Happy Saturday!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments on the last chapter. I'm more and more blown away with each one. You guys rock. I'm so so lucky to have you.
I'm also extremely lucky to have Christine, who's such an amazing beta and friend. Sending hugs and love her way for her huge help with this story.
Also lucky to have Sofi, who sends me stickers of Klaine hugs whenever I need them and makes sure I take breaks.
This is a big chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it.
A very heavy silence had settled over the three of them during the car ride, and it still hadn't been broken now that they were going up to Cooper's apartment. The elevator felt stifling, claustrophobic, filled to the brim with too many things unsaid, with too much tension.
Cooper hadn't even glanced at Kurt once.
Kurt was beginning to think it had been a terrible idea to come along.
But then he looked at Blaine, standing too still, tense enough to hurt, his eyes clouded with something too bitter, and he realized he was exactly where he was supposed to be – by Blaine's side, through thick and thin.
Kurt still didn't know the full story, but he could tell that running into his father after all these years had been a very ugly shock for Blaine.
He was momentarily distracted once they arrived at Cooper's apartment. It took his breath away – the Manhattan skyline seemed to be part of the décor thanks to the floor to ceiling windows. But then he looked around and frowned – the rest of the place looked like a dump, like Cooper hadn't bothered picking up a single clothing item or dirty plate in the past few days. Underneath the mess, Kurt could tell the furniture was expensive and stylish, but he couldn't believe someone would live like this.
Blaine clearly thought the same, because he spoke for the first time since he had gotten into the cab: "What the hell happened here? This is a mess, Cooper. Didn't Erica come around to clean this week?"
Cooper shrugged and headed straight to the small bar in the living room. He poured himself some whisky. "I didn't feel like having company. I told her to take the week off."
Kurt stood by the front door, not knowing what to do as Blaine began to pick up the clothes. When his arms were full, Kurt approached him, awkwardly, and grabbed a few plates and cups.
"Where should I…" He cleared his throat and pointedly did not look at Cooper. "Where should I take this?"
"The kitchen's right over there," Blaine said, and found a little smile for Kurt. "Thank you. We'll leave in a minute."
"It's fine," Kurt reassured him, and headed into the kitchen, which also took his breath away – oh how he would kill to have a kitchen as beautiful and spacious as this one instead of the one at the loft…
Every counter and the sink were filled with empty glasses and cups, balled-up napkins and pizza boxes. Kurt bit his lip and peeked into the living room. Even if Blaine said they would leave in a minute, Kurt wasn't quite sure about that. He had the feeling that Blaine wouldn't leave until he made sure his brother was okay, and maybe after he gave him a piece of his mind.
Kurt took his coat off and hung it on the back of a stool, before he rolled up his sleeves. He was going to keep himself busy in the meantime and out of the way of the brothers. It was the least he could do. Anything to make some of the tension melt off Blaine's shoulders…
From the living room, came absolutely no sounds.
Cooper let himself drop down on the couch, careful not to spill his whisky, a little groan escaping his lips. Blaine ignored him for a moment as he finished picking up the clothes strewn all over the living room. But then he realized… he didn't want to ignore him, just as he couldn't ignore the anger, the confusion, the hurt bubbling inside of him, like a volcano waiting to spill all over their lives.
He threw the clothes back down on the couch and turned to his brother.
"Are you going to tell me what the fuck happened tonight?" Blaine asked, already furious.
Cooper sighed and downed the contents of his glass in one swig. "You don't wanna know. Just grab your boyfriend and go, Blaine."
"You're unbelievable," Blaine chuckled humorlessly. "Seriously, Cooper. Unbelievable."
"What do you want me to say, Blaine?" Cooper said, and now he looked so exhausted. "I already ruined everything between us. I don't want… I don't want to make it worse."
Blaine sighed and sat down on the edge of the coffee table so he could face his brother. "Coop… at this point, I don't think it could be worse. Judging by the look of this place, by what's happened tonight, and by your face… the only thing we can do now is talk to each other honestly and try to mend things."
Cooper frowned, hissed, and reached up to touch his face with his fingertips, carefully. "It hurts like hell."
"Then it feels as bad as it looks," Blaine said, and patted his knee in consolation. He hesitated for a second, before he asked: "I take it… dad punched you?"
"Well, to be fair, I started it…" Cooper said with a little shrug. "But yeah."
"Why were you with him?" This was the most important question to Blaine right now – after what Cooper had told him on Monday, after all these years barely even mentioning him… why was their father back in Cooper's life?
Cooper sprawled against the back of the couch, looking like he was giving up. Blaine had seen the mask slip and shatter back at the police station, in the way Cooper had screamed at their father, but whatever vestiges of it were left, they finished falling now. His brother suddenly looked older, spent, defeated.
It broke Blaine's heart a little.
"He's been following me," Cooper said at last. "Blackmailing me, too. He appeared a few months ago and told me he had some sensitive material, and unless I gave him money, he would go to you or to the press."
"What?" Blaine couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't want you to have to deal with him. He hurt you a lot," Cooper said quietly. "He's not a nice person to be around."
"He hurt you, too," Blaine retorted. "You shouldn't have to go through stuff alone. I don't need you to protect me. We protect each other, alright? By dealing with things together."
"I thought you were mad at me," Cooper commented sheepishly.
"Well, yeah, I am," Blaine said, because he couldn't forget how betrayed he had felt… but he noticed the anger was subsiding. Did it matter anymore, what Cooper said to a guy who hadn't been in Blaine's life for a long time now? Did it matter, when Kurt was just a few steps away from him, being perfect and making Blaine happier than he had ever been? "I'm still not okay with some of the things you did, but I understand you were going through something pretty heavy. We still have a lot to talk about…"
"I know," Cooper nodded, and there was something in his eyes that Blaine hadn't seen in them in what felt like a really, really long time: hope.
"But I want to focus on this tonight," Blaine continued firmly. He took a deep breath. He wasn't looking forward to what Cooper was going to answer to his next question. "When you say he has some sensitive material… what do you mean?"
The hope vanished and now Cooper looked haunted. "Do we really need to talk about that?"
"Coop, honestly… I think it's time we talk about everything, once and for all," Blaine said.
It didn't look like Cooper was too keen on the idea, but he nodded again, very slowly, as if trying to talk himself into it. "I think you might be right," he admitted. He glanced at Blaine, a little desperately, looking rather pathetic with his black eyes and the dry blood still on his face. "He has… some pictures. Some are of me, and some are of you."
Blaine frowned. "What kind of pictures?"
"Not very flattering ones," Cooper said, reluctantly. "I might be a little drugged in them? I haven't seen them. But I'm doing questionable things, apparently. And yours… uhm. Apparently they caught you hooking up with one of the sound techs."
Blaine ran a hand down his face, trying to remember… until he did. During one of Cooper's tours, one of the sound technicians had started flirting with him, and Blaine had been so starved for love and attention that he had followed him into a dark corner, not thinking very clearly. It wasn't something he was entirely proud of – but he had been young. He was probably around seventeen…
Blaine swallowed, uncomfortably. It had been one of his very first sexual experiences and he hadn't been particularly proud of it. He just didn't think anyone knew.
"There's video footage of it, too," Cooper added. "And from what dad told me… it kind of looks like it's not exactly consensual."
"It was," Blaine replied. "I mean, it wasn't smart, that's for sure. And I bet it doesn't look pretty on video…"
Cooper looked like he was about to be sick. "That's not all."
Oh god, Blaine thought. What else could there possibly be?
"He also has me on tape," Cooper started to say, with some difficulty. "I'm not… I'm not proud of it. But I stand by it, in a way, okay? I was doing what I needed to do."
Blaine didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean, Cooper?"
"I kind of threw a tantrum at the record label," Cooper explained, and there was something pleading in his eyes. "I said that if you released an album, I would quit the band."
That certainly wasn't what Blaine had been expecting. "What?"
"I mean, technically, I wasn't going to be allowed to quit the band. Dad would never have allowed it…" Cooper began to talk a mile a minute, clearly nervous. "But the people at the record label didn't know that. I complained and said I didn't think it'd be good publicity having a gay brother and that I didn't want to be associated with you…"
Blaine stood up, needing to put distance between them, feeling like he had been burned. "Why would you do that?" He screamed.
"Wait, Blaine, wait, let me finish…" Cooper said, raising his hands in a placating way. "You had just released that song, and I could tell dad was pressuring you a lot, especially to stay in the closet, and that you weren't totally happy with the direction the record label wanted for your career… and I could see exactly what would happen, because it's what happened to me. I was already trying to get out of things. I was already having an awful time. Dad was already… doing all those horrible things to me. I heard him talking to some people on the phone, already booking too many shows for you, and I didn't want him to hurt you like he hurt me. I didn't want you to be broken like I was."
Blaine sat down again, feeling like his legs were going to give out if he didn't. "Are you serious?"
"They were going to put you in a cage like a circus freak and make you perform for them. They were never going to let you come out and be happy. I was already trying to get out of it, and dad wouldn't let me. I thought… if I wasn't going to be able to ever escape it, then at least I didn't want that for you. I felt like, if I couldn't save myself, then at least I had to save you," Cooper muttered, and Blaine…
Blaine felt like he had been punched in the gut repeatedly. Cooper was looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for Blaine to either reject him forever or forgive him. There was resignation in his face, too.
Cooper had been going through absolute hell, being abused into performing so others could make a profit, and instead of fighting harder for himself, he had let them have him, just so that they wouldn't have Blaine.
And Blaine had been so bitter about his career falling apart so soon, thinking he wasn't good enough, thinking he would never find a place for him, somewhere to fit in…
Only for it to possibly be a blessing in disguise.
When he had thought his brother was a selfish asshole, it turned out that Cooper had been putting him first all this time, at his own expense.
Blaine took a deep breath. "Is there anything else you aren't telling me?"
"I emptied that bank account to pay dad so he wouldn't go to the press," Cooper said tiredly. "He's been pressuring me to give him more. I don't know how to make him stop." He shrugged. "And that's it. That's all. No more secrets."
Blaine exhaled slowly. "Okay. Okay, we'll figure it out, alright? I won't let anyone see those pictures or those videos. We won't let him use them against you."
Cooper shook his head. "I don't care about that. I just don't want him to go to the press with those things he has on you."
"Coop, I'm literally no one," Blaine said with a little smile. "No one's going to care if I blew a sound tech under the stairs of some venue in Chicago. I don't have a career to ruin. But you…"
Cooper shrugged. "I just don't want him to hurt you. I'll be fine."
Blaine sighed and regarded his brother for a while, not saying anything. No wonder Cooper looked so exhausted – how had he carried all of this inside, not telling anyone, for this long?
Kurt came out of the kitchen with a tray, looking shy and uncomfortable. "Hey. Sorry, I hope it's okay that I made tea? I wanted to be useful and I didn't… I didn't know how."
Blaine's face softened as he looked at him. "That's really sweet of you, baby. Thanks."
"I can go back and wait for you in the kitchen, if you want some privacy," Kurt offered, handing a cup of tea to Blaine. "Or I can just go home and leave you guys to it…"
Blaine had never needed to hold him as much as he did now. He watched as Kurt awkwardly gave a cup to Cooper, who accepted it without a word. He let him put the tray down on the coffee table before he reached for his hand. "Come here."
Kurt went to him gladly, letting Blaine pull him close, sitting with their sides practically glued together. With him here, Blaine felt like he could face anything.
He gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze before he turned back to Cooper. "I'm going to help you. We'll make sure whatever dad has on us never sees the light of day. And I'm going to help you deal with whatever media scandal will surface after tonight, because my phone's been buzzing like crazy all night. But…" He glanced quickly at Kurt then, as if trying to get strength from him. "Coop, I think you and I shouldn't work together anymore."
Cooper deflated. "I understand. You want nothing to do with me."
"No, the opposite, actually," Blaine said calmly. "I want us to be brothers. To be there for each other. To stop blurring the lines. I want more out of life than picking up your laundry, Coop, and you clearly aren't happy with this arrangement either. We're the only family we have. Let's focus on that, okay? It's the most important part."
Cooper looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He really had though Blaine would just walk away from him without looking back. "Really? You want that?"
"Yes. But no more lies, and no more pushing me away," Blaine said, his tone firm. "No more acting like a dick and no more isolating yourself. We'll… we'll get through it, okay? We both deserve to be happy."
"Okay. I'll be better. You have my word," Cooper said eagerly. He took a sip of tea, like he was stealing himself, and then finally, for the first time that night, turned to Kurt. "I'm so sorry about the things I said. I don't think they're true. I know they aren't. I was just being an asshole. I… I should have thanked you, actually. You've given my little brother a new chance at happiness."
Kurt seemed taken aback but pleased at the turn of the conversation. "Well, he's pretty special. I would be an idiot to let him get away…" he nudged Blaine's shoulder playfully. "Thanks for saying that, Cooper."
"No, thank you, really. Especially for being here for him today." Cooper leaned in and patted his brother's knee. "After the things I said on Monday… I wouldn't have dreamed of you showing up for me again, Blaine. And you did. You both came. I appreciate that."
"Of course," Blaine said. He felt like the mood in the room had become too heavy, so he added: "Now, Kurt, if he ever offers you a job… please say no?"
Kurt laughed, and Cooper groaned, hiding his face in his hand.
"Please, don't joke about that…" He said. "I'll never do that again, Blaine. I promise."
"Good to know," Blaine murmured and pressed a quick kiss on Kurt's cheek. "I wouldn't want to lose this one."
Kurt stopped laughing and looked at him like he had hung the moon and the stars. It sent shivers down Blaine's spine.
Blaine cleared his throat and turned back to Cooper. "Okay. Will you let me clean your face now? You look like shit."
"I feel like shit," Cooper muttered, letting himself fall against the back of the couch. "My whole face feels like it's on fire."
Blaine went to get some antiseptic and a washcloth. He cleaned his brother's face gently, wondering what the hell he was going to do now – he had been taking care of Cooper his entire life.
He would probably always take care of him. He just wanted to do more than that.
"It's going to take a while to heal. But it'll be okay, soon," Blaine promised, and he wasn't talking only about the black eye and the little cut on his brother's face.
Cooper smiled at him gratefully – it was the first real smile he saw from him in a very, very long time.
Blaine was starting to lose count of the amount of cabs he had taken today so far. As he watched the city lights through the window, he felt tired down to his very bones, mentally exhausted and ready to collapse. Everything that had happened tonight seemed to weigh down on his shoulders – he certainly had a lot to think about.
He wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
He turned his head away from the window and looked at Kurt, who was molded to his side, as if he was trying to melt into Blaine. His chin was hooked on Blaine's shoulder, his blue eyes reflecting the lights that sneaked in through the window. He looked tired too.
Blaine pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking – we should have headed over to Bushwick to drop you off… you have work tomorrow, and it's late. You need to get some rest."
Kurt didn't move, except for the way one of his arms got more comfortable around Blaine's waist, effectively enveloping him. Blaine felt crowded by him in the very best way. "What are you talking about? I'm not going home. You really think I'd leave you alone after all this?"
"But… you have to go to the office and you didn't bring any clothes…" Blaine protested weakly.
"So? I'll just have to borrow something from you," he shrugged, like it was the least of his concerns. "I don't want you to be by yourself tonight. Let me take care of you, alright?"
Blaine felt as if someone had just sucked all the breath out of his lungs. Kurt wanted to take care of him. When had been the last time someone had done that? Most of his life, he had been the one taking care of others, especially Cooper, but it had been that way too in almost every relationship he had ever had. The only one who had done the same for him had been Tina – was Tina, who still made sure to be there for him whenever he needed her. But everyone else…
Everyone else had always taken, taken, taken, until Blaine had nothing left to give.
And here was Kurt Hummel – selfless, kind-hearted, patient, sweet, beautiful Kurt Hummel – wanting to take care of him, to give more than Blaine would ever dare asking for.
The truth that had been stuck somewhere deep inside of him, pushed to the side, too precious to risk breaking it, too vulnerable to even acknowledge it to himself was now flashing in neon lights, brighter than any New York City light, right before his eyes, his heart picking up pace.
He was in love with Kurt – the kind of love that meant forever.
It was scary and overwhelming, and the words almost spilled out of him, but he held them back. Tonight wasn't the perfect time. Not after everything that had happened – he didn't want them to be tainted by his father's reappearance, by Cooper's painful confessions. He wanted them to be the most memorable thing, to not be overshadowed by anything else.
So instead he simply lifted Kurt's hand and pressed a kiss to the center of his palm. "How did I get so lucky?" He whispered, and loved the way the smile spread on Kurt's lips – shocked and delighted, a little blush rising on his cheeks.
Blaine closed his eyes and held him, as the cab took them home.
A Venti coffee with an extra shot of espresso seemed to be the only thing getting Kurt through his morning. He finished typing an email and sent it out to the world before he picked up his huge coffee cup and took an eager swig. He was just thinking it would have been so much better if he could just inject the caffeine into his veins when Isabelle walked out of the elevator, dressed impeccably in a red dress that was to die for. She had already been in a meeting in the top floor when Kurt arrived at the office, so he wasn't surprised when she made a bee-line directly to his desk as soon as her eyes fell on him.
"Good morning, Isabelle," he said at once. "I just emailed the people at the model agency to ask them for…"
She made a waving motion, like she didn't care about that. She sat on the edge of his desk and reached for his hand, a slight frown on her face. "We'll talk about that later. How are you? How's Blaine? There are videos of Cooper all over the internet. It doesn't look good. Is everything okay?"
Kurt reached for his coffee again as he sighed. "It's… not ideal. Blaine got up insanely early this morning to deal with everything. He's under a lot of stress right now."
"There are rumors that the man Cooper got into a fight with was their father," Isabelle commented, leaning closer so she could lower her voice. "Is that true?"
Kurt bit his lip. He wasn't sure how much he was allowed to divulge and he didn't want to make an even bigger mess of things. But he trusted Isabelle. "It is. Just… don't tell anyone, okay? Cooper's in a bad place right now, and Blaine is doing his best to protect him."
"Of course. I won't say a word," Isabelle said, reaching out to squeeze his hand. "If there's anything I can do for them, please let them know I'm on their side."
Kurt smiled up at her. "Thank you. That's so kind of you. I'll make sure to tell them."
That morning, Kurt had woken up to an empty bed. Frowning, he had touched Blaine's side, which was already cool to the touch. Once he had gone downstairs, he had found him sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in his hand, the phone glued to his ear, a news site opened in the laptop in front of him. He had looked so tired and tense. Kurt had leaned against the doorway, watching him, until he ended the phone call, and then slipped behind him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his messy curls.
Blaine had immediately relaxed into the embrace. "Hey."
"Hey," Kurt had echoed. He went around the chair and sat down on Blaine's lap, immediately going back to holding him, wishing he could absorb some of the distress Blaine was clearly feeling. "Tell me what I can do to help."
Blaine had hummed as he rested his face on the crook of Kurt's neck, placing a quick kiss to the still sleep-warm skin there. "This is already helping." He stayed like that for a moment before he sighed. "Do you have to leave for the office already?"
"In a bit," Kurt replied. He brushed Blaine's hair back off his forehead. He loved it when he caught him early in the morning, before he had time to put product in it. "I feel bad about leaving you, though. It looks like you really have too much on your plate…"
"Silly boy," Blaine muttered against his skin, sending shivers down his spine. "Don't feel bad. You have things to do. And so do I. I've been a bum for a week. It's time I get back to work."
"You weren't a bum," Kurt said, offended on his behalf. "You were dealing with stuff. It's understandable. And you still are. You didn't say anything last night, but I know you haven't been able to stop thinking…"
"No," Blaine said. "You're right. It's just… I need to do this first. I need to make sure this doesn't ruin Cooper forever, and then… I guess then I'll take the time to really process how I feel."
"I'll be here every step of the way," Kurt reassured him, leaning in to place a soft kiss on his lips.
"Thank you, darling," Blaine said, and tried to deepen the kiss, but his phone began to ring again. He sighed in frustration. "I have to take this. Go, raid my closet. Use whatever you want."
It had been so hard to leave him, with the world on his shoulders.
Kurt wanted him to know he was here to help him carry it.
It had been one of the longest days in Blaine's life. It was already dark outside when he finally put down his phone and computer. He had a headache. He had drunk more coffee than was probably healthy. His kitchen was a mess of empty cups and crumbs from the snacks he had managed to munch on between calls.
He had been checking on Cooper non-stop. His brother hadn't been in a state of mind to go to work, and the show's producers weren't happy. Now that the show had begun airing, any delays were detrimental. Cooper had stayed home, resting, while a group of paparazzi camped outside his building. Blaine couldn't wait for another celebrity to do something scandalous enough to take the limelight off his brother.
Kurt had texted him several times throughout the day, which had seemed to be the only comfort his day had provided. Blaine felt so flattered that Kurt wanted to know how he was doing, to make sure he had eaten something (he had been thoroughly reprimanded for answering negatively to this), to know if there was any news.
Just as Blaine stood up and stretched his arms over his head, muscles popping painfully, his phone buzzed with a text.
[KURT – 7:46PM]: Picking up some food and I'll be there in a bit. Do you need anything?
Blaine smiled down at his phone for a moment, before he typed a simple response: Only you. Then he plugged it to charge the battery and went upstairs to take a quick shower, hoping it would wash away some of the tension that seemed to have taken permanent residence on his shoulders.
He allowed himself to press his arm against the wall of the shower to rest his forehead on it for a moment as the hot water fell on him. Now that there was finally a moment of quietness, he couldn't stop the thoughts from becoming invasive. Everything that had happened last night came back to him in a rush, like a slap to the face.
What even was his life?
Not wanting to dwell too much on it, he showered quickly and then walked out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist, curls wet like a cloud around his head. He knew Kurt loved it when he didn't put any gel on his hair, so he was going to forgo the product tonight. Hopefully it would invite Kurt to play with his hair, something that never failed to relax him.
He needed all the relaxation he could get right now.
He slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a soft hoodie before he went back downstairs. He was just heading to the kitchen to grab a beer he felt he had earned today, when there was a knock on the door. Kurt, probably, with their dinner. Blaine didn't suppress the eagerness as he headed towards the front door – seeing him was going to be the best thing in his whole day.
It usually was the best thing in most of his days.
Blaine certainly wasn't expecting his father to be standing on his stoop. As soon as he saw him, the smile that had started to bloom for Kurt, died. "What are you doing here?"
Oscar, wrapped in a long black coat, a silk scarf wrapped around his neck, regarded Blaine with eyes that looked a lot like Cooper's. He still had the consequences of his fight with his older son on his face. "Hi, Blaine. I thought you and I should talk."
Blaine held on to the door, knuckles going white. "We have nothing to talk about."
"Well, since your brother is ignoring my calls and seems to be determined not to leave his apartment, yes, we do," Oscar said, arching an eyebrow at him expectantly. "You and I should discuss business."
Letting out a bitter little chuckle, Blaine shook his head incredulous. "You and I have nothing to discuss. I'm done with you. Cooper's done with you. Don't you even think about trying to contact him."
Oscar smiled condescendingly. "You're going to change your tune when you hear what I have…"
"What, the pictures?" Blaine asked calmly, even though he felt anything but. "The videos? I know about all of that. I don't care."
He could tell it took his father by surprise – Oscar probably hadn't expected Cooper to tell his brother everything. But in a matter of seconds, he managed to school his expression back into that painful superiority, like Blaine was nothing but a piece of dirty gum stuck to the sole of his shoes.
That look had once threatened to end it all for Blaine.
Now he knew better.
"Oh, your brother cares," Oscar retorted with a light laugh. "He certainly does. He's always been difficult, but he's predictable – he bent over backwards trying to protect you."
"I know that. And you should have never put him in that position," Blaine said. "But then again, you never really cared about him. Or about me. You only cared about what we could do for you."
"I dedicated my life to raising you, to making sure you both took advantage of your talents, to nurturing you as artists…" Oscar protested, only to be cut off by Blaine.
"Yes, sure. That's what you did. I'm sure you had our best interests at heart," he muttered, looking at him and trying to remember at least one moment in which he had behaved as a father. If it had existed, it had been when he was too young to remember it. Or maybe it had been tainted by all his efforts to shove them into stardom. "That's why you made sure to have blackmail material on your sons. Good job. You excel at the parent thing, clearly."
It was obvious Oscar was getting impatient with him, because he glared at Blaine and took a step forward, as if he intended to go inside. "Enough of your snotty attitude. Are we going to talk seriously or should I just head over to the press? I'm sure they'll be more than interested in publishing what I have. And once they do… neither you nor Cooper will ever work in this business again."
Blaine just stood there for a moment, watching him. He couldn't understand how his father could do this. He didn't understand how he could have looked at his sons and see nothing but an opportunity to get some money, how he had looked at Cooper, being miserable for so long, and forced him to keep going. Blaine imagined looking at his own child and seeing them as broken as Cooper had been – and still was – and he couldn't help the pang of anguish that went through him.
Oscar Anderson had never been a good father.
And he was never, ever taking advantage of his sons again.
"Yes, we're definitely going to talk seriously," Blaine said sternly. His fingers hurt from how tight he was still holding on to the door. "But don't move. We'll do it right here. All you have to do… is listen," he let go of the door and took a step outside. He didn't even notice the evening chill. His anger kept him warm. "You're never going to talk to Cooper again. You're going to leave him alone. If I hear you follow him again, that you try to blackmail him again, I'm going to call the police. I'm sure they'll be very interested in these pictures and videos you have… not only because blackmailing someone is a criminal offense, and that alone will get you in a lot of trouble, but also because I'm pretty sure most of that material you are so proud to have surely proves child neglect. You drugged your own son for your benefit. That alone is enough to ruin the rest of your life. And we both know that's not all you did…"
Oscar was stunned, standing there, looking at Blaine as if he couldn't believe his younger son was capable of saying these things, of being this cold.
"And what you have on me?" Blaine continued and shrugged. "I don't care. But even if I did, I know you're not going to do anything with it. You want to know how I know? Because I was legally a minor in that footage. Just by having it you can be charged with owning child pornography. So if you want to add distributing to that…"
The sheer shock in Oscar's face told Blaine he hadn't really thought this through. He had just assumed that his children were going to play along.
Blaine remained silent, watching him crumble. It made him wonder how he had feared this man for so long. But the truth was that Blaine wasn't the same young boy, scared of kissing other boys, scared of never fitting anywhere. He was a man now, and at least he was a better man than the one standing before him.
That was the precise moment Kurt arrived, looking dashing in the Burberry coat Blaine had given him last year, carrying a bag of Chinese takeout. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him, immediately finding Blaine's as if to figure out if everything was okay.
"Uhm, hi," he said, hesitantly.
"Hi baby," Blaine said calmly. "Go right inside, I'll finish up out here and we can have dinner."
"Okay…" Kurt muttered, glancing between Blaine and his father warily, before he pushed past the latter. He paused at the doorway, right next to Blaine, to press a kiss to his cheek, a tacit show of support. "I'll be in the kitchen. Let me know if you need anything."
"Sure. Thanks, Kurt," Blaine said, and reached to squeeze his arm before Kurt disappeared inside. He then turned back to his father, the little smile that had begun to appear on his face still there. "Can I go have dinner with my boyfriend now, or are you still going to be a pain in my ass?"
Oscar simply gaped at him, as if he wasn't exactly sure how to react.
"Okay. I trust you won't bother Cooper again. If I ever hear you're anywhere near him, you know what I'll do," Blaine took a step back, eyes still on his father, who hadn't moved an inch. "You may have been able to push him around because he wanted to protect me… but you have no idea what I'm capable of when it comes to protecting him. So don't test me." He began to close the door. "Goodbye, dad."
Once he was back in the safety of his own home, he leaned against the closed door and expected to feel his knees going a little weak. But as he closed his eyes and breathed, Blaine realized… he was fine. He was still a little angry, upset that their father had tried to use them, but he was mostly relieved. Even if Oscar tried anything now, he knew his sons weren't going down without a fight. He couldn't push them around anymore. He didn't own them.
They were free.
He heard steps and opened his eyes. Kurt was standing there, looking concerned and unsure, as if he wasn't certain if it was okay to approach him.
Blaine peeled himself away from the door and walked towards him. He loved the way Kurt went into his arms easily when he reached him. "It's over."
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked. He cupped Blaine's cheek gently, blue eyes searching his face.
Blaine chuckled tiredly. "It's been a long day. But I think I'm fine, yes."
Kurt brushed the curls off his forehead and pressed a kiss there. "Come on. Let's have some dinner so you can go to bed."
"Wait," Blaine said, pulling him back when Kurt started to untangle himself to head back to the kitchen. He came back easily, melting back into Blaine's embrace as Blaine tipped his head up, capturing his lips with his own. He kissed him, long and slow, until Kurt was letting tiny sounds that went straight to Blaine's crotch.
Breathing heavily, Kurt looked at him with rapidly darkening eyes, hands grabbing onto Blaine's hoodie almost desperately. "Tell me what you need."
Blaine leaned in and kissed a trail over Kurt's jaw, who threw his head back at once, giving him better access. "Fuck me," Blaine managed to say. "I want you to be the only thing I can feel."
"Blaine," Kurt groaned. "You're tired. Are you sure…?"
"Don't make me beg," Blaine whispered, biting Kurt's earlobe lightly. "I really need you tonight."
Kurt's intake of breath was sharp, the only thing echoing in the stillness of the house. "Let's go upstairs," he said.
It wasn't about taking their time. It wasn't about worshipping. It was about Blaine needing to feel something entirely different to what he had felt all day, about getting rid of the frustration and the anger, the concern and the tension. It was about Kurt being able to give him that and so much more. It was about comfort, about togetherness, about trust.
It was about the way Blaine simply could let himself go, melt into the mattress, while Kurt licked him open. It was about Blaine's mind going absolutely blank with the pleasure, not having to worry about anything else. It was about Kurt's fingers, slick with lube, pounding into him while his blue eyes were focused on Blaine's face. It was about the weight of his cock as it curved over his stomach while the weight of the world on his shoulders vanished, at least for a little while.
It was about Kurt fucking every little bit of stress out of him, Blaine on his knees, feeling he was burning from the inside out, pushing back with every one of Kurt's thrusts, like it was never enough, like he needed him closer, deeper, harder.
It was about Kurt whispering reassurances against the back of his neck while his hips snapped forward mercilessly, about his fingers grabbing onto Blaine's waist hard enough to leave marks that Blaine wanted to be able to trail in the morning with his own fingertips, to feel it all over again.
It was about the way Blaine let go when his orgasm hit, screaming into his forearm – and everything that he had felt that day seemed to feed it. He finally collapsed against the bed, spent and loose, keeping his hips in the air until Kurt came, buried deep within him.
It was about how Kurt cleaned him up, tenderly, and kissed him until they both came down from their highs, until they both regained the use of their limbs and brains. It was about how he felt taken care of as Kurt kissed his forehead before he went downstairs to reheat the food.
When Kurt came back with the food containers, looking irresistible in only his underwear, his hair falling a bit onto his forehead, Blaine felt himself falling for him all over again.
"Thank you," he said at last, the first coherent thing he had said since he had been standing at the front door.
Kurt put the food on the bed before he got comfortable next to him, and right now Blaine couldn't bring himself to care that they would need to change the sheets before going to sleep. He shifted closer as Kurt handed him one of the containers and a pair of chopsticks.
"What for?" Kurt asked softly, already stuffing his mouth with lo mien.
Blaine smiled and leaned in to kiss away a bit of soy sauce from the corner of his lip. "For everything."
Most of his life, Blaine had been made to believe that everything he had ever wanted was wrong. His father had forbidden him to be himself and would have made his days a living hell if it hadn't been for Cooper. He had, for the longest time, lived exclusively for his brother, because he was unable to find a place for himself. The people who entered his life kept leaving it just as easily as they had arrived. He had been ashamed, scared, and completely alone. He had been miserable, had settled more than once because he thought he would never have what he dreamed of.
And here was Kurt, eating Chinese food in bed with him, a materialization of everything he had believed he would never be able to have.
Tonight, Blaine had hopefully kicked his father out of his life – and Cooper's – for good.
Tonight, there were no more excuses why he shouldn't live the life he had always, always wanted.
And it all started right here.
It all started with Kurt.
This is the beginning of the end. Of course, we still have a few more chapters to go and there are still things to be solved but I feel like this is the moment I realized the story was ending when I was writing it.
Can't wait to read what you guys think of it.
Have a lovely weekend/week, and I'll see you on Wednesday!
L.-
