Before I forget, Lima and Westerville aren't 2 hours apart in this story like they are in reality. I realise now that Blaine driving 2 hours to a garage is a little crazy
Blaine walked into 'Hummel's Tire and Lube' looking around for the man that he imagined was Burt. Making his way over to the front desk, he guessed the balding man wearing coveralls covered in grease was the man he was looking for.
"Burt Hummel?"
"Yeah, who's asking?"
"I'm Blaine Anderson, your new mechanic" Blaine smiled nervously as he extended his hand to the man. Looking up from his booking sheets, Burt wiped his hand on his shirt before shaking Blaine's hand.
"Scrawnier than I imagined"
"I fit easier under the cars?" he chuckled trying to keep his voice steady. Blaine wasn't sure why he was quite so nervous, it was just a mechanics job. He had been fixing cars with his Dad since he was a kid; this was all second nature to him.
Burt laughed at what he thought was a joke from Blaine as he led the teenager through the garage. Showing his where everything was and introducing him to everyone, Burt finally stopped by a cupboard and pulled out a clearly used but clean set of coveralls. Holding them up in front of Blaine, he was satisfied they'd fit.
"We'll getcha a name tag stitched up and a fresh set of these ordered but for now these should fit"
"Don't go to the trouble of getting new ones, I'm more than happy to keep these"
"I like you already kid" Burt laughed and gently pushed Blaine toward the small kitchen they had in the back corner "Put these on, grab a bottle of water and we'll get you started"
"Thank you, sir"
"First thing you need to know about this place kid, don't call me sir. It's just Burt"
"Sorry, Burt"
"Much better"
XXXXX
"You still alive under there, kid?" Burt laughed as he tapped lightly on the side of the car Blaine had been working on. The curly haired teenager had been working for Burt for two weeks and he was starting to feel like himself again. It wasn't exactly what he'd hoped to be doing after high school but at least it wasn't dwelling at home thinking about his parents.
Blaine rolled out from under the car and wiped his nose on his sleeve as he sat up "When is this car getting picked up again?"
"Tomorrow, will you have it done by then?"
"He can come and get it this afternoon if he wants. Give me an hour and it'll purr like it did in '73" Blaine chuckled and leant against the Dodge Challenger he'd been working on for the last two days. After showing Burt what he could do on his first day, Blaine was appreciative when he was given his own cars to work on alone. Burt had the confidence in him and he wasn't about to let him down.
"I'll give Max a call and let him know, good work, kid" Burt smiled before remembering what it was he came over to talk to Blaine about "I have to head up to Findlay to grab some parts for Mrs Weston's hatchback and most of the other guys have left for the day. My son Kurt is here if you need anything ok? He's not much of a grease monkey but he keeps the books in order" the balding man laughed and pointed to a pale young man sitting behind the front desk flipping through the accounts book for the garage. "I should be around six but you're more than welcome to head off once you've finished with the Challenger"
"Thanks, Burt" Blaine smiled and picked up the wrench he needed to continue working on the car. As Burt left, Blaine laid back down rolling under the car once again. Working in silence for the next half an hour or so, Blaine jumped slightly when he suddenly felt someone tap his foot. Rolling back out again, he smiled up at the slender teenager he'd learnt was Kurt earlier.
"You hadn't come up for air in a while" he chuckled and wiped off the seat before sitting on the stool by Blaine's car. Holding out the bottle of water and packet of crisps, he waited for Blaine to take them before sitting back "Thought you might be hungry"
"Thanks" Blaine smiled and opened the water "I'm Blaine by the way"
"Kurt"
The pair sat in awkward silence for a moment as Blaine took a sip of his drink and wiped the grease from his forever dirty hands. It always took him hours to get all the grease out from his fingernails but if he stopped cleaning them every night, he'd never get them clean ever again.
"Nice jacket. Marc Jacobs?" the curly haired teenager chuckled as he noticed the royal blue pea cot Kurt was wearing and clearly didn't want to get dirty.
"Yeah, last year's winter... How did you know the designer?" Kurt laughed. Guessing his boss' son was gay from the second he saw him, Blaine hated awkward silences so he decided to make polite conversation on something that obviously interested the other guy. Although it was merely a conversation starter, Blaine actually did notice how nice Kurt's coat was.
"I have four sisters"
"Four? Wow!"
"Yeah, Project Runway is permanently on in my house" Blaine laughed overlooking the fact that he liked that show almost as much as his sisters did. "They had a Marc Jacobs challenge a couple weeks ago"
"I commend you for putting up with Project Runway but you actually pay attention? Your girlfriend must love you" Kurt chuckled and took a crisp from the packet Blaine offered back to him. Shaking his head with a laugh, Blaine knew that was far from the truth.
"No girlfriend. I'm gay"
"Really?"
"I guess it's only obvious when I'm not covered in grease. The coveralls probably don't help"
"Can't say they do" Kurt chuckled hiding the fact that they did a lot for that boy. Immediately thinking Blaine was straight, Kurt punished himself for checking out the grease covered teenager. He couldn't help but notice how well Blaine managed to wear such painfully dull coveralls.
"I should get back to this" Blaine smiled pointing the car he'd been leaning on "Thanks for the water and food"
"You're welcome. Let me know if you need anything else"
"Will do" he smiled and laid back down. Sliding under the car once again, Blaine peered out to the side and saw Kurt's feet hesitate before heading back to the front desk. Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, he got back to work. He didn't have time to flirt with his boss' son.
Blaine finished what he needed to do on the beat up old Challenger and just as he promised it purred like it should. Satisfied with his work, Blaine packed up his tools and cleaned up the car. The last thing he needed was for the owner to yell at him for getting grease on the Challenger's precious fake leather car seats.
"Heading home?" Kurt smiled as he looked up from his Vogue magazine and saw Blaine wiping as much grease as possible from his hands.
"Uh yeah, cars finished and ready for pick up. I have to go get sister number three from gymnastics"
"You're going like that?" he chuckled and pointed to the curly haired teenager's attire. With his coveralls pulled off his shoulders and unzipped to his waist revealing his white v-neck, Blaine was too tired to change. He intended to pick up Paige, go home, shower then sleep and nothing else. Kurt took a deep breath and let out a soft sigh as he noticed how the v-neck hugged Blaine's torso in all the right ways.
"My look just adds to the cool older brother charm" Blaine smirked "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"See you then"
Well hello Kurt! Will love blossom? What did you think of the chapter? Worth continuing?