This is a two-fold story. First, it will fulfill this week's Glee Fanfiction Friday Prompt: I knew I should feel afraid, but all I could feel was relief.
It is also a fill for wantjes19 on Tumblr because she was who my Wheel of Names chose. She also gave me the following prompt.
Blaine: in his early thirties, living a very unsatisfying life. Was bullied at school and learned early that his true self was not valued by his family so he adjusted and adapted to a version of himself that is no longer criticized. Of course, he loses himself in the process, goes through the motions of everyday life, just surviving but not happy. His only happiness lies in his escapism, admiring and following his favorite actor/writer Kurt Hummel. Nobody knows about this but he spends hours a day on this and it is the only light in his life.
Kurt: Late twenties. Is a bored out actor/writer. Bored with fandom, fame, wealth, and Hollywood plastic people. He hits writer's block and decides he needs some different perspectives for inspiration. He announces a lottery among his Twitter followers (kind of what you did with me now ) and the one selected (if over 18 of course) will be invited for a 2 week, all expenses paid, stay at his house in LA, with him.
Of course, Blaine wins and after a rocky start, it makes them not only get to know each other in the process but themselves again as well.
Blaine Anderson's life has never been easy. He grew up in a conservative home where his parents believed that anything that went against the Bible was a sin. They weren't quiet about their disdain, either. So, when Blaine realized he was gay, he kept it to himself. Kids at school could tell, but how he wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't like he was flamboyant with his mannerisms or anything like that, but still, he was bullied relentlessly for it.
So, Blaine did what he had learned to do from a very early age: he adapted. He started playing sports and found that he was good at them. He put on his armor each and every day, and eventually, after years of pretending, he lost who he really was. The lowest point of his life was when he was 32 and got married to a girl, someone he didn't even like, but he knew it was expected of him. She knew he didn't love her, but she kept his secret and kept his family happy.
Blaine had one thing in his life that truly brought him joy: his favorite author and actor. He loved to get lost in the worlds this man created in his books-who cares if they were meant for a much younger audience-and listen to his voice as he sang songs in the TV show he was on. Blaine followed him on all of his social media accounts-under a pseudonym, of course; he definitely did not want his family or wife to know he was mooning over a much younger man-and desperately tried to get his idol to interact with him.
Across the country was another man in a very different, yet similar, situation. Kurt Hummel was a successful actor and writer. He had sold countless copies of his books, written in and starred in his own movies, and had a successful part in a hit TV show; all this before he was 30! The one thing missing, though, was love. He had yet to find that great love he longed for, and he was done waiting.
All of his turmoil about his love life had left him with a massive case of writer's block. What to do? What to do? he thought one day as he scrolled through his Tumblr. While he was scrolling, he saw an idea that he thought might help his writer's block. One of the fanfiction authors he followed had gifted a story to a random follower as a thank you for following and supporting their stories.
What a great idea, Kurt thought. I wonder if I can do something like that...
Kurt spent the rest of the day on the phone with his manager and agent, setting up the details of what one lucky follower would win. Then, he posted about it on his Twitter page.
Kurt Hummel : One lucky follower will win a 2 week, all expenses paid, stay at my house here in LA as a thank you for being so supportive, and I look forward to meeting you soon!
After a long day of work at the law firm he worked for, Blaine came home, showered, and then locked himself in his office for the evening. His office was his sanctuary, where he spent most of his time. He hadn't even checked to see if his wife was home, and in reality, she probably wasn't. God, I really just need to divorce her; neither one of us are fooling anyone at this point.
And with that thought, he did just that. He went online and found the appropriate paperwork, filled it out, and sent it to his friend, Nick, who was also an attorney and was the only one, besides Nick's husband, Jeff, who knew about Blaine's true nature. Nick instantly replied back and said he'd get it filed first thing in the morning. Blaine thanked him and immediately took off the wedding ring he'd worn for the last five years, putting it in his desk drawer, feeling like shackles had been released. And, it wasn't just the marriage; it was everything he'd ever hidden about himself for as long as he could remember.
After that was done, he started looking for a new place to live. Lexi would get half of whatever the apartment sold for, and she could find her own place, too; he honestly couldn't care less. At that point, he knew he should feel afraid, but all he could feel was relief. He was feeling like he could breathe unburdened for the first time in as long as he could remember.
Blaine's night got even better when he opened his Twitter account and saw he had a new DM.
Kurt Hummel : CONGRATULATIONS! You have been randomly chosen to come and spend 2 weeks with me in my LA home, all expenses paid. Please contact my manager at 555-555-5555, and she will get you all of the information you need.
Courage : Is this for real, or have you been hacked?
Blaine was dumbfounded. Surely this isn't real. So, he went to Kurt's Twitter page, and sure enough, it was real and there was no required entry, it was simply a random lottery winner. Just then, he got a notification that he had a new message.
Kurt Hummel : It's very real, I promise you.
Courage : Wow! I'm so honored to have been chosen. I will call the number right now since it's not too late in LA. Thank you, again!
Kurt Hummel : Looking forward to meeting you "Courage ." I'm sure there's a story there that you'll have to make sure and tell me.
Courage : There most definitely is a story. And, my real name is Blaine.
Kurt Hummel : Well, Blaine, I look forward to meeting you soon!
Courage : Same!
Blaine spent the next 30 minutes on the phone with Kurt's manager, getting everything set up to fly out to LA in two months. He would have loved to leave tomorrow, but he had some things he had to get ironed out first, namely a new place to live and a wife to divorce.
As it turned out, everything fell into place once Blaine started living the life he was born to live. Lexi took the news of the divorce about as well as he'd expected. She screamed, broke things, and honestly had a temper tantrum that would put toddlers to shame. In the end, though, the one-time sum of money Blaine offered to pay her to get the divorce finalized and expedited seemed to suffice. Nick thought he was crazy, but Blaine wanted to be done with the whole thing. His parents were pissed beyond measure, but Blaine was done caring. The apartment sold quickly, and he was in his new apartment, boxes still not unpacked, when it was time for him to fly to LA.
Blaine allowed himself to think about the last 32 years of his life and how he got to where he was right then. Never again, he thought as the plane touched down in LA. Never again will I allow anyone to dictate who and what I am. As he got off the plane, he saw a man dressed in a black uniform, holding a sign with his name on it. He knew from talking with Kurt's manager that a driver would bring him to the house, all agreeing that Kurt showing up at the airport might cause a commotion.
"Hello! I'm Blaine," he told the man.
"Could I see your ID?" the man asked. Blaine had also known this would be asked of him, and he pulled out his driver's license to prove that, yes, he was who he said he was.
"Let's go get your luggage, and then, we will be off," the man said. "I'm Sam, by the way."
"It's nice to meet you, Sam," Blaine said.
The duo went to baggage claim and gathered Blaine's one suitcase and then headed to the Town Car.
"So, is there anything I should know about Mr. Hummel before I get there?" Blaine asked cautiously.
"First thing, don't call him Mr. Hummel," Sam said with a smile. "He's really down to earth, I promise. Lately, though, he's been in a bit of a slump. He's working on a new book and can't get past a certain part. He's over the Hollywood scene and, I think, is hoping that your visit helps all of that somehow."
"So, he's just using me then?" Blaine asked, ready to turn around and find a new place to go, somewhere where he wasn't constantly being used for other people's benefit.
"No. Shit! I'm sorry. That came out wrong," Sam said.
"Then please, try again, because I'm ready to go back to the airport," Blaine said.
"What do you know about Kurt's upbringing?" Sam asked.
"I know that he grew up in the homophobic hell of Ohio. I know that he lost his mother at a young age and that his dad remarried when he was in high school. I know that his dad had a heart attack before he was remarried and then a few years ago beat prostate cancer."
"Yes, all of that did happen," Sam said. "Kurt got his fame by accident. Not that he's not insanely talented, because he is. But being this famous person that is hounded by fans was never what he wanted in life. He just wanted to share his talents with the world and hope that, somehow, he made a difference. However, Hollywood is a disgusting place, and people have tried for years to get him to be someone he wasn't. I'll let him tell you more about that, as I've likely already said too much. My point is, with all of the toxicity, he's lost his passion to do what he does, to share his stories and help people through them."
"Oh," Blaine said softly. "Okay, I will stay. Thank you for explaining that, Sam."
The rest of the drive passed quickly as Sam drove them to Kurt's house. It was in a gated area in the Hollywood hills where several other celebrities lived. Thankfully for Kurt, they weren't any of the ones who called the paps to catch them taking their trash out or walking down the street holding hands. They were very down to earth celebs who liked their privacy.
When they finally got to the house and walked up to the door, Kurt opened it with a huge smile on his face.
"Welcome to my home, Blaine," Kurt said. Holy hell this guy is gorgeous.
"Wow, you're Kurt Hummel," Blaine replied breathily. "Shit, did I say that out loud? I'm sorry. I promise I'm not some creepy person who's just going to drool over you. I mean, I might. Have you seen you? It's just, you're here, standing right in front of me, and I knew that this would happen but, fuck. Umm. Hi."
Kurt giggled and replied, "Hi. Won't you please come in?"
Blaine nodded, afraid to say anything else that might embarrass the hell out of him.
"Thank you, Sam," Kurt said. "I'll call you later this week to iron out game night with Mercedes, okay?"
"Sounds perfect," Sam said with a huge grin.
"Can I carry one of your bags, and I'll show you to your room?" Kurt said, pointing to his suitcase and what appeared to be a laptop bag.
"I can get them, but thank you for the offer," Blaine replied.
The two started to walk down a hall, and Kurt was pointing out rooms along the way. "I'll give you a more thorough tour after you're settled in. Your room will be right across the hall from mine. I have other guest rooms, but I thought this one would be best since the others are further away. That way, if you need anything, I'm right there to help. But if you would prefer one of the other ones…"
"Kurt, the one close to you will be perfect," Blaine said with a blush.
"Okay," Kurt said and then opened the door. "You have your own en-suite bathroom, and I've stocked it with some new products. I didn't know you had curly hair, so I'm sorry the shampoo and conditioner aren't specifically for it."
"Kurt, I don't use curl specific hair stuff anyway," he said with a grin. "I'm sure whatever is in there will be perfect. I usually just buy what's on sale."
"Well, if you want to get unpacked, you can," Kurt replied. "I wasn't planning anything heavy for lunch since I wasn't sure what you'd want or like. I know after flying across the country, I usually want something fairly light. So, after you're all done, if you just want to come back to the living room, I'll show you around, and we can get to know one another?"
"That sounds perfect," Blaine said. "I'm going to take a shower, too, and wash the plane off of me."
"I'll see you when you're done, then," Kurt said and then left the room. I really wish he hadn't told me that. A ridiculously hot guy in my guest bathroom, naked, soaping himself up. Hummel, pull yourself together. He pulled out all of his boner-killing tricks, and by the time he got to the living room, he was very much back under control and a little disgusted by the images now in his head.
When Blaine rejoined Kurt in the living room, freshly showered and changed, the two decided to fix some lunch and get to know one another.
"I had planned to just make a salad with some grilled chicken; is that okay?" Kurt asked.
"That sounds amazing," Blaine replied. "What can I do to help?"
"Oh, um, could you dice up the chicken?" Kurt asked. "I'm honestly not used to anyone helping me in the kitchen. It's usually just me cooking for me, especially after…"
"Yeah, how are you doing after that?" Blaine asked.
"I'm actually doing a lot better," Kurt said. "The break-up itself wasn't tragic. It was time, and our relationship honestly started out of convenience. We just never really corrected what the media thought and decided to go with it. I'm not sure I ever really loved him, but I don't hate him either. It was just time for both of us to move on, though. We both want our happy endings, and we knew it wasn't with each other."
"I'm sorry that the media tore you up so much about it," Blaine said.
"Well, the media makes their living on blowing everything up and throwing everything out of proportion," Kurt said bitterly. "The whole fiasco didn't hurt my book sales which isn't what I aim for by any means. What I meant was that my books are still selling which means the messages in them are still getting read by people. As an out author, that's always been one of my fears, what people would see me as if I was single, you know. That's why he stuck around for as long as he did, in part."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that," Blaine said, understanding more than Kurt could know. "It's awful to be stuck in something for the benefit of others and have no joy in it for yourself."
"You, too, huh?" Kurt asked as he finished chopping up the veggies and started plating them.
"Yeah," Blaine said sadly.
"Want to talk about it?" Kurt asked.
"After we eat, if that's okay?"
"That sounds perfect," Kurt replied. "Would you like to eat inside or outside by the pool? The deck is covered, so it should be pretty nice right now."
"Outside sounds amazing," Blaine said. He put some dressing on his salad and then followed Kurt outside.
"Let me go back inside and grab drinks. Would you like water or tea?"
"Water is fine," Blaine said, and then, Kurt walked back into the house. Blaine looked around and had some very naughty thoughts about the pool. Before Kurt came back out, however, he had gotten himself back under control. I have got to get myself under better control, or I'm going to freak him out. He doesn't need me mooning over him right now.
The two made small talk while they ate, Blaine going back to thinking about what Sam said about the real reason behind Kurt wanting someone to come stay with him. When he landed, Blaine had seen that his mom had tried to call him a few times, but he hadn't wanted to deal with any drama. After they cleaned up their lunch dishes, the pair went back outside and sat in some loungers by the pool.
"Can I ask you something before I spill my life story to you?" Blaine asked.
"Of course," Kurt replied.
"What is the real reason you did the lottery?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt with eyes that he hoped conveyed that he didn't want to be bullshitted with.
"How much did Sam tell you?" he asked.
"He basically told me that you're tired of Hollywood and what it stands for," Blaine said. "But that doesn't answer why you did the lottery."
"My therapist told me once that there are people out there who are 'spark stealers,'" Kurt said by way of answer.
Blaine was confused but knew that Kurt was going somewhere with this, so he sat back and didn't interrupt.
"Basically, they're people who have been hurt beyond measure and have lost their spark, their innocence, and in a twisted way to fix it, end up hurting others. There are some really awful people in Hollywood, and I was unfortunate enough to meet one."
"Kurt," Blaine interrupted. "You really don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm so sorry I asked."
"No, I want to tell you," Kurt replied. "I think it will be good to tell someone other than my therapist and my ex. I mean, the cast all knew because, well, the creator was just horrible."
"Are you serious?" Blaine asked. "I always got really creepy vibes from the pictures of him and the interviews I watched, but I was just hoping that it was something that was getting lost in the mix, you know?"
"I won't go into everything he did," Kurt replied. "But he is not a good person. Sure, there have been articles that have come out and interviews he's given about how shitty his childhood was, and I hate that anyone had to go through that. It doesn't, however, give anyone the right to be a shitty person themselves."
"Was it just you who he targeted?" Blaine asked.
"No," Kurt laughed humorlessly.
"Why not write about it?" Blaine suggested.
"Are you kidding?" Kurt asked, wide-eyed. "Do you know who he is and how much power he has in this industry? He could ruin everything I've worked so hard to achieve."
"Yes, he could," Blaine agreed. "But as long as he's not being held accountable for what he's been doing, he's still hurting people. You know that people like that won't stop hurting others until they are stopped. Forcefully."
"There's so much to all of it," Kurt said quietly. "It's not something I could do by myself."
"Well, aren't there people out there who blow the cover on people like this?"
"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed. "I know just the person. Oh my god, this feels right. Is it bad that it feels right to potentially ruin someone like this?"
"No, Kurt," Blaine replied. "Do not, for one iota of a second, feel bad about this. Just the prospect of getting some justice for yourself and anyone else that he has hurt out there has brought back some of your spark. I literally watched it happen."
"Thanks, Blaine," Kurt said. "So, basically, I'm stuck on my latest book and can't figure out how to move forward. I was hoping whoever won the lottery would spark something in me, and while I am still stuck on that aspect, I have another reason to be grateful. All of that, and you've been here, what, like less than three hours? What's going to happen at the end of two weeks?"
"I have no idea," Blaine said, blushing. "Okay, so, my story now?"
Blaine went on to tell Kurt about his upbringing and how hard his parents were on him, how he was bullied in school, how he married a girl, and how he's hated mostly every day of his life since.
"I just wanted to be free from it all and be true to myself for the first time in my life," Blaine explained. "So, one night, I decided to take my life back into my own hands, consequences be damned, and I filed for divorce. I paid her so fucking much money; I have no idea how long I'll be able to live in the apartment I found, but I'll make due. I'm honestly wondering if I even want to stay in New York."
"The right thing will come to you with what you're supposed to do," Kurt offered. "Thank you for telling me all of that."
"You're welcome," Blaine said.
The rest of their day passed by comfortably. Kurt showed Blaine around the house, and they watched a movie after supper. That night in bed, both really thought about how perfect the other was for them. It frightened both of them that they could have these intense feelings after just meeting each other, but then, they wondered if it really was all that weird after all. They'd both been through the ringer, and maybe this was their payout, that they got to find each other in the most unusual of ways.
By the end of the first week, the sexual tension in the house was palpable. On the eighth night, they had a little too much to drink and verbally expressed their feelings, neither so far gone, though, that they did anything physical. The next morning, however, after they'd eaten breakfast and decided to go for a swim, things took a very happy turn.
Kurt was skimming the top of the pool when Blaine came outside. It wasn't the first time they'd swam, so the sight of Kurt topless, his biceps taut, should not be affecting Blaine this much; but it was. There was no way of hiding what was going on in his pants unless he jumped in, but after their talk last night, he wasn't sure he wanted to hide anymore.
When Kurt looked up and saw Blaine standing there, a very obvious tent in his swim shorts, he put down the pool skimmer and walked over toward his guest. As he stood in front of Blaine, both breathing heavily from the tension, Kurt leaned toward Blaine, pausing momentarily to allow Blaine to back up if he didn't want this. When there was no hesitation, Kurt's lips connected with Blaine's, and both boys sighed, finally feeling like everything was right in the world.
Blaine opened his eyes after the kiss broke and said, "Oh, there you are. I feel like I've been looking for you for forever."
In the end, Blaine left New York to move to Los Angeles, figuring that maybe he could help celebrities like Kurt fight off the injustices aimed at them by those who were seemingly more powerful; so he started a unique law firm in the city. By the end of his first year in the city, his firm was very well respected and rarely lost a case in these regards.
Kurt worked with some of the other actors who had been wronged by the same person and all of them helped to blow the cover on the injustices inflicted on them by the industry, effectively changing the way Hollywood was run. The creator of the show was sentenced to several years in prison, and Blaine made sure that the judge knew that if he was let out early, he would likely revert to the same behaviors as before.
Both of them went on to have more fame than either knew what to do with, in the very best of ways, too. Kurt for his books, Blaine for his sharp law mind, and the two of them as a couple as a beacon of hope for all same-sex couples. They showed the world that their love could conquer everything, regardless of the obstacles put in place.
"I love you, Blaine Anderson-Hummel," Kurt said every night before they fell asleep. Before the wedding, of course, it was sans "Hummel."
"I love you, too, Kurt Anderson-Hummel," Blaine replied and then kissed his husband before curling up in his favorite spot, his ear right over Kurt's heart, which lulled him to sleep each and every night.