Anderbros! That is all.
Also, GleekMom continues to be an awesome beta.
Blaine wandered up the road to his house, wondering how much longer he would have to play this charade. His parents badgered him in each letter about finding a wife and taking over the farm by his next name day, and Blaine wondered if they would truly carry out their threats to disown him if he was not at least courting a girl by then. That was even prior to the law requiring his marriage, though. Now all his parents urging had doubled. He knew he would not be happy with a wife, and had no wish to run the farm, but he did not wish to lose what family he had, distant though they may be. Secretly he had been offering lessons in music and art to the village children for as long as his parents had been away, and the fee he collected for these lessons would see him for some months if he decided to strike off on his own. 'I just want adventure and romance, for someone to understand me' he thought, picking a flower off the side of the road near his homestead and blowing the seeds into the air.
Intending to settle down in his room with his new book, Blaine was surprised when he entered the house and found it looking like it had been ravaged by thieves. Drawers were emptied on the ground, their contents flung far and wide, a half-eaten meal was sitting on the counter, and a pile of valuables sat on the table. Blaine threw his fists up to his face, preparing to strike at any hooligan who'd had the nerve to invade his home. He glanced around but could see no one. Hesitantly, he made his way towards Cooper's room, hoping he would find his brother alive and not some robber with a knife to his throat. But as he pushed the door open, he saw the source of the mess. Cooper, feet sticking out from under the foot of the bed, sneezing loudly beneath the dust ruffle.
"Coop! What in the world is going on? Why is the house in shambles?" Blaine said, the exasperation creeping into his voice. He should have known Cooper was responsible. His brother popped out from under the bed, his usually neat brown hair disheveled some clumps of dust in it, his face smudged but his blue eyes and brilliant smile shone through the dirt.
"Hey Squirt! I was looking for my burgundy doublet, I couldn't find it anywhere, turned over the whole house, and then I remembered Mother said she had stored it under the bed, and what do you know, here it is!" he said triumphantly, holding aloft the article of clothing. It looked immaculate, which was strange to Blaine given Cooper's state.
"Why, pray tell," Blaine asked, "did you feel you needed to upend our entire home to find your doublet? Please tell me it is for a very, very good reason, lest I kill you after I make you clean all this up."
"Well Blainers, it's like this. Lord Hummel is coming of age next month, and he's going to need a bard or a fool to entertain the court and any guests he may have. The town crier sent word that his representative was holding auditions at the manor this afternoon! I have to go and try! I promised Mom and Dad in their last letter that I would! But they said if I didn't get it then I have to settle down, and that is not the life for me. So I have to go, beg if necessary to get this!" Cooper explained, rushing his words and running towards the bathroom to get clean, shouting the last bit through the door as Blaine looked on, unimpressed.
"Oh gods Cooper, not again. You know it's a hoax, just like it was last month and the month before that. You'll walk all the way up to the manor in your fancy clothes, find the gate locked with no one there to receive you except maybe a groundskeeper who will inevitably tell you that Master Hummel sent out no such decree and wishes to be left alone. You know he's been studying hard to become Lord Magistrate and does not need the distraction. Then you will trudge back home and mope for a day or two while I tend to the mess you've left and all your chores. I refuse. You need to face reality! I love you Cooper, and I know you'd make an excellent bard or fool for some high lord, but it will not be here in Lima. Lord Clarington has refused you too many times to count and Lord Hummel has not been seen since his parent's death. I just don't want you to get your hopes up for nothing," Blaine explained with as much sincerity as he could muster.
"Blaine, those other times were rumours from the citizenry. This came right from the town crier who said he had heard it from a reliable source. Please, just let me try this one last time! I'll tell you what...if I don't get it, I'll buy the deed for the farm from father instead of letting him bestow it upon you for your coming of age and I will run the farm. I refused the first time, and that was not fair to you. I will be the responsible one, but I have to try this one last hurrah before I do. Deal?" Cooper asked.
Blaine gawked at his brother. It was true, when Cooper had come of age, their father had offered the farm to him, and Cooper had refused, saying he wanted to be something other than a farmer. It had led to an outright war between the two elder Anderson men, until finally an ultimatum had been made. Copper had until Blaine came of age to claim his birth right, and if he did not, he would gain no inheritance and own no lands. He would be allowed to live on the farm but he was to earn his keep, and if he ever had a family, he was to provide for them as well. Blaine had not been part of this agreement, and was anxiously hoping that his brother would come to his senses. However, mere months before Blaine was to become the heir, now was the time Cooper wanted to be a man?
Blaine loved his brother however, and looked him right in the eye. "Fine, on a few conditions. Firstly, you go to the manor and if the gates are closed, you turn back. No pestering the groundskeeper to let you in, no attempting to climb the walls, you come back. If they are open and you do get an audience, you come back before sunset and tell me truthfully how it went. If you fail, you claim your birthright tomorrow. If you succeed, you claim it the day before I would. By that time you will have earned enough to hire someone to run this farm. I do not wish this life Cooper, and you know that. I deserve time to chase my dreams as well. A year at least. After that we will decide together what to do. Do we have a deal?" Blaine stuck out his hand.
"Deal" Cooper replied, and they shook on it. "How was town? Return your book after?"
"You know how it is, every day like the one before. Ran into some of your ex admirers while being cornered by Tina though. Santana sends her love," Blaine said as Cooper began straightening out his clothing, picking up a few odds and ends that were strewn about the floor before discarding them back onto his bed.
"Oh Santana, that lady sure knows how to hold a grudge. Either that or she's still not over me. I wouldn't blame her, I am fabulous." Cooper joked, flipping his now dust free hair. "Honestly, I do feel bad her feelings were hurt and I have apologized, but she doesn't seem to want to hear it." Then Cooper got a smirk on his face. "Tina eh? Did she try and pounce on you in the town square and create a scandal so that you would have to ask for her hand on the spot? I honestly wouldn't put it past that vixen."
"More so tried to drown me in the scent of her perfume. I don't know what to do about her Cooper. I have told her numerous times that I do not see her as my future wife, but she just becomes more determined every day. If not for Lord Clarington..." with that, Blaine just looked wistful wishing he could just make his own choice.
"If not for Lord Clarington, what? You would be free to choose a husband like you want instead?" Cooper asked. Blaine's face went ashen, eyes wide with panic and shock. "Little brother, I have known you prefer men since the day you came home raving about the beautiful boys in your classes as a child. Mother and father probably know as well, but they just don't want their letters to betray you, as you know those who deliver the mail are not the most trustworthy about betraying law breakers to the lords. And you know what? We don't care. We love you just the same. I know father has been pushing you to gain a wife. But he does wish you could be free to choose who you want, even if it does mean he has to rely on me to continue on the family name. Now, help me get ready, I have a lord to impress. And who knows? Maybe Lord Hummel will not have similar views. Maybe he will overturn this stupid edict. Maybe he's been waiting to do so for years. If not I will bend his ear about it until they toss me out the gate!"
Blaine grabbed his brother in a hug, Cooper planting a kiss on his forehead as the tears began to steam his vision. His family accepted him, loved him, and that was more than he could ask. They could not show it in public, but they did. Even if he would never be able to lead the life he wished, the support of his brother was a comfort to him. He whispered, "Thanks Coop. You should wear the blue doublet instead though, it'll make your eyes pop more. They are your best feature."
With a laugh, Cooper released him from the hug, and went off in search of said article of clothing. When he had changed, helped Blaine straighten some of the mess and packed a few valuables. "Just in case I am asked to pay tribute or some such, you know that's what Lord Clarington demands, so why should Hummel be any different?" Cooper saddled up the family horse, Pavarotti, and went on his way, promising to either be home or send word by sundown. Blaine waved, then glanced at the mess still left. He shook his head and got to work, for the faster the house was clean, the faster he could get to his book.