurt back to his dressing room and waited outside while he changed. A few minutes later, Kurt emerged lovely as ever back in his teal jeans and white mandarin-collared button-up, throwing the pea coat over his shoulders before closing the dressing room door behind him. Before the door closed, though, Blaine noticed the dozens of bouquets that filled the room.
"You got a lot of flowers! Plenty of adoring fans, huh?"
"Kurt smiled and shrugged. "Everyone in the troupe was really supportive of my first performance. They're just being nice."
They started walking back through the hallway toward the exit.
"No, Kurt. You were seriously amazing."
"Thanks. That means a lot."
"Definitely. I'm so glad you invited me to see it," Blaine said. "It was a really great surprise."
"Yeah?" Kurt asked with a quirk of his eyebrow. "Have I impressed you?"
Blaine laughed. "Yes, definitely. This is probably the coolest date I've ever been on."
"Really? You don't even know what where we're going next."
Blaine shrugged. "Doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? I'm trying to woo you, Anderson. Humor me."
Blaine just smiled. "Trust me. I am already pretty wooed."
Kurt put his hand on the exit door but paused, looking back at Blaine, expression suddenly serious. He reached out a hand and to Blaine's surprise, pushed a stray curl off his forehead. "You're pretty something," Kurt said softly.
They stood staring at each other for a long moment, and Blaine thought that maybe this was it—Kurt was going to lean in and kiss him. But then Kurt's hand fell away and suddenly there was a cold blast of air that as Kurt opened the door to the outside.
"Let's go," he said. "I want to take you somewhere we can talk."
"Okay, this is not what I had in mind when you said somewhere we can talk."
Blaine gawked at the basement parlor they'd walked into, just a few blocks down from the theater. They'd descended the steps of the building to find a large room furnished with several large tables and a small bar toward the back. And lining the walls were shelves and shelves of board and card games. More games than Blaine had ever seen or could have imagined even existed. They had everything from Scrabble to Exploding Kittens to super-obscure games in several different languages. Most of the tables were occupied by small groups so enthralled in their games that they didn't even look up when Kurt and Blaine entered.
"What? Were you picturing a quiet, candlelit corner?"
"Well, not exactly but board games certainly didn't come to mind."
Kurt chuckled. "It's a board game parlor."
"I didn't even know such places existed."
"Do hate it? It is kind of lame, isn't it? We don't have to stay…" Kurt started to backpedal.
"No!" Blaine reached out and grabbed Kurt's hand reassuringly. "No, it's… cool." He caught Kurt's eyes. "I haven't played a board game in a long time. You're just full of surprises."
Kurt glanced down at their entwined hands and smiled. "Let's get a table," he said, guiding Blaine toward the back of the room.
Five minutes later, they had Connect 4 set up on the table between them and a server had brought them sodas to drink.
"So, do you play board games a lot?" Blaine asked as he dropped a red token into the grid.
"My dad and I used to play a lot." Kurt dropped in a yellow token, blocking Blaine's horizontal line. "After my mom died, it was an easy way for him to pass the time with a little kid. I don't think he knew what else to do with me."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. It became kind of a tradition for us. After he married my stepmom, we even started having family game night every Thursday." Kurt paused. "… that sounds really hokey, doesn't it?"
Blaine smiled and dropped another red token into place. "No, that sounds great, actually. I wish my family had something like that. I think our only weekly tradition might be a patronizing conversation with my dad where he passive-aggressively lets me know how disappointed in me he is and my mom diffuses it with a joke."
"Eesh. Now I'm sorry," Kurt said. Another yellow token fell into place. "Maybe you can come to my family game night sometime."
Blaine paused with his hand in the air, ready to drop his next token. "Really?"
Kurt put on that crooked smile he wore so well. "Yeah. Why not?"
"I would love that." Blaine looked back toward the game. That invitation had been so casual, so natural and genuine that he almost couldn't believe it was real. He was having a great time with Kurt, but despite the date going well on his side, he still couldn't let himself trust that Kurt was actually that interested in him. What did he have to offer? A supremely boring homebound life rife with daddy issues, a baby, and an insufferable ex-fiancé who wouldn't go away? It seriously made no sense to Blaine. Yet Kurt kept showing up. He kept being there for him, even when he was sure he'd ruined everything. And now he was arranging serendipitous meetings with other teen parents for him and extending casual invitations to family gatherings? Blaine couldn't imagine what he'd done to deserve Kurt Hummel.
He dropped the token onto place, forming a diagonal line of four red tokens. "I win," he said with a cheeky grin.
Kurt furrowed his brow and sighed. "You got lucky," he said, sliding the bottom panel so all the tokens tumbled out. "I'm just warming up."
"Oh, okay," Blaine said with a laugh. They started to re-gather their respective tokens for the next round.
"So," Blaine began, trying to think of another conversation topic, "how long have you been rehearsing for Rocky Horror?"
"Oh no. No you don't," Kurt began hastily and wagged his finger at Blaine. "We talked about me enough last time. I think it's time you start talking about you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. And I'd like the whole truth this time, if you don't mind." Kurt smiled as he reached for the straw of his soda.
Blaine let out a nervous laugh, glad that Kurt's tone was lighthearted rather than bitter, as he would really have every right for it to be.
"Of course," Blaine began as his mind reeled for a place to begin. "Um, well, I was born and raised in Westerville. I have one older brother, Cooper. He's ten years older and he's a hotshot attorney out in L.A. My dad's a litigator and my mom's a photographer."
Kurt quirked an eyebrow. "That's an interesting combination."
Blaine smiled. "Yeah, but it works for them. They're really totally different in every way, but they end up balancing each other out."
Kurt nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. What does your mom photograph?"
"Lots of things. But cars mostly."
"Really?" Kurt laughed incredulously.
"Yep. She used to scout out the locations for shooting car commercials and photo shoots. You know, she'd go and look for those long winding roads with the perfect mountain vista in background. Oceanside cliffs, scenic barns and whatnot."
"That's her job!? I mean, it makes sense, I guess. I just never thought of the fact that someone had to find those places."
Blaine laughed at Kurt's surprise. "Yeah, well, it was her job. But, as you can imagine, it was a lot of traveling. She was barely ever home. She ended up quitting and just taking local gigs."
"Oh? Why?"
Blaine looked down at his hands in his lap. This was a touchy subject for him. It always stirred up a lot of guilt in him whenever it was brought up. But he'd promised Kurt the truth, so he took a deep breath and answered. "Too much travelling, essentially. She quit when… um… It was when we found out I was pregnant."
Blaine chanced a look at up at his date. Kurt's expression had shifted from intrigue to quiet consideration. The taller boy's lips curled into a tiny, understanding smile, silently encouraging him to continue. Blaine blinked back and looked back down at his hands.
It was always hard for him to talk about that time in his life. Finding out that what he thought was a bout of the flu was actually morning sickness and the sequence of events that followed had nearly broken him and his family. Sebastian's too, for that matter. No doubt they had all come a long way since they'd first found out about the pregnancy two years before, but Blaine couldn't help but shudder every time he thought about his and Seb's parents' horrific reaction to the news.
It was a screaming match like he'd never seen. It was hours of his parents against Sebastian's while the two boys sat on the Andersons' couch, right in the middle of it all, clutching each others' hands and staring at the floor.
It was hard to forget the cruel words exchanged that night and in the following weeks. Hard to forget the shame and the guilt and the fear they'd alit in him.
But then, he supposed, all of their parents had come around once the initial shock wore off. Neither the Smythes nor the Andersons had managed to keep their cool that night, but had calmed down considerably once it was amicably agreed upon that the boys would marry. Little did anyone realize that that wasn't going to end up happening…
"It was February of sophomore year," Blaine began before he could talk himself out of it. "And my parents pulled me out of boarding at Dalton as soon as they found out. So I was just a day student for the rest of the year." He paused and took a deep breath without looking up. "And right around that same time her dad, my grandpa Carter, got sick and moved in with us. So she had to stay home to take care of everyone."
"I see," Kurt said, kindness showing in his expression. "That was really big of her. She sounds really generous."
"She is," Blaine replied. "Mom's the best, most of the time. Once she got over the initial shock of the idea that I was having a baby, she was my lifeline."
"That's awesome."
"Yeah. And she's supportive of my dating you, too," Blaine found himself blurting before he could think better of it.
Kurt's eye widened.
Blaine broke out into a nervous sweat. He hadn't meant to say that, and now he thought he must look like a total momma's boy spaz. "Yeah. Yeah… I mean… it's like…" he rambled.
"So you've talked to your mom about me, huh?" Kurt asked with a roguish smirk.
"She just heard us taking on the phone the night before the coffee date and saw me leaving in the morning and asked about it so I told her it was a date and she said she was fine with it and, well, I didn't go into specifics about you as a person or anything but she said it was fine and I was surprised because I thought she would say no because of Sebastian…"
"Blaine," Kurt interjected, "breathe."
Blaine let out a huge breath and buried his face in his hands. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound like a weirdo. Like I tell my mom everything or anything."
"It's fine." Kurt reached out out and took Blaine's hands away from his face and held them in his. "You're fine. And quite frankly, adorable when you're flustered."
Blaine blushed wildly at the compliment. "Well, I'm glad you think so because it happens a lot, apparently."
Kurt smiled again and rubbed his thumbs over Blaine's knuckles soothingly.
"God, that's so embarrassing," Blaine muttered.
"Blaine, please. That is such a two-way street. Need I remind you about how amazing and understanding you were when I bared my soul at Joehouse?"
Blaine smiled a little and nodded.
"And you wanna talk about vulnerability? You saw me do a kick line in high heels and women's lingerie tonight. I think that wins this round."
Blaine laughed at that.
"And I think it's good that we feel comfortable enough with each other to let these moments out, you know? I just feel really relaxed around you. You put me at ease. Do you feel that too?"
"Yeah. Yeah I do," Blaine replied. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just used to having my feelings kind of bulldozed over, you know?"
Kurt did the crooked grin again. "I do know. And it sucks. Let's not do that to each other, okay?"
"Deal."
"Alright." Kurt straightened up and, to his date's slight dismay, released his hold on Blaine's hands and retuned to the game. "Now, I have a follow-up question." He dropped a yellow token into the grid to begin a new game.
"Ask away," Blaine obliged, adding a red token to the mix.
"What did you mean when you said you thought your mom would say no because of Sebastian?"
Blaine froze for a second. He had not expected that name to come out of Kurt's mouth. Would this boy ever ask him a question he was actually prepared for? "Oh, well… Man, that's kind of complicated."
"Just please tell me you're not secretly married to him or something."
"No! No, nothing like that. And I promise, I don't have more life-changing secrets to spring on you."
Kurt laughed his musical laugh. "Good."
"I just meant… Well, you know how we used to be engaged?"
Kurt nodded, looking a bit more on-guard.
"And so, it was our dads who were really pushing for us to get married. They thought it would be better for Ollie. They don't agree with the breakup. Or, more like they don't acknowledge it. Long story short, they still want us to get married and treat us like we're still getting married." Blaine paused and shook his head. "Last Christmas they even pulled a Pride and Prejudice thing where my dad made me go over to the Smythe house with Ollie even though we knew it was going to blizzard. I ended up having to stay the night. I guess they hoped Seb and I would rekindle the relationship."
Kurt winced. "Ooh, that's rough."
"Yeah. We ended up in a huge argument and then I spent the time watching HGTV with his ancient great-grandmother who thought I was the butler and kept trying to order me around in French."
Kurt couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry, Blaine."
Blaine returned the laugh. "Right? Thanks, Dad."
"So," Kurt began, "I also want to ask this, but it might be kind of indelicate, so you don't have to answer if you don't want." He slid another yellow token into the grid.
Intrigue. "You can ask me anything, Kurt."
Red token.
"Did you know you were a carrier? Like, before your relationship with Sebastian?"
Yellow token.
Blaine's face heated up a smidge. "Yeah. Yeah I did, actually. I've always known."
Blaine couldn't help but imagine the kind of thoughts that must be running through Kurt's head. Thoughts like, then how could you have let yourself get pregnant? Weren't you careful? It always made him feel embarrassed that he knew he could get pregnant and let it happen anyway. Dalton had comprehensive sex-ed and even handed out free condoms. He and Sebastian almost always used them. Almost. He knew the risks beck then, but he just never figured it would happen to him.
"It runs on my dad's side. Almost all the Anderson men are carriers, but they're all straight, so it doesn't really end up mattering," he continued. "Just another way I'm the odd one out of my family, I guess."
Red token.
Kurt looked pensive again. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know," he offered. "I think it's amazing."
"I know," Blaine answered. "It's just really hard to be different sometimes."
Kurt smiled. "Now, I can relate to that." He picked up his soda and held it toward Blaine for a toast. "Here's to standing out instead of fitting in."
Blaine grinned in return and lifted his glass. They clinked and took a drink, never breaking eye contact.
When they put their glasses back down, Blaine looked at the game and realized he'd won again.
"No way!" Kurt exclaimed. "Okay, this round, the gloves come off."
They played five more rounds (Blaine won them all) before they decided to head back home. The car ride back to Westerville consisted mostly of both boys sneaking glances at one another as Blaine scrolled through Kurt's Spotify playlists on his phone and marveled aloud at his range in music tastes.
They arrived back at Blaine's house just before midnight. Blaine got nervous all over again when Kurt got out of the driver's side to escort him up to the front door. Sure, it had been a while since he'd been escorted home by a date, but he wasn't oblivious to the fact that this set-up had some real first-kiss potential, especially considering how well the date had gone. Blaine didn't know if he should get his hopes up or press them deep down so he could spare himself the disappointment when Kurt left him high and dry with a polite hug. Within a matter of seconds, his bubbly, at-ease demeanor from the car had dissolved once again into sweaty palms and heated cheeks as they ascended the steps onto the porch.
"Thank you for coming out with me tonight," Kurt said when they reached the front door. He'd turned to Blaine and to his surprise, reached out to take both of the other boy's gloved hands in his own. "I want you to know that I'm so glad I met you. You're kind of the best thing that's happened to me in a really long time."
Blaine felt his mouth fall open a little. He let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "There's no way that's true."
"Yes it is," Kurt replied.
The internal battle that had been raging in Blaine since he met Kurt surged up. Hope battled confusion, uncertainty and guilt as he thought about everything Kurt would be taking on by being with him. He didn't know if he could justify letting someone sign up to be a part of his messy, melodramatic life. And yet, he wanted to let Kurt in so, so badly.
"You don't have to be so careful with me," Kurt continued as if reading Blaine's thoughts. His beautiful eyes were fixed on Blaine, burning bright against the cold backdrop of the night.
Blaine's heart sped up, and he found himself unable to hold the dazzling gaze. He looked away and fixed his eyes on the ground. "Yes, I do," he breathed, looking at the wood of his porch. The tips of Kurt's shoes moved into his line of vision as the taller boy took a step closer.
"Blaine, I'm not going anywhere," he said, sounding sure and confident and promising: everything Blaine thought he wasn't allowed to feel himself in that moment.
Kurt's soft hand reached out and he placed his fingers under Blaine's chin, pressing upward softly. Blaine held his eyes closed as he allowed his head to be tipped up.
Kurt's assuring voice spoke again. "Blaine," he repeated his name, letting it hang in the frigid air for a moment.
Blaine swallowed and braced himself before he opened his eyes slowly. Sure enough, the blueness that met him was no less entrancing than before. He felt his lips part open in awe, and noticed the way Kurt's blue gaze dropped to them. Blaine stopped breathing.
"I'm going to kiss you now. Is that okay?" the taller teen asked, confidence never wavering.
Blaine trembled from head to toe. His skin was on fire where Kurt's hand made contact with his chin. There wasn't a sound in the world except the pounding of his own restless heart in his ears. "Okay," he managed to whisper in the short distance between their lips.
The word barely escaped before the last inches between them were closed, and Kurt's lips met Blaine's, gentle and reassuring.
Blaine immediately melted into the kiss. The relief and pleasure that coursed through him felt like a sip of water after days in the desert. His lips moved back against Kurt's and before he even realized he'd done it, he found his arms thrown up around the back of the taller boy's neck, pulling him even closer. Kurt's hands, in turn, dropped to Blaine's waist and cupped his sides, fingers gently caressing the fabric of Blaine's coat.
The kiss didn't last too long before they pulled apart—just far enough to get a breath and look back into each other's eyes. The look of pure joy and relief on Kurt's face seemed to mirror exactly what Blaine was feeling, and the boys smiled at each other before their lips connected again. Kurt's arms tightened around Blaine's waist, and Blaine parted his lips and licked over Kurt's bottom lip. Kurt answered this by sliding his tongue tentatively into Blaine's mouth and backing them up a few feet until Blaine's back hit the side of his house. He accidentally let out a moan, which he would have been embarrassed by if Kurt hadn't responded to it by enthusiastically exploring his mouth with his very talented tongue.
Blaine's hands had just started to wander down from around Kurt's neck to the broad expanse of his shoulders when the sound of the last voice on Earth he expected to hear rang out from the direction of the front yard.
"Hey, Smythe!" the voice called.
Kurt flew backwards away from Blaine in surprise, and Blaine was too stunned for a moment to register what was happening.
"What have I told you about Frenching my little brother in front of me?" the voice continued in a mocking tone.
Blaine finally broke out of his frenzied daze to look over to the yard and confirm who it was who was talking to them.
"Cooper?!"
Sure enough, a twenty-eight-year-old blue-eyed man in an almost comically puffy parka stood in the front yard, duffel bag in hand and huge grin chiseled into his handsome face. It was undeniably Blaine's big brother.
Cooper dipped into a quick curtsey. "The one and only!" he replied. "Miss me, Blainers?"
Blaine straightened up from the wall and gave Kurt a quick look of apology. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Then, a pair of headlights on the street then caught his eye, and he noticed a yellow cab driving away from the house. It must have just dropped Cooper off.
Cooper mocked a look of hurt. "You could at least pretend to be glad to see me after all this time." He started to walk toward the porch, although the bulkiness of his coat made it seem like more of a waddle. "I guess I can't blame you. I'd be kinda pissed too if you walked in on me mid-make-out sesh. But I mean, let's be honest. This isn't the first time I've chanced on you two…"
"Cooper…" Blaine said in a warning tone as he got closer.
"What?" Cooper began as he took the last step onto the porch. When he looked back at Kurt, though, he realized his mistake. "Oh." He stood frozen for a moment, looking back and forth between his brother and Kurt. "You're not Sebby."
Blaine wanted to just face palm right then and there, but realized Kurt must be feeling just as mortified as he was, so he should try to keep it together.
"Cooper, this is Kurt Hummel," he said, gesturing to his very confused and embarrassed-looking date.
"Nice to meet you," Kurt managed to say, and stuck out a hand to shake.
Cooper put on an amused looking smile and shook his hand. "Cooper Anderson. Sorry about the mix up. I didn't know Blaine met someone." He looked over at his younger brother with wide, intrigued eyes.
"Yeah, well, it's pretty new," Blaine replied, crossing his arms in part embarrassment, part annoyance.
"I see." A knowing, amused look grew Cooper's face like he'd just had a revelation. "Wait, did I just witness the first kiss?!"
Kurt and Blaine glanced at each other and then quickly back down at their own feet.
"I did, didn't I?" Cooper exclaimed with glee. He clapped his hands like a little kid who'd just gotten what he wanted for Christmas. He took a step forward and clapped a hand on each boy's shoulder. "Oh, that is just precious. Congrats, you guys. Really. That's fantastic." The he let his hand fall away from Blaine and he turned to face Kurt fully.
"I gotta warn you though, Hummel." He put his arm around the teen's shoulders in an overly fatherly way. "If you're gonna be playing tonsil hockey with my brother, you'd better watch out. Turns out we Andersons are more fertile than the Nile Delta."
"Jesus, Cooper!" Blaine shouted. "Just leave him alone!" He strode over to a mortified-looking Kurt and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, Kurt. I'll walk you to your car so you can get away from this idiot."
"Ah, c'mon, Blainey! You know I jest because I care!" Cooper called after them as they approached the sedan.
"I am so sorry about that!" Blaine began, turning to Kurt, but not letting go of his hand. "I had no idea he was coming. He practically never visits and he always calls first."
"It's okay." Kurt was actually smiling.
"Really? Are you sure? God, Cooper can be such a jerk. He thinks he's so funny…"
Kurt squeezed his hand, still smiling. "No, it's really okay."
Blaine let himself relax. "I'm still sorry. That was so embarrassing."
Kurt laughed his musical laugh. "That's what brothers do. Embarrass you. It's like, the laws of nature. I'm pretty sure."
Blaine laughed too at that.
"So that's Cooper, huh?"
"Yep."
"You didn't tell me he was so handsome." Kurt dawned a mischievous expression.
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Y-you think he's handsome?"
Kurt nodded. "He's like, the best looking man I've seen outside of TV."
"Hey!" Blaine punched Kurt's chest lightly, mocking offense.
Kurt caught Blaine's hand on his chest and held onto it. "Don't worry. I think you're cuter."
Blaine smiled and felt the heat rise in his face once again. "Flattery will get you everywhere," he said, closing the distance between them so their chests were flush against each other and lifting up onto his tiptoes to boldly peck a kiss to Kurt's lips.
He went back down off his toes to his regular height, and Kurt bowed down to follow him, kissing Blaine properly one more time.
They separated, but kept their foreheads pressed together. Blaine felt like he could stand out in the cold and kiss Kurt forever, but he knew the night had to come to an end sometime.
"I'll call you tomorrow?" Kurt asked, voice hushed with the closeness. Blaine nodded against him, and he reluctantly pulled away. Then he smiled that trademark smoldering smile, and got in his car. Blaine waved goodbye as Kurt pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street.
Blaine took a deep breath once Kurt's car was out of sight. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to break into a happy dance and then stay up all night reminiscing over every last perfect second of that perfect date with a perfect boy. A perfect boy who kissed him. A hot perfect boy who kissed him multiple times. But he knew he had to go deal with Cooper and relieve Wes and David from babysitting, so the reminiscing would have to wait.
When he got back to the house, Cooper had already gone inside and Blaine heard him fumbling around upstairs in his old childhood room. He went to find Wes and David who, it turns out, were passed out on the couch in the living room with the TV on. He shook David awake, which took some effort because he was out cold. He could tell his friends must have been truly beat when they didn't even press him for details about the date. David just muttered something along the lines of "It's about time," as he shrugged on his coat.
Once his friends had left, Blaine headed upstairs to check on Ollie. He was sleeping soundly in his crib, looking positively cherubic. Blaine reached in and twirled one soft curl around his finger, gently enough so he wouldn't wake up. He swore Ollie always got ten times cuter when he was away from him, like he was spiting him for leaving and trying to entice him to never want to leave again.
He was interrupted from staring at his baby by a soft cough behind him. He looked up to see that Cooper had poked his head in the doorway of Ollie's room.
"Hey, Squirt," he whispered. "Is Lil' Squirt out?"
Blaine rolled his eyes at the nickname Cooper had extended to his son. "Yeah, he's asleep."
"Okay, can you come to my room? I need to talk to you."
Intrigued, Blaine withdrew his hand from the crib and left to find Cooper back in his room. His brother stood with his back to him, dressed in stretchy yoga pants and an oversize hoodie, which struck Blaine as being really out of character for his usually super style-sensitive brother.
"Are Mom and Dad home?" he asked without turning around.
"No. They went to Cleveland. They'll be back soon, though."
Cooper just groaned and buried his face in his hands for a moment. Blaine could sense something was off. He wasn't acting like his usual off-the-wall, super-cocky self.
"What's going on?" he asked, concern in his voice.
Cooper let out a sigh, still not turning around. "This is gonna freak you out, Little Brother."
"Coop, what?" he said, starting to lose patience.
Then he watched as his brother slowly turned around to face him, blue eyes cast down, a forlorn look on his face like Blaine had never seen before. Then, as his eyes traveled down Cooper's body, he saw it.
And his jaw dropped.
There, still clearly visibly beneath the bulky sweatshirt, was the unmistakable curve of a very prominent, protruding belly.
Blaine froze. It felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head and his brain was melting out of his ears.
"C-Cooper?" he managed to say. He looked back up at his brother's face. Cooper looked ashen and just… scared. More scared than Blaine had ever seen before.
"Y-You're…"
"Pregnant," Cooper confirmed in a soft voice. "Six months."
Blaine couldn't do anything but stare for a few seconds. None of what he was seeing could process in his brain. All the logic conflicted. Cooper was straight. Very straight. Gold-star straight, as far as Blaine knew. Cooper didn't even want kids. But there, right in front of him was the undeniable evidence.
"Oh my god," Blaine finally said. "You're pregnant."