Title: Flawed Design
Pairings: Kurt/Mercedes
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers: Season 1
Chapter Five
Kurt grumbled internally as he parked his black Navigator in the parking lot in front of the ugly brick wall of Stone Grill Pizza. It wasn't a classy, old-style brick; it was a utilitarian brick, sturdy, ugly and less expensive. He moved around to the other side of the SUV to open the door for Mercedes. She smiled brightly at him when he offered her his hand to hold while she stepped out of the tall vehicle.
"I'm sorry it's not the nicest of places," apologized Kurt, waving at the restaurant before them with is free hand. "Our options are sort of limited in this town, though."
"It's great, Kurt," replied Mercedes turning to smile at him while giving his hand a little squeeze.
"It was this or Old Barn Out Back and I just couldn't subject us to such atrocious American charm," said Kurt, his mouth turning down in distaste as he said the last part. "This is our first real date and we deserve all the class Lima has to offer, even if that is something Lima is lacking in."
Mercedes let out a soft laugh at Kurt's words as he directed her across the small parking lot. Kurt really did think they deserved to have wonderful first dates. He wanted the bet for Mercedes, and of course, he wanted that for himself. Mercedes deserved to have her first date with a handsome, courteous boy who was crazy about her and Kurt... Kurt deserved to have his first date with a boy. He let out a soft sigh but was quick to school his expression into something more neutral than the miserable face he knew he was pulling. He couldn't have Mercedes thinking he was unhappy to be on a date with her.
They stepped up to the black door and Kurt glowered at the grey stone work on the face of the addition. He couldn't fathom the thought process of the owner when choosing stone that looked so wrong next to the brick of the rest of the building. The stonework was nice and much more stylish than the brick, but what was the point of shelling out the money for something that clashed so badly with the rest of the building? Kurt let out a long-suffering sigh and gave the outside of the building one more glare before opening the door for Mercedes. She must have caught on to what he was thinking because she gave him a small grin and rolled her eyes before stepping ahead of him into the restaurant.
"Stop judging the place," whispered Mercedes with a grin as they stood at the little 'please wait to be seated' sign in the front of the restaurant. "You chose it."
"I didn't seek it out," replied Kurt in a similarly hushed tone. "It was simply the lesser of evils."
"You're just being picky," commented Mercedes a little louder as she released his hand to give him a soft smack on the shoulder.
Kurt let out a huff of indignation before raising his chin. Mercedes laughed a little and rolled her eyes at him which caused Kurt to crack a small smile.
"Do you not see the wood paneling on the walls and the stained glass light fixtures?" asked Kurt.
"Yes," Mercedes laughingly replied. "But I also see the big wood fireplace and waiters in black dress pants instead of jean overalls."
"Jean overalls," exclaimed Kurt in appalled shock causing Mercedes to break out in giggles.
"For two?" asked a waitress suddenly appearing in front of them and turning to grab two menus from behind the counter.
"Yes," replied Kurt with a civil, closed-lip smile.
"Follow me," beckoned the waitress with a polite smile of her own.
Kurt took Mercedes' hand and lifted it would rest on his arm through the crook of his elbow, smiling softly at Mercedes before starting them to follow the waitress. As they made their way through the labyrinth of tables, Kurt mentally berated himself for being such a 'little bitch', telling himself to think straight thoughts because he was on a date with a lovely girl and he better make it lovely for her.
Once they were seated, Mercedes and Kurt picked up their menus and began to sift through them. The waitress asked them for their drink orders and they laughed when they both asked for Ice Tea at the same time. The waitress gave them an amused smile before leaving them to peruse their menus.
"What do you think you'll get?" asked Mercedes, looking up from her menu with her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
"I'm not sure yet," replied Kurt before adding, "Get whatever you like, Mercedes. This is a date."
Mercedes smiled at him before looking back down at her menu. Kurt studied her for a minute while she looked over her options. She looked nervous but a little excited. He wished he could be excited like her, he wished the anxious energy she was obviously feeling was contagious, because, honestly, he just felt sick. The waitress returned not long after with their drinks.
"Have you decided?" asked the waitress after setting down their drinks in front of them.
Kurt looked up at Mercedes questioningly. The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile and she nodded before turning to the waitress.
"I'll have the Parmesan Ravioli and the Garden Salad," said Mercedes.
"Dressing?" asked the waitress while jotting down Mercedes' choice on her notepad.
"Ranch," replied Mercedes.
"And you, sir?" asked the waitress, turning to Kurt.
"I'll have the Strawberry Showtime Salad," said Kurt before blanching when he realized how 'gay' that sounded and quickly amending it. "As a side to my Steak... that can be made into a side, right?"
"I'm sure we can do that for you," the waitress said slowly.
Kurt saw Mercedes smirk and raise an eyebrow at him from the other side of the table. She looked like she was trying to hold back from laughing outright. Kurt flushed a little.
"And which steak was it that you wanted?" asked the waitress pleasantly.
"Err..." stumbled Kurt, whipping open his menu and scanning over the page frantically. "The Pepper Filet, thank you."
"And how would you like it cooked?" came another question from the waitress as she smiled painfully sweet at him from over her notepad.
"Uhh... medium?" answered Kurt in the form of a question.
He could feel his cheeks growing warmer and just knew they were moving from pink to red in colour.
"Which other side would you like?" the waitress asked as she wrote it down on her notepad.
"What?" asked Kurt.
"You get two sides with the steak, sir," she said kindly, though it was obvious that her patience was being tested or perhaps her ability not to laugh outright, it was hard to tell which from her half-hidden grimace. "You asked for the Strawberry Showtime Salad for one side, what would you like the other side to be?"
Kurt bit his lip and looked back down at the menu again.
"Mashed potatoes," he squeaked.
"Gravy?" she asked.
"On the side," he answered quickly this time.
"Alright," she said with a bright smile, putting the notebook in her apron. "I'll be back with your food in a little while. Do you want refills before then?"
"Yes, please," answered Mercedes with a grateful smile.
Kurt let out a long exhale when the waitress finally left. He let his head drop onto the table ungracefully and Mercedes began to giggle.
"Ordering here is like being interrogated," exhaled Kurt in exasperation.
Mercedes' giggles turned into a full-out laugh at that. Kurt lifted his head from the table to scowl at her.
"Oh, Baby," said Mercedes between laughs. "You didn't have to order a steak on my account. I wouldn't think anything less of your masculinity if you had just stayed with your Strawberry Showtime."
"Maybe I wanted a steak," replied Kurt defensively.
"MmmHmmm," Mercedes hummed in response, lifting an eyebrow accusingly and working to suppress her laughter.
Kurt exhaled a groan.
"Do you want any snacks?" asked Kurt as he and Mercedes settled into their seats.
"We just ate," laughed Mercedes in reply, shaking her head.
"How about a drink?"
"I'm fine," replied Mercedes patting Kurt on the arm.
"Let me know if you change your mind," whispered Kurt as the lights suddenly darkened and the coming attractions began to play on the big cinema screen.
"The Princess and the Frog," whispered Mercedes excitedly as an animated preview played on the screen.
Kurt smiled to himself at her excitement.
"It is about time they had a black girl for a Disney Princess," said Mercedes in a hushed tone. "I so have to see that."
"Maybe we can go see it together when it comes out," whispered Kurt, a little excited about another Disney movie, himself.
"In the theatres?" asked Mercedes in disbelief. "We're not little kids! Won't that be embarrassing?"
"Everyone likes Disney, Mercedes," replied Kurt with a lift of his chin.
Mercedes let out another giggle. Kurt didn't remember her ever 'giggling' as much as she was that night. He actually couldn't even remember her girlishly giggling ever before they started their whole talking of 'dating'. Normally, if something was funny, she'd outright laugh her hearty, infectious laugh of hers. That night she was giggling at every little thing. Was it some sort of bashful thing? Was he doing that to her? Kurt's eyebrows shot almost right up to his hairline at the thought.
He chanced a sideways glance at her. She was looking at the screen but didn't really seem that intent on it, chewing her lip in some sort of anxious contemplation. Kurt pursed his lips thoughtfully but shrugged to himself and concentrated on the movie as it began to play; Alexis Bledel chattering away on some sort of video on a fake computer monitor.
It didn't take very long for Kurt to realize that he definitely was not interested in the movie. It didn't sound terrible from the synopsis, and really, he had no problem with romantic comedies and other chic flicks, but that particular one wasn't doing it for him. He held in his sigh and shifted a little in his seat, growing bored but not wanting to alert Mercedes to that fact.
He glanced around the theatre seating somewhat discretely, having never spent much time people-watching at the movies because he was too busy watching the movie. A young, overweight man who looked like he hadn't bathed in a while was digging rather deeply in his left nostril. Kurt grimaced. A couple a few seats over and a few rows down from them was making out quite heavily. There were quite a few couples there, Kurt suddenly realized. Most of which were sitting closely together, sharing popcorn or whispered comments, usually with the man's arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders.
Kurt bit his lip and glanced over at Mercedes. She would probably want that. Kurt closed his eyes and took a shaky breath in through his nose, counting to ten in his head before opening his eyes again. He peeked over at Mercedes again before slowly raising his arm and sliding it over the back of her chair. She didn't say anything, but he could see the corner of her mouth twitch up as he watched her profile. He let his wrist rest on her far shoulder. It felt awkward but she seemed pleased. Kurt slowly let out his breath and turned his attention back to the mediocre movie.
"Her mom sure looked a lot like Coach Sylvester," commented Mercedes as the stepped out into the parking lot from the movie.
"She acted nothing like her, though," replied Kurt with a smile.
"Are you saying Coach Sylvester isn't sweet and motherly?" asked Mercedes with mock affront.
A loud laugh jumped from Kurt's mouth, surprising even himself. He grinned over at Mercedes and shook his head.
"Speaking of Sue Sylvester," started Kurt, looking over at Mercedes as they walked through the busy parking lot toward his SUV. "I hear she's looking for more victims, I mean athletes, to join Cheerios."
"Yeah, something about an accident involving a human pyramid and a misfiring confetti canon," replied Mercedes with a shrug. "A bunch of girls are out for the season."
"Are you going to try out?" asked Kurt.
"What?" squawked Mercedes in surprise, turning to look at Kurt incredulously just as they approached the black SUV.
"You seem to be getting chummy with Quinn, Santana and Brittany," explained Kurt with a shrug, as he admired the way the lights reflected on his SUV.
"Oh, uh, that," stammered Mercedes.
Kurt noticed her cheeks pinking slightly even in the low light of the approaching night lit by the overhead lights and the head and tail lights of vehicles. He cocked his head to the side in question.
"They are just trying to be friendly now that they are in Glee," explained Mercedes dismissively.
"Well, be careful around them," warned Kurt as he walked her around to her side of the vehicle to open her door for her. "They are always scheming."
"Thanks for your concern," said Mercedes with a smile as she got into the passenger seat of the vehicle. "It seems like everything is going just fine, though."
Kurt lifted an eyebrow at her wording but nodded and forced a smile. He wondered what was really going on between Mercedes and the Unholy Trinity of McKinley High, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He trotted around the front of his vehicle to climb into the driver's seat. They chatted about the movie and the happenings at their school on the drive to Mercedes' house.
"Thanks for tonight, Kurt," said Mercedes giving him a bright smile.
"Should I walk you to the door?" asked Kurt.
"That's okay," replied Mercedes with a devious grin. "You can just kiss me in here."
"Okay," replied Kurt with a shrug, completely missing Mercedes' insinuation.
He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, feeling a little less tense about it than he had the first time. Their lips moved against each other for a few moments before they found a fit that suited them. Mercedes pressed in more deeply, then, sucking Kurt's top lip a little. Kurt's eyelids flutter slightly at the sensation but he still didn't feel much of anything. It was a pleasant enough kiss; definitely better than the first one.
Mercedes leaned forward and placed a hand on Kurt's knee. Unsure of what he should be doing but taking her move as a sign, Kurt raised his hands into the air between them before gingerly placing one on the side of Mercedes' face and the other on top of her hand. She pressed in even further then, letting a soft moan build in the back of her throat. Kurt could feel her hand on his knee start to slide up his leg a few inches. She sucked on his lip a little harder and leaned further into his space. Kurt retreated from the kiss and let out a shaky breath.
"Well," stammered Kurt shakily before taking in a lungful of air. "That's probably enough of that."
He caught Mercedes looking frustrated and confused before she was able to school it into a pleasant smile.
"Don't want to move too fast," explained Kurt after a few more deep breaths. "We should call it a night."
Mercedes gave him a measuring look before nodding.
"I had a great time, Kurt," she said with a bright smile.
"Uh, me too," replied Kurt with a pained smile that he wished he could have made look more sincere. "I will call you later, okay?"
"Sounds good," cooed Mercedes before leaning in and giving his a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you later, Kurt."
"Good night, Mercedes," replied Kurt.
He watched her walk up to her house and once she had disappeared inside he let his forehead fall to his steering wheel. This might be harder than he thought. He was in trouble.
A/N: SO, the movie they went to see was 'Postgrad' seeing as it came out around the time they started dating if you considering the Season 1 timeframe of Glee. The funny thing (well, if you find lame things funny) is that it has Jane Lynch in it. So, yeah, that kind of amused me. ANYWAY, if you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to insert them into my Ask over on tumblr. idareu2bme(DOT)tumblr(DOT)com. And don't hesitate to leave a review here.. I sooo appreciate you taking the time to leave them.