Chapter 10
By Esperanto
Wednesday, April 11
The situation with Cooper continued to weigh on his mind, but Kurt certainly had a way of cheering him up. It had taken everything in his power not to kiss Kurt senseless when they said goodnight, but without the excuse of putting on a show for Burt, Blaine would have been putting his heart on the line.
Blaine was still swooning over his date with Kurt when he pulled his car into his parents' garage and cut the engine. The food had been divine, not to mention that it must have taken Kurt hours to prepare. The way that Kurt had taken advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to make it into a picnic had only heightened the magic of the evening. And that kiss. That kiss! Blaine had replayed it in his head the whole way home. Yes. This date was by far the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for him. Granted, the bar wasn't very high, considering that Sebastian had been allergic to romance, but still, Blaine was thrilled.
If this was how Kurt treated his fake boyfriend, Blaine wondered how far he would go for a real boyfriend. He wondered if Alex had ever been on the receiving end of something like this. Jealousy twisted in his gut at the thought, so he quickly dismissed it. Things with Alex had never gotten serious, and he had moved away for college; it wasn't worth getting worked up over someone who obviously wasn't a threat.
Kurt really knew how to put on a show, and this most recent outing had been no exception. Everyone was thoroughly convinced that the two of them were smitten. Well, they were at least half right. Blaine was fully ensorcelled by Kurt.
Wait… There was something he was missing, some part of the picture he was blind to but could not find… His thoughts tangled there, like fabric snagging on a rough surface. Who was the show for? There! That was it. That was the question that had been niggling at the edges of his mind the whole drive home.
Kurt had gone all out on a romantic date for Blaine…in his backyard. Not in public. Not where Dave or Sebastian might see. Not at school, where gossip would spread it around like dandelion seeds. In private. The only person to appreciate his performance was Burt. Perhaps Kurt thought he needed further convincing? He seemed fully on board to Blaine, but maybe he had said something that had Kurt worried.
As he drifted off to sleep that night, Blaine was suddenly struck with the realization that there was one other person besides Burt that the show could have been for. Suddenly wide awake, Blaine's breathing hitched and his heart raced as he considered the possibility that the person the date had really been for was… him.
—*—
Thursday, April 12
"So, what's the master plan, boys?" Santana asked, her cafeteria tray clattering as she set it down on the lunch table.
"Well, it's a bit chilly for world domination," Kurt quipped, "so I thought I'd leave it until summer."
Blaine met his eyes and let out a fond chuckle.
Santana rolled her eyes, clearly not amused. "Prom? Your campaign? You two need to step it up if you want to be elected."
Blaine bit his lip. He was distressed at the thought that they weren't up to snuff. "I didn't realize we were behind. What are you and Brit doing?"
"Well, Brittany's been flashing her tits for anyone who promises to vote for us…" She trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
Kurt swallowed thickly. While the idea of nudity involving Blaine was both terrifying and enticing, there was no way he would ever stoop so low as to trade sexual favors for votes. He glanced over at Blaine nervously. Surely Blaine would be just as disinterested, right? Just because he'd gotten naked with Sebastian didn't make him an exhibitionist…right?
Blaine caught his eye and gave a nearly imperceptible head shake. Kurt smiled back in relief.
"I don't think that's quite our style. What about a performance?" Blaine suggested.
Kurt considered his proposition. They were all in the Glee Club after all. But their previous attempts at all-school assemblies had received mixed receptions, to say the least.
"Oooh, I love it! Maybe the four of us could all do something together."
"It has to be tasteful," Kurt insisted.
"Tastefully sexy?" Santana countered. "Come on. Stop being such an old married couple, and have some fun! A big romantic number with some sexy choreography is exactly what we need to get everyone's attention."
After a moment of silent conferring, communicated entirely through eye gestures and nods, Kurt and Blaine gave their answer.
"We're in!"
—*—
Monday, April 16
Blaine's mind was whirling as he walked through the front doors of McKinley. He made a beeline for Kurt but stopped short when he heard the anger in his fake boyfriend's voice.
"What in God's name possessed you? I mean what on Earth could possibly have made you think that this was remotely appropriate?" Kurt's voice pitched higher and grew louder with each word until he was practically screeching at Brittany.
Blaine took in the scene. He opened the lid of his travel thermos and let the warm, caffeinated liquid bring things into focus after a night of light sleep.
"You didn't even ask me, Brittany!" Kurt was pointing accusingly at something over Brittany's shoulder. Blaine stepped closer until he was able to make out the offending object. He nearly spit out his coffee.
The poster Kurt was gesticulating at—and a quick look up the hallway confirmed his fears that it was far from the only one—was a sight to behold. He could forgive the lurid pink color scheme and over-reliance on glitter. But the photograph of Kurt's tongue down his throat at Rachel's party was far too graphic for a school campaign. The tagline—Vote Your Favorite Queens For Prom King 2012—wasn't much better.
Blaine stood frozen, bile rising in his throat as he took in just how many posters were hanging on the walls. He felt as if every pair of eyes in the hallway was on him. The nausea continued to build, and he felt his cheeks flush pink and then drain of all color.
"—aine? Blaine?" The sound of his name pulled him from his reverie. The rushing in his ears subsided enough for him to realize that Kurt had spotted him. He told his feet to move, but they weren't listening.
"Blaine? Sweetheart?"
"Ye-Yeah," he stuttered out.
Evidently having turned back to Brittany, Kurt muttered, "Do you see? Do you see how you've upset Blaine?"
There was a quiet whine that quickly turned into blubbering. "I j-just…wanted to help my-my…two favorite u-unicorns," Brittany wailed.
"Uh-uh. Who the hell upset my girl?" Santana yelled from down the hallway.
Finally, Blaine's shoes unglued themselves from the floor, and he managed to stumble his way to Kurt's side. Kurt wrapped a protective arm around his shoulder, rubbing his other hand up and down Blaine's arm.
He was whispering soothingly, "I swear I had no idea she was going to do that, Blaine. I promise, okay? I will take care of this, though, Blaine. I promise. Whatever the backlash, it's on me, okay?"
Hearing Kurt trying to take all of the blame was enough to stop his head from spinning. "Don't be ridiculous, Kurt. We're in this together."
Kurt's face broke into a heart-wrenching smile. "That's why I love you."
Blaine gaped.
"I-I mean—"
"—Mr. Hummel? Mr. Anderson? My office. Now!"
They exchanged a look of imminent doom before following Principal Figgins to his office.
—*—
Kurt was still fuming at Glee rehearsal that afternoon.
"You can't drop out now, Kurt! He let you off with a warning."
"Which means we've used up our warning, and if we get in trouble for the performance, then he's going to come down hard…"
"Kurt, you have the backbone of a chocolate eclair," Santana derided.
Kurt glowered at her but relented.
"I think it will be fun," Blaine added, giving his knee a reassuring pat. He leaned in closer until Kurt could feel the intimacy of humid puffs of breath tickling his ear. A shiver ran down his spine. Blaine whispered softly, "Besides, are we even believable as boyfriends if we haven't sung a romantic duet in public?" Kurt nodded stiffly, trying to remember to breathe.
—*—
Saturday, April 22
Blaine had chosen the perfect duet song. He just needed to convince Kurt.
"I just think something more modern would appeal to the masses," Kurt argued, biting his lip in a way that drove Blaine to distraction.
"Come on." Blaine had sunk to begging. "At least give it a chance. George Harrison is classic, and we would sound amazing on the harmonies." Kurt still looked unsure, so Blaine was forced to use his trump card: the puppy dog eyes.
Kurt muttered something about unfairness, but he did finally agree.
Giddy, Blaine clapped his hands together and pressed a lyric sheet into Kurt's hands. As he skimmed through the lyrics, Kurt's face turned an increasingly noticeable shade of pink. His eyes widened, he glanced furtively at Blaine, and then he furrowed his brows as he looked back at the sheet.
Finally, he set down the page and gave Blaine a serious, probing look. "Why did you choose this?"
Blaine opened his mouth wordlessly, feeling as though he didn't know the answer to a question on a test.
"I just…thought we would sound good together on it? What do you… What do you mean?"
"It's… It's nothing. Let's give it a try."
When you're here by my side
Now only you know how to dry up
All of those tears that I've cried
Here with your love
Now only you know how to lay it down
Like it came from above
You know it's you that I love
As they sang, Blaine felt himself overcome with yearning for Kurt. "How I miss you baby"
"Baby, so don't let me wait too long." Kurt was right there, just a few feet away, and yet Blaine realized with a pang of longing that it did feel like he missed Kurt. But it was strange, missing something he'd never had, longing and yearning so hard it felt like homesickness.
Kurt smiled gloriously at him as they harmonized, but there was an intensity in his eyes that worried Blaine. It felt like he was singing straight to Blaine on each repetition of "Don't let me wait too long."
The song wound down and for a moment, neither of them spoke, as if afraid to break some spell. Blaine felt himself pulling closer to Kurt, as if magnetized, until Kurt was in his arms in a tight embrace. Blaine breathed in Kurt's hair, letting the hug last a little too long, before finally pulling back. "So, what did you think?"
"I loved it, but I don't see how we can do anything remotely sexy like Santana wanted."
"I suppose you're right."
"You still don't know why you chose that song?" Kurt asked.
"I think I liked the line about drying up all of those tears that I've cried. You're my best friend. You've been with me through some hard times, and you always know how to make me feel better."
Kurt frowned, just for a second.
That night, as he readied himself for bed, Blaine's cell phone went off. He finished moisturizing his face and then fetched it from his nightstand, curious to see who was texting him. He was delighted to see that it was Kurt… That is until he read what it said.
Kurt: You'll never guess who's going to be in town next weekend?
Kurt: It's Alex.
Blaine's heart sank clear past his shoes and settled somewhere deep in the earth's mantle.
Author's Note:
Featured music was "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long," by George Harrison.
Thank you to Blurglesmurfklaine for beta-reading this chapter!
Note from GleefulDarrenCrissFan: The next chapter, by CatCat85 will be up Monday or maybe even Sunday night. Also, tomorrow, my new story, Perfectly Imperfect will be published on AO3. I'll post on here too, but it may not be posted all at once because I will be out of town.
