Chapter 4.
"Good morning Mr. Anderson, welcome back!" Blaine's assistant chirped brightly as he entered the office.
"Good morning Becky, and thank you." he said, with a smile as he headed over to the coffee machine.
"What for?"
"For treating me like a human being, and not either avoiding me like I have the plague, or following me down the corridor telling me how sorry you are about
the 'great ones' passing." Blaine replied with a laugh, as he picked up a stack of mail from her desk and headed through to his private office.
"Hmm, well you know how I felt about him, so those wouldn't necessarily be the words I'd use," Becky said, as she followed him into the room. "Let's just say
it's regrettable that you've had to go through all this, and move on shall we?"
Blaine smiled at her again. When he had been put in charge of the New York branch of the business, Blaine had insisted on choosing his own assistant. He'd
waded through a lot of applicants until he'd found Becky. Fresh from college, and with no previous experience, his dad had deemed her a 'waste of space' from
the very beginning. But once her and Blaine had bonded over a few drinks- well, a lot of drinks- in a bar, they'd become fast friends.
"How are you though, really?" Becky asked, as she busied herself opening the blinds and letting the beautiful fall sunshine in.
"Still gay Becky, always gay."
"Can't blame a girl for trying Mr. A," She said with a laugh. Becky was always searching for 'Mr. Right', and had told Blaine on more than one occasion that he
should marry her and put her out of her misery.
"I'll leave you to catch up with everything, buzz if you need me," she called, as she shut the door behind her.
Blaine worked diligently all morning, catching up on missed correspondence, making calls and generally getting a feel for the business again. He'd only been
away three days, but he'd been distracted for a long time before that. Now, though, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. 'Anderson & Sons'
belonged to him, and he could run it as he saw fit. His work load hadn't changed, as he'd been acting in charge for over a year now, but Blaine could at last see
the future of the company. He could make this an attorney firm to be proud of, he realized with a smile. On several occasions, his dad had made him fight cases
he wasn't comfortable with. Aiding big companies to find loopholes enabling them to sack a pregnant employee, fighting an embezzlement case where he knew
the guy was paying them out of other peoples hard earned savings, and so much more. But it didn't have to be that way now. He could start to build a
reputation for the company as a reputable, honest law firm.
Blaine leaned back in his chair with a sigh, rolling his shoulders to try and relieve some of the tension that had built from sitting in the same position for so long.
He was tired, the last few days in Ohio had been hectic, and filled with a wide range of emotions that he was not yet sure how to deal with. He needed to start
living, and to move forward with his life, but how?
"What are you thinking about?" Becky asked suddenly, startling Blaine.
"Oh, this and that. You know." Blaine said as he took a grateful sip of the coffee she'd brought in.
"No, I don't know. Try me." Becky stood with her arms folded, waiting for an explanation from her dreamy-eyed boss.
"London, mainly."
"London? Why, what's in London?"
"Not what, Becky. Who."
"Who...oh!" Becky exclaimed.
"Did you meet someone? Oh my God you did, didn't you? When? How? You're always here, or in Ohio. You met him in Ohio didn't you? I knew there was
something different the moment you stepped out of the elevator. You got some! Now spill!" Becky tapped her foot impatiently.
Blaine laughed.
"Ok, first of all, no, I didn't 'get any' thank you. Secondly, yes I did meet him in Ohio. Ten years ago."
"Kurt." Becky said with a deflated sigh as she pulled up the chair on the other side of the desk. Reaching over to take Blaine's hand she looked him in the eye
before continuing.
"Blaine, Mr. A, whatever, we've been through this. Over and over. It's finished. You have to move on."
"But that's just it Becky, that's what I'm realizing. It's not over. For either of us. I owe Kurt an explanation for a start, he needs to know why I acted as I did.
And for me...I need to know Becky, I need to know if there's still anything there." The urgency and excitement in Blaine's voice was undeniable, but Becky was
unsure.
"What if there isn't though? Can you put yourself through that? I know you still feel bad for what happened, but you need to look forward Blaine, not back. Get
out and socialize a bit, meet people. Don't let mistakes you made in the past drag you down."
Blaine's eyes darkened.
"Ok. For a start, Kurt was never a mistake.."
"No, I didn't mean.." Blaine held his hand up for her to stop.
"But I will take your advice. I won't let past mistakes rule my life. I'm going to start living my life the way I want, and make the decisions myself, without giving a
fuck about what anybody thinks of me."
Becky stood up to leave, and smiled down at her boss.
"Good for you. And I mean it, I really do. I just don't want you getting hurt. Now, is there anything I can do for you before I go to lunch?"
"Actually, there is one thing." Blaine replied, a small smile starting to play at the corner of his mouth.
"What's that?"
"Book me on the next available flight to London."
"How the fuck do you expect to find Kurt here?" David asked by way of greeting as he hugged his old school friend.
"Good to see you too David. And I don't know, but we can figure that out later." Blaine answered. Although tired from the flight, and unimpressed with the grey
skies and drizzle that greeted his arrival in England, Blaine could not remember feeling this excited in years.
"We? We?" David exclaimed. "You said we. Why would 'we' want to track him down? Why would I have a sudden urge to see Kurt after all this time? I mean
sure, he was a good guy an' all, but I can't say he's been on my mind." David bumped Blaine's shoulder with a grin as they waited in line at baggage claim.
"Ok then, have it your way. I want to track Kurt down, and you're going to help me because you love me. Once a warbler, always a warbler, right?"
"I guess so," David said with a sigh.
"Who knew there were so many fashion houses in London?" David asked, as he crossed another one off his list.
"Most educated people, David." Blaine quipped as he emerged from the bathroom wearing only a small towel around his hips.
"Well that's the seventeenth place I've called," David said, not looking up from his laptop, "And none of them have any guy named Kurt working for them.
Remind me why we can't just call his Dad and ask where he is?"
"Because he will tell Carole, who will tell Finn, who will tell Rachel, who will definitely tell Kurt. And this has to be a surprise."
Blaine crossed to the closet, and began looking through his clothes. David looked up as he passed.
"Oh please, put it away dude. I'm not Kurt, you don't need to impress me with your manly physique...ooh, have you been working out?" David reached over
from the bed to try and squeeze one of Blaine's biceps, but he dodged him quickly.
"And that, right there, is why I'm still shocked you ever got married. And to a woman at that." Blaine laughed as he took out a dark grey suit, and began to look
for a shirt.
"Whatever man, at least I don't need to fly 3000 miles to get me some action. Right, next call: Stella McCartney."
"I didn't fly all this way just to get some, David. I came because...Burberry!" Blaine exclaimed suddenly, and so loudly that David stopped calling and looked
over to him.
"Excuse me, what?"
"Burberry. Kurt will be working at Burberry. Did you call them yet?" Blaine asked as he held up a shirt for David to see.
"Uh..no, no I didn't. But I will. Now."
"Well? What did they say?" Blaine asked as he bounced up and down on the edge of the bed.
David turned to him with a smile.
"By George, I think he's got it." David said in a terrible British accent, as he pulled Blaine onto his feet and into a hug.
"Really?"
"Really. Now go get him Blainers!"
Blaine laughed as he fell backwards onto the bed. He'd found Kurt. Only now, he had to face him. He sat up abruptly, suddenly feeling nauseous.
"I don't think I can do this. I think this was a mistake."
"Ok, first, you've abandoned your business and flown halfway across the world. Secondly, you've spent a fortune on a hotel for a week. Thirdly, I am sick and
tired of seeing you so damned miserable. You can do this, and you will do this. Otherwise I will seriously kick your ass."
"Thank you for the pep talk, David."
"You're welcome dude. Anytime." he said as he patted the side of Blaine's face. "Now, I've got to get back to work. Call me tonight ok? Don't do anything I
wouldn't do!" David called as he left.
Blaine stared at himself in the mirror. Clean shaven, curls left free from all but the tiniest touch of gel, suited and booted. He was ready to go.
"Go get him Blainers." He said to his reflection. He turned and left quickly, before he had time to change his mind.
Blaine was still repeating this mantra to himself an hour later as he forced himself up the steps and into the reception of Burberry's offices. He adjusted his tie
for the hundredth time as he crossed towards the main desk.
"May I help you?" The receptionist asked, without looking up from her computer screen. Blaine cleared his throat nervously.
"Um...yes, could you tell Kurt Hummel he has a visitor please."
The young woman looked up, eyeing Blaine appreciatively as she smiled.
"May I take your name?"
"Erm...no. You may not. Could you please just tell him someone is here to see him?"
"I shan't tell him anything if you don't give me your name." She replied crisply.
"Look, I'm sorry er...Laura," Blaine said as he spotted her name badge. "That may have sounded harsh, I apologize. I have traveled a really, really long way to
surprise Kurt, and I just don't want to spoil it by him knowing who is down here waiting for him, ok?"
"Ok," Laura sighed as she reached for the phone. "He won't be happy though, he hates being disturbed."
She tapped her purple nails impatiently on the desk as she waited for someone to pick up.
"Oh, Mr Hummel. Could you come downstairs please? There's someone here to see you... No, I don't know his name, he won't tell me. But he's devastatingly
handsome and impeccably dressed." Laura put down the phone. "He'll be right down."
"Thank you." Blaine paced back and forth, waiting. He was sure that at any moment he would pass out from fear. 'Why did I ever think this would be a good idea?'
Blaine thought to himself. 'Do I just enjoy torturing myself or...Shit!'
Blaine's jaw dropped as Kurt rounded the corner. He couldn't help but stare because- holy fuck- Kurt looked hotter than ever, if that was possible. In the four
years since Blaine had seen him, Kurt had changed. His soft features, which at 22 had still held a hint of boyhood, had become firm. His jaw line was chiseled
and defined. His shoulders had become broader, although his waist and hips were still trim. Kurt's skin, which he had always prided himself on, was still
flawless. Porcelain as ever, Blaine had to tear his eyes away from the young man's neckline as he remembered how much he used to enjoy marking that
delicate skin. His hair was styled perfectly, although it was taller than Blaine remembered it, if that was possible. As Kurt headed towards reception and waited
for Laura to finish her call, Blaine took in what he was wearing. Tight, black jeans which left nothing to the imagination, paired with knee high boots. A crisp
blue shirt which Blaine just knew would match his eyes perfectly, and a tailored grey vest over. All accessorized of course, by an elegant navy scarf, and a
brooch which looked to Blaine, suspiciously like a dolphin.
"Where's this mystery visitor then?" Kurt asked. His tone was cool and crisp. "It had better be important, you know I don't like to be disturbed unless
absolutely necessary."
"I don't know what he wants, he wouldn't say, but he did say he'd traveled a really long way. Also, he is so gorgeous that you needed to see. He's over there."
Laura nodded in the direction of the seating area as Kurt turned to look.
As their eyes locked across the room, both men froze. Kurt bought a trembling hand up to his mouth as his eyes filled with tears.
"Blaine?" Kurt asked, his voice trembling with emotion as he walked towards him. "Oh my God, Blaine. This is...this can't...I just...is this even real?"
"Hi Kurt," Blaine said simply as he stood in front of him, face to face at last but unsure how to proceed. "I just...uh, well I just kind of... wanted to see you."
"Did you come here from New York?" Kurt asked tentatively.
Blaine nodded, unable to trust himself to speak.
"Just to see me?"
He nodded again.
More silence, as both men stood there, trying to take this moment in.
Neither was sure who did it first, but suddenly the gap was closed between them as they enveloped each other in a tight embrace. Both terrified and
exhilarated, they let their tears fall.