Author's Note:
Nope, no smut yet, sorry, only more schmoop and fluff... Thank you so much to everyone who sends me feedback - you're wonderful and you spur me on to keep writing :-)
Chapter 18: A Lot of Firsts
When Kurt had to leave for a dog walking assignment later that evening, Blaine felt a prickle of dread. Blaine had declared himself now, and handed Kurt his heart for safe-keeping. Did Kurt believe him? Did he want to be with Blaine? Kurt wasn't going to slip out of his life again, was he?
Blaine didn't want to seem clingy, but he also didn't want to let Kurt walk away without any reassurances on this matter, so he offered to come with Kurt and help him walk the dogs.
It wasn't until Kurt pointed it out that Blaine realised he was still naked from the transformation. It cracked the both of them up, and that bout of merriment instantly made Blaine feel better. He dressed quickly, and held Kurt's hand all the way to the dogs' homes and then to the park. It felt amazing. He sneaked a few glances at their joined hands, grinning happily, and that grin only widened when he caught Kurt doing the same.
"I love you," he said, the words tumbling out of their own accord for the millionth time that day, yet Kurt's eyes lit up as beautifully as if it were the very first.
When Blaine gave Kurt the unicorn brooch and the accompanying letter, he got the reassurance he'd been craving. The letter made Kurt tear up and reel Blaine in close, murmuring that Blaine was the one for him too.
Blaine didn't check if anyone was around before taking Kurt's face in his hands and kissing him like his life depended on it.
Kurt drew away a few times to gulp in fresh air, and each time Blaine chased his lips as if Kurt provided the only oxygen he needed.
Blaine didn't know how much time had passed when they finally remembered the dogs and took them back home, but he did know it wasn't long enough by far.
Kurt was dog-sitting, so Blaine knew he couldn't come back to Blaine's apartment. But maybe Blaine could come with him? He needed to be close to Kurt. Preferably till death did them part, but he'd settle for right here right now.
Kurt seemed hesitant about letting him stay over, so Blaine gave him his most beseeching look. The one that even Pam had never been able to say no to.
"You don't play fair," Kurt grumbled as they walked towards the apartment where Kurt was staying.
Blaine, happy as a lark now, beamed at him. "All's fair in love and war, beautiful."
Kurt shot him a quick look, and a corner of his mouth ticked up. "Is that going to be my pet name from now on? What happened to 'honey' and 'sweetie'?"
Blaine shrugged. "Those are generic, and I use them for everyone. You deserve a special name just for you. And 'beautiful' suits you."
That made Kurt blush, and Blaine just had to kiss him again because he was so adorable.
It wasn't until they were lying in bed that Blaine initiated phase two of his wooing plan, and asked Kurt out on a date. He fist-pumped when Kurt said yes, and nodded off contentedly.
Then Kurt's voice jolted him awake again. "Just so you know, we have an appointment at The Sweetest Thing Bakery tomorrow at four p.m. Make sure you include that in your date plans."
"You rescheduled? Mrs Peters wasn't angry that we missed our appointment?"
Kurt chuckled. "I pretended that you'd written the date down wrong."
"Clever!" Blaine praised him. "I'm glad. She has the best reviews. And the best designs."
"And hopefully scrumptious caaaaaake," Kurt yawned.
"Sleep, beautiful."
"Sweet dreams," Kurt slurred, and then laughed, "because of the cake, geddit?"
He turned on his side, his head on Blaine's chest, and was out like a light.
Blaine kissed the crown of his head. For a few minutes, he basked in the feeling of having Kurt with him again. Then, he started going over his date options. Their first date had to be perfect.
K&B
Of course, mandating that the date had to be perfect jinxed it. From the moment Blaine woke, he knew he'd have to adjust his plans. He'd counted on cold but dry weather, not the rain and cold wind that assaulted him as soon as he opened the window in the kitchen. That meant the walk through Central Park was out. Bummer.
Blaine busied himself making Kurt a delicious breakfast, making sure it would be ready by the time Kurt's alarm clock went off, but Kurt didn't even spare the breakfast tray a passing glance when he rushed past Blaine mumbling, "Dogs to walk. Back in half an hour!"
Blaine looked down at the tray he was holding and sighed. By the time Kurt got back, the eggs would be a congealed mess, the toast would be unappetizing, the fruit salad would no longer look fresh but brown at the edges, and the mocha would be ice-cold.
Oh, all right then.
Blaine sat down at the kitchen table and ate the breakfast intended for Kurt, grimacing when he drank the mocha, which was much too sweet for his taste. After that, he showered and dressed, and then made a new breakfast tray, timing it so that it was ready just when Kurt was due back.
Kurt and the poodles returned in the best of spirits, despite the weather, and now Kurt did notice the tray. "You made me breakfast? Oh, you're the BEST! I'm starving! I forgot to make myself sandwiches yesterday."
Kurt kissed Blaine square on the mouth before sitting down and wolfing the whole meal down in five minutes flat.
Then, he looked up at Blaine expectantly. "So what are your plans for today?"
"Still raining?" Blaine asked, and Kurt nodded.
"I guess a romantic walk in the park is out, then," Blaine mused, and Kurt laughed as if Blaine had made an excellent joke.
Blaine praised himself lucky that he'd asked Ashton if there were any good exhibitions in the NYC museums. At least he had that to fall back on.
He looked up, meaning to tell Kurt they were going to the Met, but Kurt had disappeared. His bowl and plate stood in the sink, already rinsed, and his voice floated out of the utility room, singing a French song.
Blaine distractedly petted one of the poodles while letting Kurt's singing wash over him, and then started on the dishes.
An hour later, Kurt and Blaine were on their way to the museum. Blaine had first stopped by his own apartment for Kurt's present of the day. He'd had an umbrella made with the same puppy pattern as the book bag, and Kurt could really use that in this weather.
Kurt exclaimed over the umbrella, calling it über-cute. Outside, he opened it and offered Blaine his arm.
Blaine had never shared an umbrella with anyone before, and found it cosy and intimate. The wind still howled, and the rain still beat down on them, but the umbrella was sturdy enough to provide shelter, and the heat from Kurt's body was a welcome solace against the biting cold.
When they reached the Met, the queue at the entrance made Blaine's heart sink. He knew that Monet always drew a crowd, but this was simply ridiculous. They'd be queuing for hours, and in this inclement weather, standing still for so long wasn't an appealing prospect.
He ran through Ashton's other suggestions, and flagged down a cab to take them to the Museum of Natural History instead. The exhibit there was about newly discovered deep sea creatures, and when a group of boy scouts came by with a guide, Kurt's eyes shone and he followed them, soaking up every bit of information the guide doled out.
Kurt was keen to discover the rest of the museum too, and in the end, he only let himself be led out of the museum when his stomach started growling.
"We can always come back another day," Blaine promised him.
Blaine looked at the overcast sky and chose a nearby sushi restaurant for lunch. It still wasn't close enough for them to escape a sudden rain squall that drenched them in seconds, and they ran the last few yards, Kurt squealing and trying to protect his hair when the wind blew his hood off.
They stumbled into Gari of Columbus with dripping coats and squeaking shoes, laughing and shivering a little. In the restaurant, it was toasty warm, though, and Kurt slipped into the restroom to try and fix his hair.
"Ugh," Kurt said when he came back. "I can't get it into a decent coif. You'll have to make do with the hairstyle I had when I was a sophomore in high school. Floppy bangs and all."
Blaine smiled at him and cupped his cheek to give him a kiss. "You do look younger this way. But just as beautiful."
After lunch, Kurt had to head back to the place he was staying to pick up the poodles for their midday walk, and then a few other dogs as well. Blaine grinned when Snowball and Summer greeted him enthusiastically. It was still raining, but Blaine hardly felt it as he ran with the dogs. Kurt flashed him a happy grin and upped his pace a notch.
After their run, Kurt was shivering again. Blaine hunted for a blanket in the apartment and wrapped Kurt in it, installing him on the sofa and hurrying to the kitchen to make them both tea. When he came back into the living room, Kurt was watching Casablanca, and stretched his arms out towards Blaine. Blaine offered him a cup of tea, and chuckled when that made Kurt pout. "So impatient, beautiful."
Blaine kissed Kurt's pout away and sat down next to him, encircling Kurt's waist and sipping his own tea.
"So where is The Sweetest Thing bakery?" Kurt asked. "We have to make sure we're on time today."
Blaine beamed at him. "It's not far, beautiful. Four blocks or so. So you can drink your tea and watch Humphrey and cuddle me and get warm again. Plenty of time for that."
Kurt's answering smile was wide and toothy, and he wiggled a bit closer still. "That sounds perfect."
They arrived at The Sweetest Thing bakery twenty minutes early, and Kurt used the extra time to inspect the shop window. "I see what you meant about the best designs. These cakes are gorgeous. If they're yummy, too, I'm sold."
A gust of wind made them both head inside the shop, and they told the sales assistant that they had an appointment with Mrs Peters.
"Anderson-Hummel?" she asked.
"That's us," Blaine confirmed, and he felt Kurt squeeze his hand.
"What is it, beautiful?" he whispered, and Kurt blushed and whispered back, "I like that there's an 'us' now."
The girl behind the counter cooed. "Aww, you're too adorable. Have you been together long?"
"Nearly a year and a half," Kurt lied glibly.
"And you're already engaged? Wow, I've been seeing my man for five years and not a peep about marriage!"
Blaine gave her his most disarming smile. "When you know, you just know."
A voice behind him made a retching noise, and then hissed, "You disgusting fags, why don't you get out of here before I break your neck!"
Blaine whipped his head around and saw a burly middle-aged guy, red-faced and looking furious.
Before he could say or do anything, Kurt retorted, "Why don't you go back to the Middle Ages, where you belong? Last I checked, gay marriage was legal. We have as much right to buy our wedding cake here as you do."
The guy came closer, his hands reaching for Kurt's neck. Blaine quickly got in front of Kurt and took on a fighting stance.
"Cut this out RIGHT NOW," a woman commanded.
Blaine recognised Mrs Peters' voice, but didn't take his eyes off the angry guy.
"Mr Miller, if you have a problem with my clientele, I suggest you go elsewhere. I'm not having this kind of scene in my shop."
Mr Miller looked at Mrs Peters, affronted. He'd clearly expected her to side with him. "Oh, fine. Your cakes suck anyway."
He strode out of the shop and banged the door with all his might.
"Good riddance," said Mrs Peters. "Now if you two would follow me, please. Anderson-Hummel, right?"
"That's us, ma'am," Blaine said. He grabbed Kurt's hand, and together, they followed Mrs Peters.
Soon after, Kurt was deep in discussion with Mrs Peters about the design he wanted on the wedding cake. He drew several versions on a napkin, and promised to send the baker a digital version of the design by the next day at the latest.
Then, it was time to taste-test the different cake flavours. Kurt took small nibbles and closed his eyes every time a new taste hit him, his brow furrowed in concentration. It made Blaine smile.
Kurt pronounced the chocolate delicious but too heavy, shook his head after tasting the red velvet and vanilla options, made a so-so gesture about the carrot cake, wrinkled his nose at the pink champagne cake, but lit up when he tasted the coconut and lime combo.
"This is it," he whispered, "This is the perfect cake."
Blaine nodded. "Okay."
Kurt took another small bite and moaned. "No, seriously, it doesn't get any better than this. So good."
Mrs Peters laughed. "That's settled, then. So I'll write down coconut and lime for the cake, and your own design for the decoration. Do you have my e-mail address to send the file?"
Blaine assured her they had the address.
"And what's the wedding date?" she wanted to know next.
Kurt and Blaine looked at each other.
"We haven't decided on the venue yet," said Blaine. "It depends which one we'll go with. If we pick the Bowery Ballroom, it will be the 7th of June. If it's at the NY Public Library, it will be on the 14th of July. And the date for the Loeb boathouse is 9 September."
Kurt cocked his head to the side. "I thought we'd decided against the Loeb boathouse? It's going to be either Bowery or the Library, Mrs Peters. We'll let you know as soon as possible. We're visiting both places again next week, and then we'll decide."
Mrs Peters made Blaine repeat both dates and jotted them down with a question mark behind them.
As they filed out of the back room, Mrs Peters put a hand on Blaine's arm.
"Hey…" she said. "Don't mind that guy, please. Don't you worry your pretty head about him. Your fiancé is right. Love is love, and it doesn't matter to me that you're two men. It shouldn't matter to anyone. It's nobody's business but your own."
Blaine swallowed and tried to smile, but it probably came out more like a grimace. "I'll go pay the deposit at the counter, then."
Nothing like striking while the iron was hot, so Blaine called both wedding venues to ask if he could come by again, this time with his fiancé. For the Bowery Ballroom, he made an appointment for Monday evening. There was no appointment needed for the New York Public Library. "We're open until 5.45 today, sir."
That gave them a little over an hour to go discover the place, so they took a cab there. As soon as Kurt entered the building, he seemed to be vibrating with excitement, and that enthusiasm increased with every detail he pointed out to Blaine, in reverent whispers. They stayed until the library closed, and as they went down the steps, Kurt told Blaine, "This is the right place for us. I can feel it in my bones. We can go check out the Bowery, too, but I don't think I'll change my mind. I see us getting married here."
They picked up Thai take-away on their way back to the place where Kurt was staying. After eating, they took out the dogs for their evening walk, and then curled up on the sofa again until it was time for bed.
When Kurt laid his head on Blaine's chest, Blaine blurted out, "I'm sorry our first date was such a mess. I wanted it to be perfect, but it all went wrong."
Kurt raised his head. "Blaine, what are you talking about? There's nothing about today that I would have changed. To me, it was perfect. A wonderful first date. I couldn't dream up a better one if I tried."
"B-but the weather…"
"I loved that it rained. That meant I got to share an umbrella with you. That was so romantic. I'd never done that before."
"Me neither," Blaine confessed.
Kurt beamed. "I like sharing firsts with you. I want us to share a lot of firsts. I couldn't give you my first kiss 'cause that one got stolen, but the rest of my firsts are all yours."
Blaine smiled tremulously and pecked Kurt lightly on the lips, but then went back to his grievances about the day. "And I meant for us to go to the Met, but the queue was too long."
"Aww, Blaine. The Natural History Museum was a much better choice. I loved it there!"
"And your hair got wet!"
"Yep. Yours too, and you looked so sexy with wet curls. I wanted to grab you right there and then and make out with you."
"And then at the bakery, that guy nearly throttled you!"
"And you defended me, you brave knight in shining Armani."
Kurt batted his eyelashes at Blaine and pouted his lips.
Blaine laughed and kissed Kurt.
When Kurt came up for air, he breathed, "Perfect. I'm telling you, perfect."
