Autumn 2017
"It's freezing outside, and there are college kids everywhere!" Rachel announced, walking into Kurt's apartment and taking off her scarf.
"Yes, Rachel, it's called September," Kurt said, reading Vogue on his couch and sipping his coffee, glad he didn't have to go outside and deal with the mess of confused, matriculated morons. They were worse than tourists, had no sense of direction, and didn't know what a block was when he was giving them instructions.
"Why do you read that magazine?" Rachel asked, plugging in the Keurig to make some coffee for herself. "You work for it, you already know what's going to be in it."
"Why are you never at your place?" Kurt retaliated, and Rachel let it go.
"Things between Paul and I are fine!" Rachel announced.
"Right," Kurt said, resigned to talk with Rachel about this another time. "So, is there a reason you barged into my apartment?"
"I ran into Finn on the subway this morning." Kurt rolled his eyes. Oh Rachel.
"This is a big city, Rach, but it's still a small world," Kurt said, parroting back to her the words she had said when he had run into Sebastian. He had been on a date with Adam and they had run into Sebastian and a boyfriend. Even in New York, Kurt couldn't avoid the people he didn't want to see, up to and including the one who tried to blind him with rock salt senior year.
"I knew it was bound to happen eventually," Rachel said, being selectively deaf as usual. "I knew Finn and I would cross paths, living in this big city with only a small amount of distance between us, and I knew it would be horribly awkward. I know our relationship was the defining point in both of our lives, and that we will never forget each other. But why did it have to be today? The one day Paul decided to walk me to work, the only day he has ever had time. Did I tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Kurt asked, not bothering to address the bulk of Rachel's speech. He wasn't entirely sure if she was just coming up with an excuse to be in his apartment, or she was just being a drama queen, but either way it wasn't particularly important.
"Paul got another promotion, but he has more fluid hours, and he can do a lot of his work from home! We finally have time to spend together, his title makes sense, and it's wonderful." Rachel was practically walking on air around his apartment.
"Which once again begs the question of why you're here," Kurt said, making Rachel roll her eyes.
"Are you expecting someone? 'Cause it seems like you want me out of here," Rachel said, huffing indignantly. "And to address your concern, Paul is actually at work right now, but he'll be home for dinner. We're having dinner!"
"At this point in your relationship, that should not be a defining moment," Kurt commented, but Rachel ignored it. "And to address your query, I am expecting someone."
"Is it Blaine?" Rachel asked, pouncing on his couch. "Are you two finally getting some time together?"
"Rachel, it's four o'clock, he's at rehearsal. He's always at rehearsal," Kurt said with a sigh. "Just like we were, and you somehow now avoid being. And you're going to be much less excited to see the person I am expecting."
"Now you're making me..." Rachel began, but Kurt had focused on the click of the lock. Rachel had thought seeing him on the subway was going to be bad.
"Hey, du-" Finn froze. "Rachel, hi."
"Finn," she said softly. "You're here."
"Finn," Kurt said, speaking at a normal volume but feeling awkwardly loud in the atmosphere, "is moving in with me. We thought we would do some cost saving, I'm single, I like his girlfriend enough to buy earplugs, and I do have two bedrooms."
"Oh," Rachel said softly. "Wow. That's... nice. I'm glad you two will get to see each other more. I... I should, um, go, because P-Paul's waiting for me at home." Kurt rolled his eyes, but let her leave.
"Dude!" Finn objected as soon as he was sure Rachel couldn't hear him. "What the hell! Warn me next time!"
"Finn, relax. I didn't know she was coming, and even if I had I wouldn't have warned you. You two are both twenty-five and are the most immature pair of idiotic exes I have ever seen. Stop skating around each other, accept that you've both moved on, and be friends again! I don't care if it kills you at this point." Kurt relaxed and pulled his Vogue back out, unable to remember when he had put it down.
"Are we really that bad?" Finn asked quietly, thoroughly subdued, and Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Yes. You really are that bad. She came in here to vent about seeing you on the subway this morning."
"Yeah, she was with some guy. Was that Paul?" Finn asked, helping himself to a beer without waiting for permission. Kurt nodded. "He seems pretty cool."
"You talked to him?" Kurt asked, surprised by his brother's maturity.
"No, it's not like we were on the same train. We just saw each other across platforms. I was headed uptown, she was headed downtown, and I didn't actually see him get on a train. But he seemed to be treating her nice. He was holding her hand, and she was laughing..." Finn's voice was getting more and more depressed.
"Finn, are you not over Rachel?" Kurt asked, knowing the answer but needed to hear it.
"No, of course I'm over her!" Finn objected immediately, satisfying Kurt's worry. "I mean, yeah, I miss her and all, but it's not... y'know, like that. Anymore."
"I think that wins for most articulate answer I've ever heard," Kurt said dryly.
"You don't get to lecture me," Finn argued, "you're single."
"And happily so," Kurt pointed out.
"Did that Blaine guy not work out or something?" Finn asked, and Kurt sighed. Why did everyone want to talk to him about Blaine?
"I'm impressed that you remembered his name, but nothing has happened between me and Blaine. Ew, that rhymes," Kurt said, wrinkling his nose and making his childish step-brother laugh. "We're still... involved, I guess, but we haven't had an actual date."
"That blows," was all Finn said in response, and sometimes it was nice to be around his brother. He could relax with Finn, who knew exactly how far to push and what was too far, and he could eat ice cream and watch crappy TV and not be judged. In a weird way, that's what he wanted to find with a guy too, but he had long since given up on Finn ever being that guy. He wasn't pathetic.
"Traffic jams stink," was the first thing Blaine said to him when he called him a few weeks later, Finn staring at him across the table until he agreed to. Living with Finn wasn't horrible, but it wasn't as easy as it had been when they were in high school either. Schedules were starting to cause major conflict.
"Where are you?" Kurt asked, trying to ignore Finn's gaze. Why wasn't he going away?
"Washington D.C. Don't ask."
"Wasn't going to," Kurt assured him, "and the traffic is always awful in Washington. Every time I go to visit my dad, I get stuck in traffic for hours. It almost doubles the trip."
"Thanks for the optimism," Blaine said dryly. "So, in case my location and first words weren't a sufficient answer, no, I am not available to spend time with the world's most amazing almost-boyfriend at this point in time."
"'Almost-boyfriend?'" Kurt repeated, ignoring the way Finn's eyebrow raised. He refused to annotate his conversation to his step-brother, as annoying as the former jock was.
"I figure it's bound to happen eventually, right?" Blaine asked, sounding optimistic as always.
"You're definitely the more optimistic of the two of us," Kurt said, making Blaine chuckle.
"I had already realized that," Blaine replied. "So, do you need to go, or?"
"Eager to get rid of me?" Kurt asked teasingly.
"No! Of course not! I was just..." Kurt heard a distinctive crunch sound. "And that's what you get for road rage, sir. And no, before you ask, that was not my car. It was next to my car."
"I was thinking," Kurt said, realizing he was about to sound ridiculous but not caring, "that, if there's no chance of you going anywhere anytime soon-"
"Not a chance in the world," Blaine added, making Kurt smile, even though it probably wasn't meant to be sweet.
"-we could get to know each other a little better. I hardly know you, and you know even less about me." Kurt waited for a moment for Blaine's answer, realizing he was holding his breath and feeling like a teenager again. Why did Blaine always make him feel like that?
"Sounds great to me, and since you've spend four hours in traffic before I'm not terribly worried about the jam suddenly ending. At the risk of sounding cliche, tell me about yourself."
"At the risk of sounding petulant, what do you want to know?"
"Where are you from?"
"Lima, Ohio, the bane of my existence. You?"
"That's funny," Blaine said, hopefully answering Kurt's question. "I almost lived in Westerville when I was a teenager, but I decided to live with my brother instead, in LA."
"What brought you to New York then?"
"Probably the same thing that brought you: opportunities galore. Despite my brother's firm insistences that Broadway is dead, I decided my talents would be better used in New York, and so I decided to come to school here. I, unlike my talented phone partner, couldn't get into NYADA though."
"You auditioned for NYADA?" Kurt asked, not entirely surprised to hear it.
"Yeah, but I didn't make it, so I ended up at-"
"NYU, I know," Kurt filled in, grinning at the empty air and making Finn roll his eyes at him. Kurt turned and mouthed some rude words at him as Blaine replied.
"Of course you do. Could you be any creepier?" Blaine asked, but he didn't sound like he meant it.
"Yes," Kurt deadpanned, making Blaine laugh. "Though I promise I found that one in your Who's Who."
"How have I never thought to research you like that?" Blaine asked, and Kurt shrugged even though Blaine couldn't see him. "Very clever."
"Thank you. Speaking of your Who's Who, can I ask you something kind of personal?"
"At the risk of sounding petulant, isn't everything about getting to know each other personal?" Blaine asked, and Kurt huffed, making the tenor laugh. "All right, all right. Yes, you may."
"You thanked your brother in your Who's Who, and you just said you lived with your brother. What about your parents?" There was silence on the other line for a moment, and Kurt panicked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it's obviously something you don't want to talk about and way too personal for-"
"Kurt," Blaine interrupted him finally. "It's fine. To answer your question: Until I was about five, my parents and brother lived in Ohio. When my parents divorced over which of them could accept me, I moved to New York City with my mother, the accepting one. You might know her, she owns the Majestic Theatre. My parents technically had joint custody, so I was going to be send back to Ohio right before I started high school, only then Cooper, my brother, offered to let me live with him, and that was a much better alternative than living with my father and new step-mother, whom I had never even met, and were unhappily married anyway. My father actually spent most of his time in Chicago doing business and cheating on my step-mom, and my step-mom openly lived apart from him, in Los Angeles, not that far from me and Coop, doing interior design work for rich people. Sorry, now I'm just rambling, but in a roundabout way, I am answering your question. I didn't thank my parents because they never really did anything to help me. Even when I was living with my mom, she was always distracted and I rarely saw her. She loves me, but I never spent time with her. I was estranged from my father the moment I came out of the closet, and to this day I have never met my step-mother. So, I don't really owe my parents a thank you, I don't think."
"Wow..." Kurt said, trying to wrap his head around everything he had just learned about Blaine. "I'm... so sorry."
"Not your fault." Blaine diffused the tension with a laugh. "Besides, I'm not bitter. Even before I came out, my family didn't really get along. What's your family like?"
"My father is an Ohio Congressman, my step-mother is a nurse, and my step-brother is working as a mechanic. My father has always been supportive of me, my step-mother loves everyone unconditionally, and despite troubles early in our relationship, before we were brothers, my step-brother and I are close enough to be roommates and not kill each other. He's actually staring at me from across my kitchen table right now, and refusing to go away no matter how much I wave him off." Finn made a very mature face at him, and Kurt returned it.
"I get this odd feeling asking about your mother is a big no-no, but I've never really had any instinct for self preservation, so..." Kurt sighed.
"My mother died when I was six, of pancreatic cancer." Finn's eyes widened, obviously surprised Kurt trusted Blaine enough at this point to tell him that, and he stood up, gesturing and heading for his room.
"Kurt, I am so sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Kurt shrugged again, clearly not having grasped the concept that Blaine couldn't see him.
"It was almost twenty years ago, Blaine. I'm okay."
"Okay," Blaine replied, sounding a bit disbelieving. "How about a lighter topic then? Past boyfriends?"
"You answer first," Kurt said, not wanting to think about Adam at that moment, and Blaine chuckled.
"All right then. Three serious, long-term relationships. I dated a guy named Marcus for two and a half years during high school. I seriously dated two guys in college, Daniel and Henry, and I was with both of them for about a year. Besides that, a bunch of a few weeks long flings, but no one-night stands." Kurt made a noise of... it wasn't shock, but at least surprise. "What? Don't believe me?"
"No, I do. I guess I just... I don't know why that surprises me, honestly," Kurt said, hoping Blaine wouldn't be offended, but Blaine was chuckling. "Um... one, serious, extremely-long-term, asshole ex-boyfriend, Adam, whom I dated for five years, in college and beyond." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Blaine?"
"That's it?" Blaine asked, and Kurt blushed, glad this time that the tenor couldn't see him. "I'm sorry if that sounds judgmental," Blaine said immediately once Kurt didn't answer, "but really, only one boyfriend? No little flings or high school sweethearts?
"I'm not really a fling person," Kurt replied. "It... takes a while for me to trust someone. Well, usually," he amended, thinking of the way he had immediately taken to Blaine. "You seem to be the exception."
"I'm glad."
"And as for high school sweethearts, I went to high school in rural, knuckle-dragger-dominated, Hickville, Ohio. The fact that I survived is a miracle in and of itself. Having a boyfriend was just unrealistic."
"I guess that makes sense," Blaine said after a few seconds. "I had never really thought of that, having gone to school in the second most liberal area, San Francisco wins by a landslide, of mostly accepting California, which only had that whole Prop 8 issue because of the Mormons."
"It's fine. High school is everyone's personal version of hell, mine was just more... literal." Kurt sighed. His high school years had been survivable at best.
"What was it like?" Blaine asked, then immediately second-guessed himself. "I'm sorry, I'm probably pushing this too far, I just..."
"No, no, it's fine," Kurt said. "It was... hell, honestly. Everyday I heard a rude word or comment, or got slammed into a locker, or hit or tripped or... worse. I don't really..."
"It's fine," Blaine said, and Kurt wished he could see the tenor's face. He sounded completely horrified. "I'm sure it's not something you want to be thinking about."
"Not particularly," Kurt admitted. "The important part is that I survived, despite an arsenal of bizarre incidents and multiple death threats."
"Wow. I feel so ignorant right now. I mean, I hear all these stories, incidents that started things like the Trevor Project, but it's hard to really think through bashing until... sorry, I'm philosophically musing. Autumn, you know?" Kurt laughed.
"It's more spring for me, but we all have our philosophical season," Kurt replied, playing along.
"So, want to tell me more about these crazy friends of yours?" Kurt proceeded to tell Blaine every incident he could think of that had happened in his three years as part of the New Directions that was guaranteed to make the tenor laugh, and Blaine did the same thing with his friends, who were bizarre in their own ways. Kurt had made plenty of jokes about Blaine attending an all-boys school in California (which apparently he had), and had been floored once he realized Blaine attended one of the high-achieving prep schools where getting into less than five Ivy Leagues is disgraceful. Nevertheless, Blaine's stories about all his genius, gay guy friends from California (some of which, including Charlie, were his friends in new York) were hilarious, and they talked for almost three hours, much to Finn's displeasure (he was hungry. As always). By the time Blaine had to hang up because the traffic was finally moving more than five feet a minute, Kurt was absolutely convinced that Blaine wasn't a serial killer with tons of dead male prostitutes in his body-glitter-covered basement.
"Thanks for letting me crash at your place," Sam said as he put down his bags. "I love Chicago, but I have a feeling Santana and Brittany need more alone time then they're getting with me living with them."
"Like you would mind hearing it," Kurt replied, but he was only teasing and Sam knew it.
"I can't believe you and Finn haven't killed each other yet," Sam said, ignoring Kurt's comment and looking around Finn and Kurt's immaculate apartment. "This does not look like dudes live here."
"I'll let that one slide because you dated my girl," Kurt said, tossing Sam's bags towards the area they tended to call the living room.
"Many years ago," Sam said with a laugh, "and now she's with Puck."
"So I've heard. So I encouraged, as a matter of fact," Kurt admitted. "Beer?"
"Thanks," Sam said, taking the beer from his hand. "And me too, actually. Puck's actually a pretty cool guy once you get past the exterior and several layers of interior." Kurt laughed at that.
"I can't believe you're moving to New York," Kurt admitted, and Sam shrugged.
"I'm still young, aren't I? I can still move around. And besides, I can teach anywhere, especially the kids that I teach, and especially in big cities. Maybe this isn't the best time to move, but I have some savings, and I'll manage." Sam popped open the beer and probably drank half of it in one gulp. "Nothing to stay in Chicago for."
"Fair enough," Kurt said, calorie splurging and making himself a mimosa.
"So, just you and Finn around here?" Sam asked, gesturing to the apartment, but Kurt knew what he was really asking.
"Finn's girlfriend Angela is over often enough," Kurt replied, "so you might want to invest in noise-canceling headphones." Sam chuckled.
"What about you?" he asked, drinking the other half of his beer with ease.
"Mostly single, and very happy."
"'Mostly single?'" Sam repeated, and Kurt sighed.
"It's a long story, and you've got a lot of catching up to do if you expect to keep up with us New Yorkers. It's fast-paced around here," Kurt said, trying to change the subject subtly and failing by the look on Sam's face. "Have you started job-hunting yet?"
"Eager to have me off your couch already?" Sam asked, but Kurt ignored it. "No, I haven't, but I'll start tomorrow, don't worry."
"I'm not worried, Sam, you're welcome for as long as you want. Just beware you're going to see a lot of Rachel."
"My favorite!" Sam exclaimed sarcastically as Kurt got up to get another mimosa, making both of them laugh.
Kurt stretched out on his couch, glad that Finn had decided to kidnap Sam and bar hop in full costume, and Rachel was at a big, important party in a couple's costume with Paul and looking radiant in the Facebook pictures. She really had grown up. Now, Kurt was all by himself, and perfectly content to spend Halloween by himself on his couch, despite the perfect costume he had sitting in his closet.
'The phone rings' Mark announced on the RENT soundtrack he had playing just as it did. Kurt had known it was going to happen someday. "Hello?" Kurt asked his phone, the only nuisance he had neglected to turn off during his night for himself.
"Hey!" came the only voice he wanted to hear across the line. "I'm going to a big Halloween party my friends are throwing, and they invited you because apparently they got tired of interrogating me about you all the time and want to finally meet you. Are you busy?"
"I'll be right there," Kurt answered, more than happy to spend time with Blaine and secretly happy that he got to wear his costume.
"Great!" Blaine said. "I'm a little ways away, because I had to visit an old friend in New Haven, CT, but I'm at a gas station twenty minutes out of the city. So, meet me at 160 Riverside Drive in about forty minutes?"
"Sounds good," Kurt said, planning to be there early to scope out the friends that Blaine so frequently called crazy, and using the other time to get into his... completely appropriately tight costume. At least, that's what everyone but Finn thought.
Kurt had to get on the subway to get to Riverside Drive, and was appalled by the sheer number of leers he got. Maybe Finn had a point, but he would never admit that to his step-brother.
"You must be Blaine's hottie," was the reception he got by the guy standing at the door, who was pink-haired and kind of cute and introduced himself as Charlie. "Nice costume, come inside." Security clearly wasn't their number one issue, Kurt decided, but was delighted to find that the party on the fourth floor was small and contained, if loud and pretty drunken. The party had obviously started without Blaine. "Blaine's not here yet," Charlie announced from behind him. "So be prepared to face the drunken carousel yourself."
"Thanks," Kurt said dryly.
"I haven't gotten your name," Charlie said, almost yelling over the obnoxiously loud music, leading Kurt to a couch and shoving a Red Solo cup into his hand.
"Kurt," he introduced himself, and Charlie offered his unoccupied hand to shake.
"I can't believe Blaine sent you to the wolves unprotected," Charlie said, gesturing around. "Is it just me, or is he late?"
"It's just you," Kurt replied, making his new friend chuckle. "I'm not expecting him for another ten minutes."
"Came to scope the place out so you could get to know everyone before Blaine showed up and made everything awkward? Smart. I must admit, you're not Blaine's usual kind of guy, but I like you," Charlie said, sitting down next to him and beginning to point people out, introducing them.
"What's Blaine 'usual kind of guy'?" Kurt asked, curious in spite of his good sense and not really caring to remember every single one of Blaine's friends' names.
"Well, stupid for one," Charlie said with a laugh. "I didn't mean it like anything, Blaine just usually doesn't have very good taste."
"Funny, that's not how he made it sound," Kurt muttered as quietly as possible to still be heard, thinking over the short conversation they had had about previous boyfriends, which had admittedly made Kurt irrationally jealous.
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," Charlie said. "Blaine falls hard and fast, and no matter how God-awful a guy is in looks or personality, or both, once Blaine's hooked, he'll follow him anywhere, and even after the guy dumps him, Blaine will go to his grave swearing he was a nice guy. Blaine's a sweetie, but he's too easy to take advantage of. Don't you do that, or I'll kick your ass. You have enough brain cells for me to threaten."
"You seem like you really care about him," Kurt replied, noting the almost brotherly protectiveness in Charlie's voice.
"Yeah, well, I've known him for a long time, and I've seen too many guys fuck him over and go to be able to resist scoping you out. Sorry," Charlie said with a shrug, not seeming particularly repentant. "Besides, you're all I've heard about for the past eleven months. It's getting kind of annoying."
"Sorry," Kurt said for the sake of saying it, not feeling particularly repentant either. "For the record, that's not quite how Blaine made it sound." That seemed to be a theme.
"What? Is Blaine denying that he likes you?" Charlie asked, sounding outraged. "I'll kick his ass."
"No, he just said you guys had been interrogating him," Kurt said, and Charlie laughed.
"No, that's not me, but there are definitely a few guys here interested in meeting you. Especially since you showed up in a costume like that. Aye dios mio, you're way too hot to be hanging out with us."
"Um, thanks, I guess," Kurt said, making Charlie chuckle.
"Don't act like such a wallflower, I've been around for enough of your phone conversations with Blaine to know that you have some personality." Kurt chuckled at that. "And it's particularly annoying that you're here and he's not, considering you two are exclusive." Charlie rolled his eyes. "Exclusive but not dating, you have to be the strangest couple I've ever met."
"We're not a couple," Kurt argued, just to annoy Charlie, who punched him in the arm.
"You deserved that," Charlie said in reply to Kurt's noise of pain. Charlie had really punched him!
Charlie and Kurt talked, mostly Charlie telling embarrassing stories about Blaine's childhood and adolescence and making Kurt die laughing (apparently, Blaine had serenaded someone he was interested in at his workplace with a song involving sex toys. Kurt just hoped and prayed Blaine wouldn't do the same thing to him. Isabella would find that way too funny) well past the time Blaine was supposed to be there.
After Kurt had been waiting there for two hours with no sign of or word from Blaine, Charlie dragged him off the couch and starting introducing him to people and helping him mingle. Kurt made sure to stay only pleasantly buzzed, and by the time midnight struck, he was well-acquainted with all of Blaine's friends, still tipsy, and no closer to dating the guy in question. Kurt left once Charlie was so drunk he decided Halloween was like New Year's Eve and kept trying to incessantly kiss Kurt.
"I am so sorry," was the way Blaine answered the phone the next morning as Kurt made himself coffee. "I didn't stand you up, I swear."
"I wasn't particularly concerned," Kurt said, fighting a little bit of a hangover with some aspirin. "Your friends are nice. They told me some awesome stories about you."
"Oh, no."
"Charlie, especially, I got to know well. And to answer your earlier concerns, no, they're not nearly as crazy as my friends, but they are fun. I would have stayed past midnight, except Charlie kept trying to kiss me, and if I hadn't been wearing a unitard I'm sure he would have been trying to get his hand down my pants too."
"You were wearing a..." Blaine sounded like he was drooling, and Kurt felt justly proud. "I'm sorry about him," he continued after a moment, once he had stopped fantasizing (Kurt guessed), "he's kind a slut and a little bit of a bastard, but he's a good guy."
"I'm aware. Like I said, I got to know him quite well."
"You didn't kiss him, did you?" Blaine asked, but he didn't sound angry. He sounded sad.
"Of course not," Kurt said, rolling his eyes even though Blaine couldn't see him, "we are exclusive. So, what's the story?" he asked as he turned on the morning news.
"My car wouldn't start back up and my cell died, I was all alone at the creepy gas station, and even the owner didn't have jumper cables. I had to use a pay phone to call local towing companies, but no one wanted to tow me into the city, and eventually I had to call about six towing companies in the city before I found one who would leave the city to bring me into it. This is one of those pain in the ass things about having a car. Besides parking."
"Why do you even have a car in a city?" Kurt asked, not particularly bothered to grill Blaine on his explanation. It wasn't like he didn't believe him, it was just their luck, and why else would Blaine have bailed after calling Kurt?
"The necessity of travel. I found a garage that will hold it for a long time for a low rate each month though, which is good." Blaine sighed. "I really am sorry about last night."
"I'm not angry," Kurt assured his almost-boyfriend.
"Now, what exactly did my friends tell you? Because whatever they said, it was a lie." Kurt died laughing.
"Are we going to see every one of Blaine's shows?" Rachel asked, annoyed. Kurt had dragged her to the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to see Blaine's show during the first week of November.
"Absolutely," Kurt said, annoying her further as he took her hand and led her into the theatre. Just to really upset her, he made sure to get them both the T-shirts that had Blaine on them before they headed into the theatre, Rachel trailing behind him and complaining about them acting like 'tacky tourists or college kids.' She hated college kids so much, Kurt wouldn't be surprised if she had conveniently forgotten she once was one.
Blaine had definitely scored by agreeing to go on a date with Max Tiffany. He played 'Guy', and as one of the most revered rolls on Broadway since it had originally debuted, Blaine was opening doors for himself in the best way. Kurt was insanely proud of him.
He was ridiculous, Kurt had decided by the intermission, one of the beers they sold on stage clutched tightly in his hand. He could barely handle watching Blaine play a girl's love interest, he was that obsessed with the man he was exclusively not-dating. Watching Blaine sing with her and fall in love with her (he really was an excellent actor, he had gotten much better since that performance of RENT. His chemistry with his Mimi had been amazing, their connection on stage weak) was absurdly painful, but getting to see Blaine again made it worth it. Thankfully, Rachel reminded him to text Blaine during the intermission that he was there.
From: Blaine
'Great, I can't wait to see you. I hope you know I'm picturing that girl on stage to be you.'
Kurt hadn't been expecting a response, but that one took his breath away. Then his phone buzzed again.
From: Blaine
'No more stage door stuff. Come backstage, I'll be waiting for you in my dressing room. Just hop up on stage and tell the guy glaring at everyone who looks like they might have a camera your name.'
"I'm meeting him backstage," Kurt whispered excitedly to Rachel as she returned from getting herself a beer and him a refill; she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Show time," she muttered, and Kurt thought for a moment she was talking about him and Blaine, but then the lights went down. Jeez, she had an uncanny intermission clock.
By the time the show had reached it's depressing end, Kurt was practically bouncing in his chair, excited to see Blaine. He knew that Blaine could see him now that he was looking at the front row instead of just walking by it without a glance.
"I'll distract the paparazzi," Rachel whispered as he stood up, making him laugh. Rachel was extremely excited that she had finally gotten her dream role, Elphaba, and she probably would be stealing the spotlight from the Once cast at the stage door if she went out there. "Good luck."
"Kurt Hummel," he said to the very intimidating camera-guy, who nodded and pointed him backstage.
"Door at the end of the hallway on the right," camera guy said helpfully, and Kurt thanked him as he headed for the door. Kurt laughed at the cheesy gold star with Blaine's name on it before he knocked.
"If you're not who I want you to be, go away. If you are, come in," Blaine said cryptically, but Kurt came in, guessing he was who Blaine had been waiting for, and was immediately engulfed in a hug.
"Hey," Blaine said casually, still squeezing the life out of him.
"Oxygen?" Kurt requested, and Blaine released him, but still kept him close.
"I missed you," Blaine said, as if it hadn't been obviously from the hug.
"I missed you too," Kurt replied, kissing his cheek. "You were great tonight, out there."
"I already told you why," Blaine said with a smile, but he wasn't flirting or teasing, he was being honest.
"Well, I appreciate it, but let's not have our story end like Once."
"Deal." Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and dragged him out of his dressing room, down the hall, across the stage, down the other wing, and finally to what looked like temporary rehearsal space. "This is where we practice right before the shows," Blaine answered the questions written all over Kurt's face. "I was hoping, before you inevitably get whisked away again by unfortunate circumstances, that we could level the playing field a little."
"Meaning?" Kurt asked, sitting at the piano bench when Blaine gestured to it.
"Meaning I've only heard you sing on a recording, and you've heard me sing live three times... that I know of," Blaine said with a grin.
"You want to sing with me?" Kurt asked.
"Why do you sound so surprised? You're not only a Broadway legend in your own mind, you know? You originated Zanna from Zanna Don't and brought bare to Broadway." Kurt shrugged. "You're amazing, Kurt."
"I'd love to sing with you," Kurt said, not having any answer to Blaine's compliments or research. "Though I do see that I'm not the only one who's been looking around with the help of Google." Blaine laughed.
"I wish I had been able to find out first hand," Blaine said with a smile, pulling over a guitar and a stool. "I think I can think of an appropriate song."
"I might have just heard one," Kurt teased, beginning to play.
Kurt was playing the familiar melody and singing the words he had memorized by the third time he had watched the movie, before Once was even on Broadway on autopilot, focused more on his gorgeous duet partner than singing to the best of his vocal potential. The song wasn't particularly difficult for him. Falling Slowly had been a constant in his life, from obnoxious duets between Finn and Rachel to gorgeous renditions by talented actors and actresses, all of whom had wanted to tackle the song that was so famous. No one had sounded quite as good to him as Blaine did right now, singing with him. It didn't hurt that they had locked eyes, Blaine's practically smoldering. Kurt almost messed up the melody when one of his fingers slipped off the keys, his focus completely on the man he was singing with.
"I'll sing it loud," they sang in perfect harmony, and Kurt's hands slipped off the keys almost exactly as Blaine stopped playing. Both of them had entirely forgotten about the last few words as Blaine leaned forward slowly. The air in the room was electric, and Kurt had goose bumps. Not only did they sound amazing together, but Kurt wanted to kiss Blaine so badly it was practically an ache. They were close enough that they were sharing breath, ignoring the fact that Blaine's guitar was still squished between them, Blaine leaning over it to...
'(And There's The Choice That We Make) (And This Choice You Will Take) Who's Laughin' Baby? So Just Leave Me Alone, Leave Me Alone' Kurt's phone rang, breaking the spell and making Blaine jerk away.
"I'm sorry, I..." Kurt sputtered, hating his brother so much in that moment he wanted to kill him.
"No, it's fine, you should..." Blaine breathed heavily. "You should take that."
"It's just my brother," Kurt explained as he hit accept. "What?" he hissed into the phone as Blaine placed his guitar on the ground.
"Dude, Sam's wicked sick," Finn said over the line, obviously not picking up on Kurt's tone. "He's been puking for like ten minutes and I'm worried about him, but you know how I feel about puke..."
"Either man up or take him to the hospital, Finn, I'm a little busy!" Kurt snapped, making Blaine chuckle. "My roommate's sick," Kurt explained.
"Go ahead," Blaine said. "I'm sure this is fate, intervening as usual, and if we don't listen to it now, I'm sure it'll find a much more dramatic way to make itself heard, probably in the form of Rachel. Go ahead."
"I'm so sorry," Kurt apologized, but Blaine just shook his head and smiled.
"I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. Go," Kurt leaned forward and hugged Blaine, kissing him on the cheek and resisting the urge to kiss him on the mouth. Now was obviously not the time, especially considering if Sam was sick Kurt probably had the bug too.
"Dude! Kurt?" he heard Finn's voice out of his phone, but he left his brother waiting for a few seconds longer to send a text off to Rachel.
"I really hate you," Kurt said to his brother before he hung up.
"I'm really sorry I crashed your moment with Blaine," Sam apologized the next day, curled up on the couch in about a hundred blankets as Kurt made him hot chocolate.
"It's fine, Sam, you couldn't help it." Of course, if Finn had called a second later there was no way he would have answered, but that was beside the point.
"I'm serious, Kurt, I hope I didn't screw anything up." Sam looked so pitiful and so sick, Kurt couldn't be vindictive, and he couldn't even yell at Finn without Sam hearing and feeling bad.
"It's fine. Blaine and I get interrupted all the time. At least Finn is not as bad as Puck." That made Sam laugh, remembering LA.
"Yeah, but Puck paid for that one, big time." Kurt shrugged. He hadn't permanently injured his former teammate.
"Oh he's fine, the big baby," Kurt said with a huff. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better actually. Inconvenient timing, huh?" Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Sam, relax. It wasn't your fault that you interrupted my moment with Blaine, and I'm sure we'll get some more time together before the year is up." Kurt was trying to take a leaf from Blaine's book. Optimism. It was freakin' difficult.
"So, what did this moment consist of?" Sam asked, waggling his eyebrows as Kurt's face heated up. Damn his pale skin. Sam had always been uncommonly accepting, which was amazing, but also meant he had a tendency to tease Kurt inappropriately about guys, which was less so.
"I don't kiss and tell," Kurt replied, trying to ignore how red he was sure his face was.
"Ooh la la," Sam said with a laugh. "Come on, I'm done embarrassing you. Want to watch The Big Bang Theory?"
"Don't tell Finn," Kurt said sternly as he sat on the couch next to Sam. "I will never hear the end of it if he finds out I actually like this show."
"I figure I owe you one," Sam said, smiling and punching Kurt lightly on the shoulder.
A/N: Yes, Charlie has made an appearance. Lots of wonderful glorious interaction in this chapter, some even face to face, and lots of meddling roommates. I hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry I'm once again posting on Tuesday, but this Monday was a holiday!
Songs used/mentioned:
'Tune Up #2' from RENT
'Falling Slowly' from Once
'Leave Me Alone' by Michael Jackson
Reviews are Love.