The remainder of the afternoon passed quickly, with the guests helping Blaine tend to the farm animals after lunch. A chicken pecked at Rachel's ring when she tried to offer feed in her hand, causing her to yelp a bit. Blaine chuckled as he moved the hen away from her and back into her nesting area. Rachel and Kurt were sitting by the edge of the pond Blaine showed Kurt earlier that day, enjoying each other's company and feeling the warm air on their skin. It would rustle through Kurt's hair and remind Kurt of how content he was just sitting here in the peace and quiet.
The mood was interrupted by a bell in the distance, signaling the commencement of suppertime. It was presumably being rung by Mrs. Anderson, and Rachel and Kurt hurried to get up because they knew from what Finn said about her, that she did not like to be kept waiting.
Rachel had strayed away from Blaine as a topic of conversation for the most part as they had sat on the edge of the water, focusing instead on the weather, wildlife, and future. But now that they were heading back for dinner she took the opportunity to talk to Kurt.
"So how was your riding lesson with Blaine?" She inquired, pushing back her dragonfly sunglasses on top of her head and skipping along beside him.
Kurt just rolled his eyes. He knew it was too good to be true that she wouldn't ask about it. He sighed. "Well it wasn't really much of a lesson," he admitted.
"How so?" She gave him a confused look and stopped walking.
"Well he walked me around the pen all slow, you know, what you do for a beginning rider, and then said 'you've graduated!' and practically took off ahead of me on the trails on a full on sprint on his horse. So poor Eternity and I had no choice but to follow! Well actually I think she enjoyed it. I'm glad at least one of us did..." Kurt grumbled but then seemed like he remembered something and gave a small smile.
Rachel caught it immediately. "But...?" She prompted.
"But...It was really fun. I...I've never had such a good time just talking to a person. After I slapped him for almost killing me, we sat right where we just were and just...talked. It was amazing."
Rachel squealed and bounced on her toes, linking her arm with Kurt's. "I'm SO happy for you, Kurt. Honestly. That's incredible news. So are you guys gonna be an actual thing now?"
"Well not now at least...but..."
"But...?" Rachel prompted once again.
"Maybe? I don't know! If he wants to, I mean." Kurt bit his lip.
"Kurt. Of course he wants to. He was loving your pants and you just told me how much fun you guys had. Of course he likes you!" Rachel insisted.
Of course Kurt wanted to possibly have a more...intimate relationship with Blaine. He was handsome, charming, sweet, intelligent, and always readily listened to him. Blaine was extremely caring to Kurt for only just meeting him. Kurt had never felt so understood, so cared for, so...loved? Maybe he wasn't "in love" yet, but he definitely felt like he and Blaine had a mutual affection for each other...? Kurt would drop anything if Blaine needed him, he was sure of that. So yes, Kurt would love to be in a relationship with Blaine. The question was if the other man felt the same.
The pair made it to the cabin they saw when they first arrived, with the wooden greeting branded with Blaine's family name across the doorway.
An older woman bustled out on the steps with a faded apron tied around her plump figure. "Come on, kids! Food is gettin' cold!"
Rachel laughed and said, "We're coming, Mrs. Anderson! I wouldn't miss your food for the world."
Kurt nodded in agreement as Rachel pulled him around back to wooden picnic tables that were donned with checkered tablecloths and their feast. Finn was already there, never late to a meal. Hamburgers tonight, with a side salad and watermelon. Freshly-baked chocolate-chip cookies were in a glass jar at the end. Kurt's stomach growled as he took in all of the food.
"Blaine!" Mrs. Anderson shouted in the direction of the barn. "Get out here!"
Blaine emerged not a second later, wiping his hands on a rag and jogging toward the picnic area. He went to grab a hamburger only to have his hands slapped away by his mother.
"Not before you wash your hands, you don't!" She scolded and whacked him with the rag.
Blaine blushed and mumbled an apology before going inside to wash up.
"He's always like that, I swear," Mrs. Anderson said. "Always gettin' dirty and never wants to get clean when it's time. He claims it makes him closer to nature. I swear that boy would live in the darn barn if I let him." She chuckled.
"Well he'd be safe wouldn't he?" Kurt asked. "That Pavarotti is really fond of him."
She looked over to Kurt and smiled. "Yes, I suppose I could walk his meals over to him if I wanted?"
Rachel and Kurt giggled as Blaine emerged, his face and hands much cleaner than they were before. Kurt tried not to notice the beads of water trailing down the back of his neck and arms.
"What's so funny?" Blaine asked.
"Your love of nature, dear. That you'd rather live in the barn than with your dear old mother."
"Aw, come on mom. You know I couldn't leave you." Blaine squeezed his mother's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Kurt realized right then just how much Blaine's mother meant to him. It was like Kurt and his father. Kurt's father was his world. Kurt smiled at the pair as he went to dig into his delicious dinner. Finn had his plate piled high. Even still as an adult he ate like a growing teenaged boy.
"So Kurt, I hear you and Finn are like brothers?" Mrs. Anderson asked after a few moments of silence.
Kurt nodded. "My dad married his mom. It's worked out pretty well, right, Finn?"
Finn tried to talk with his mouth full but then resumed to just nodding. After swallowing he said, "Definitely. Burt's the best."
Blaine looked up at this and smiled. He seemed to share an understanding with Kurt about the love for their respective parent.
"With you two as sons, I'll bet he is." Mrs. Anderson smiled. She smiled a lot. And she shared Blaine's gorgeous hazel-green eyes that crinkled at the edges when smiling.
Kurt reached for a napkin then, but Blaine seemed to have the same idea. Their fingertips brushed, sending that same pleasant buzz through Kurt's body down to his toes again as they each pulled back quickly. Kurt blushed at just how elementary that encounter was. This didn't happen to grown men, right? Rachel pretended not to notice and had to hide her smirk.
Everyone engaged in small talk after, the younger ones complimenting Mrs. Anderson profusely on her cooking. Kurt and Blaine were quieter and tried not to make eye contact for fear of turning red to the tips of their ears for crying out loud.
The plates were being cleared away when Blaine spoke to Kurt for the first time during all of dinner. "I think you'll like dessert, Kurt."
"Mm? Really now?" Kurt was intrigued.
"Well, you'll like the activity that takes place before dessert. I hope you can join me?" Blaine asked.
"Am I allowed to know the nature that this activity entails? You kinda made me not want to trust you after our horse riding lesson..." Oh, was Kurt flirting or what.
"No, no. It's not like that at all. No moving at top speeds through the forest." Blaine chuckled, winked, and hooked his thumbs through his belt loop nervously.
"Okay." Kurt looked into Blaine's hazel-green eyes seriously. "Can't wait." He smiled and tossed dish in the sink. Blaine grinned and put his own plate in the sink before running up the cabin stairs, his boots clunking the entire way up. Kurt couldn't help but wonder what Blaine was talking about. It made him both excited and nervous. Blaine seemed to have that affect on him.