Chapter 9
By starpunchsoup
Wednesday, April 11
Kurt saw Blaine leaving the choir room at the end of the school day just in time to loop his arm around Blaine's elbow. "Hey, you."
"Hm?" Blaine acknowledged, snapping back into reality. "Oh, hey, Kurt."
"'Oh, hey, Kurt?' Really?" Kurt teased but then stopped when he noticed the expression on his pretend boyfriend's face. "What's wrong? You seem totally out of it."
"What? No. I'm fine." Blaine tried to paste on a smile, but Kurt glared right through him. "Ugh, why do I bother trying to hide anything from you?" Blaine whined, half-pathetically and half-adorably. "It's just family stuff."
Kurt softened at that. He knew when Blaine needed some teasing to lighten the mood and when he genuinely needed a shoulder to lean on. Kurt decided right then and there to snuff out any snark in his system and be there for his best friend. "Oh? But I thought you and Cooper worked everything out before he flew back to L.A.?"
Blaine shrugged as both boys made their way out of the school building. "We did, and I'm very thankful for it. I dunno. It's just…despite knowing why he did it, it's not like three days of being on good terms with Coop is going to erase roughly 14 years of feeling like I'm not good at anything. It's just kind of complicated, I guess, and I'm really confused, and everything just feels weird."
Kurt wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulders. "I'm really sorry everything feels so messy right now. I hope you feel better soon." Blaine turned in Kurt's grasp for a proper hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Kurt's midsection. "I know it doesn't make the old hurt go away, but I really do think you're incredibly talented. You're a star, Blaine. You light up every room you're in." Kurt was no stranger to complimenting Blaine, but he tried to be more sincere than usual. Fake relationship or not, Blaine was clearly having a hard week, and nothing was going to stop Kurt from trying to make him smile again.
"Thank you, Kurt." Blaine gave Kurt a tight squeeze before letting go. "I should probably head home. I'll call you later?"
Kurt nodded, and both boys walked across the parking lot to get to their separate cars, but Kurt made sure to send out a single text to Mercedes before starting his engine.
Kurt: Call the house phone whenever you get home. I could use your help!
—*—
Kurt flopped onto his bed, the house phone pressed tightly to his ear. "Mercedes, I need ideas. Stat."
Mercedes' joyful laugh came through the speaker. "Damn, Kurt, you've got it bad! Okay. So, what is the idea here? Are you actually trying to cheer the boy up, or are you trying to put the moves on him?"
Kurt rubbed at his cheek in uncertainty. "Both? I don't know! I definitely want to make him feel better, but I have no idea how to breach any of our feelings with him."
Mercedes paused. "Wait, wait, wait. 'Our'? Do you think he has feelings for you, too?"
Kurt shifted uncomfortably in place. "I don't know. I thought we were going to kiss, like for real, just for us, at that party… But then you showed up, and neither of us have brought it up since. Not that I blame you! I just… I really don't know where we stand."
"Kurt! You are so oblivious. Oh, my god. Put the moves on him already! I see the way you guys look at each other; there's no way you could fake it. He clearly loves you, too."
Kurt could feel Mercedes's excitement through the phone, and it was almost enough to make him smile. Almost.
"But what then? Say we admit we have feelings for each other. Then what? Things with Sebastian were really bad. Still sort of are, hence why I'm using the house phone instead of my cell. Did I tell you that little creep copied my phone? Blaine already has enough on his plate. I'm not sure if he'd even be ready for a real relationship. Hell, when I initially asked him about this fake boyfriend thing, he looked like he was going to be sick. He's been handling everything okay for now, but what if admitting my feelings makes him feel even worse?" Kurt had had all of these anxieties circling around his head for weeks now, and it felt so good to finally talk to somebody about it all.
"Hold on. Sebastian copied your phone?" Mercedes said, disgust clear in her tone.
"Yeah. I think he broke into my locker and stole the SIM card. I'm pretty sure he's been monitoring my texts to see if me and Blaine are faking. I don't know if that extends to phone calls, too, so I figured this would be safest." Kurt shrugged, but he still felt so heavy with worry. "God, Mercedes, I have no clue what I'm doing."
"Okay. First off? Screw Sebastian. If he wants to be obsessed with you guys, that's his issue. Let's work on yours for right now, okay? Blaine is feeling insecure, right? What do you think would make him feel appreciated in this moment?" Mercedes prompted, getting the gears turning in Kurt's head.
"Um…he always likes when I bring him food! He always does that cute little bashful head bow whenever I give him something I made." Kurt thought out loud, gently tapping his chin.
Mercedes waited a moment before she spoke again. "Kurt. I have the best idea ever."
—*—
Giddily hanging up with Mercedes, Kurt brought out his cell phone to text Blaine.
Kurt: Hey! Are you doing anything tonight?
Kurt patiently awaited a response, not wanting to get everything prepared for tonight if Blaine couldn't even make it.
Kurt paced his room for a moment before he decided that he should pull together an outfit while he waited. He made sure that his phone ringer was on before he walked over to his closet to rummage through his wardrobe. He had just decided on a pair of dark green jeans when he heard his phone go off.
Blaine: I don't think so. My dad isn't in town, so I don't even think there's a real plan for dinner tonight. You got something in mind?
Kurt smiled wide.
Kurt: Come over at 7:30. I have a surprise for you. :)
Kurt quickly went to work after that. He settled on his dark green jeans, a dark brown button-down, a navy vest with a matching jacket, and a long, forest green tie with metallic gold swirls; he set the clothes aside on his bed so he could cook without getting food splatters on his date outfit. Kurt didn't have lots of time to get ready, but he was able to pull together a simple thyme and sage risotto with roasted vegetables on the side, homemade garlic bread, and a small dark chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. Kurt tried not to indulge like this too much, especially since he'd started looking after his father's health as well, but Kurt knew that there were very few problems that dairy and carbs couldn't fix.
"Hey, kiddo. Smells good in here," Burt said halfway through the vegetables roasting. "I thought we were ordering pizza for dinner tonight, though; what's all this for?"
Kurt couldn't help his smile. "Oh, I'm throwing an impromptu date for me and Blaine tonight. His brother just went back home after a visit, and while things are good between them now, Blaine is still feeling a little upset because things with his brother weren't always this…stable. I'm just trying to cheer him up." Kurt kept stirring his risotto, checking that the rice was absorbing the chicken stock the way he wanted it to.
"That's really thoughtful of you, Kurt," his dad said, clapping a hand on his shoulder affectionately. "Have I ever told you how glad I am that you guys finally got together? You two are good for each other."
Kurt resisted the urge to wince, considering he and Blaine weren't actually together. Instead, he just smiled wider. "He makes me really happy," Kurt admitted quietly.
Burt gently patted the back of Kurt's head, making sure not to mess up his hair, and left him to his cooking.
—*—
Blaine knocked at the Hudson-Hummel house at exactly 7:30, and Kurt was fully dressed in his pre-planned outfit when he answered the door.
Blaine looked taken aback for a moment. "Wow. Hello, handsome."
Kurt felt the blush creep high on his cheeks. "You think so? I wanted to make this special."
Blaine smiled softly for the first time Kurt had seen that day. "Yes, I do. And you wanted to make what special?"
Kurt stepped outside, closing the front door behind him. "Come with me, and I'll show you."
Kurt took Blaine's hand and walked around the back of the house, where the scene was set up for the two of them. Kurt had a picnic blanket spread out in the middle of the backyard, complete with a picnic basket, that was surrounded by battery-operated tealight candles so Kurt couldn't accidentally burn his own house down. It wasn't much, but Kurt could still see the excitement in Blaine's eyes.
"Kurt? What's all this?" Blaine asked incredulously.
"It's an 'I-Hate-Seeing-My-Fake-Boyfriend-Be-Actually-Sad' picnic!" Kurt explained as he walked over to the blanket to kick his shoes off.
Blaine followed suit, a small, disbelieving smile still painted his face. "Kurt. You didn't have to do all of this."
Kurt opened up the basket, bringing items out to finish setting the scene. A half-full pitcher of lemonade from his fridge, serving spoons, glassware, the whole nine yards. Kurt was going to be up until one a.m. doing the dishes, but seeing Blaine's smile made it all worth it to him. "Of course, I did." Kurt held out a plastic champagne flute for Blaine. "You said yourself you didn't have any dinner plans."
Blaine grabbed the glass from Kurt but kept it tilted towards him so they could clink their glasses together. "You are absolutely incredible."
Kurt shrugged, ignoring the way he could literally feel his face heat up. "You were having a bad day. You should be appreciated more, so…here I am, appreciating you."
Kurt swore he could see a blush appear on Blaine's face, too. "Well, thank you. This all smells delicious, by the way."
The two boys ate in comfortable silence for most of the meal, not feeling the need to add anything on to the moment. Once most of the food was consumed, they packed everything back in the basket and laid down on the blanket to look at the stars. It was a fairly clear night, and the best part about living in a small area of Ohio was that there were no big airports or traffic to cause light pollution.
"I don't know the last time I just sat and looked at the stars," Blaine stated quietly. "My grandpa used to take me out with this big old telescope to point out constellations, but that was years ago."
"Do you remember any of them?" Kurt asked while he turned his head to glance at Blaine. His muscled arms were relaxed above his head, his hands supported the back of his skull, and there was a look of tranquility on his face that Kurt hadn't seen in a while.
Blaine moved his head a little bit to free his right arm so he could point. "Well, that's Orion's belt. I'm pretty sure they're connected to the rest of Orion, but I don't remember the shape of it," Blaine said with a self-conscious laugh. "Um…next to him is Gemini, your star sign, but that one kind of gets lost on me, too. Like, I can see their hands holding, but not much else."
"Still, you know more than I do. And why aren't I surprised that you know my zodiac?" Kurt teased, nudging Blaine's shoulder with his own.
"It's just a thing I do! I know the whole Glee Club's zodiacs just because I have their birthdays written down. It's not like I have anybody's whole birth charts memorized," Blaine defends, but he smiled when he talked, so Kurt hoped he wasn't actually upset at being called an astrology bitch.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Kurt teased further, earning another shoulder check from Blaine. Kurt shoved him back, and Blaine decided to play dirty by leaning over to ruffle Kurt's hair.
Kurt almost said something snarky, but his words got caught in his throat when he looked into Blaine's eyes. Blaine, strong and kind and handsome Blaine, half leaning over Kurt and half laying down next to him. Blaine, the only thing Kurt could see in that moment.
"I think my dad is watching. You should kiss me," Kurt lied, barely above a whisper.
Blaine didn't even look at the house behind him before he leaned in. Blaine's lips were soft against Kurt's, and there was very little pressure behind it. Tentative almost. Kurt took in a deep breath through his nose and leaned up a little bit to get closer. Grabbing the back of Blaine's head with one arm and lifting himself up with the other, Kurt almost couldn't believe it. He knew he'd set up this big romantic picnic for Blaine to make him feel cherished and special, but still. He didn't think the night was going to end with him kissing Blaine, tenderly and sweetly. Cherished.
Blaine pulled away slowly after a few moments, lightly biting his bottom lip. "It's, um… It's getting late. I should probably go before my mom starts to worry. But all of this…" Blaine gestured vaguely around him, his eyes quickly looking over Kurt one more time. "All of this was amazing. Thank you."
Kurt still felt a little breathless, but he managed a smile before he found his voice again (Did he always sound so airy when talking to Blaine?). "Anytime."
Kurt helped Blaine up from the blanket so the boys could make their way towards Blaine's car. Blaine gave Kurt a hug goodbye, but alas, not a second kiss. Kurt wasn't surprised or even hurt by the gesture, but he would've been lying if he said he wasn't hopeful for another one.
Waving goodbye to Blaine, Kurt decided right then and there that speaking his feelings was out of the question. Kurt felt like he'd made as big of a move as he could, and unless Blaine was going to initiate the conversation, Kurt wasn't going to cross any more lines. Blaine's comfort and presence in Kurt's life was what mattered most, and Kurt didn't want to do anything else that might jeopardize that.
Blaine Anderson, the ball is in your court. Please don't leave me waiting much longer.
Noted from GleefulDarrenCrissFan: I intended to post this earlier today, but I have not been feeling well. To make up for it, I', posting a chapter today and tomorrow. The next chapter is by Esperanto. After this, only 6 more chapters. Also, I have a new story coming out on Saturday called Perfectly Imperfect. Don't forget to comment. We love hearing from you all.
