Eighteen Again
Chapter Five
Even though he knew something was different as soon as Kurt said those two words, Blaine remained stoic. Shakily, he stood, rolling his shoulders back, eyes locked on Kurt who was straightening his back and glancing around the empty hall. "What is it?" he asked. "Clearly you aren't ashamed to be seen with me or anything."
"It's better," Kurt answered, voice breathy, once he finished his scan for whatever, "for you. If anyone actually saw you with me outside of required school hours … Blaine, there's a reason they're so mean to us. If they see us interact, the two gays, it'd be worse than it already is."
Blaine shook his head, a dry laugh erupting from his lips. "Kurt, do you think I don't know that? That's why I don't show up in general. And, really, what's the worst they can do? They can't whip out their fists that quick."
"Blaine, it doesn't matter if it's a slushy to the face or a fist; the teachers don't care about us. Now," his shoulders sagged, which was truly a strange thing: to see the Great Kurt Hummel slumping in defeat. It left a bitter taste in Blaine's mouth as Kurt continued, "I really don't want to argue right now. I'm sure you're already mad at me. And you have good reason to be," Kurt added, causing Blaine to freeze in shock. "I shouldn't have done that. I practically gave away all your secrets."
In a surprising act of sort-of kindness, Blaine gave a tight smile and nudged Kurt's shoulder with his own. "I wouldn't say all of them."
A soft laugh came from Kurt, who was staring at Blaine with bright blue eyes. "Right. But I was still out of line."
Blaine shrugged. "I'm sure I'll find some way to make you pay for it. Maybe you can see my life up close. Just make sure you understand what I mean when I say 'duck.'" Kurt didn't laugh this time, however. No. His hopeful look was now a stricken one. Blaine backtracked. "Or maybe we can go to the cafe again? Safe territory, safe topic." Hesitantly, Kurt nodded, and Blaine gave another tight-lipped smile. "Great. Maybe I'll be a bit more social with Wes this time. That's progress."
The tension slowly left Kurt at Blaine's words. "Progress."
Blaine nodded and looked at the doors allowing exit. "Want to get out of here?"
Kurt leaned back on his heels and released a soft breath of reluctance before shrugging and gave Blaine a small smile, eyes light with something akin to excitement. "Sure."
The walk to the coffee shop was quiet, but Blaine stopped them when they reached the entrance. "I'm sure you have a car … why do you walk with me?"
"Forced interaction," Kurt answered after a pause.
Blaine took a moment to ponder the other's response. "Oh," was all he could say.
Kurt smiled softly before pushing open the door. Blaine followed him into the cafe, eyes flicking over to the counter. There was Wes, cleaning some mugs. "You sure do clean those mugs a lot," Kurt joked causing Wes to look up. He smiled when he saw who it was.
"It gets busy sometimes, and it's always good to have clean materials."
"As long as my coffee doesn't taste like soap, I'm pretty sure you're need for clean won't be a problem," Blaine quipped. That made Kurt freeze before smiling brightly at Blaine.
"Same here," he added as he headed over to the counter. "The usual please."
Blaine took his seat by the window, turning to look at the tree. He stared at it; the ugly knots in its side made it bend slightly, and its leafless branches swayed in the wind. He blinked before turning to look back at Kurt and Wes. Kurt was laughing at something Wes said, blue eyes shining in the soft light of the shop. Wes was focused on making them their drinks, but he still chatted about whatever it was they were discussing. Kurt would nod, and his lips would pull back into a smile, and then he would respond and turn to look at Blaine before talking to Wes some more. Blaine was still staring at Kurt when he sat down across from him, placing a steaming medium drip in front of him but clutching his own nonfat mocha in his pale hands. Blaine nodded his thanks and picked up the drink, bringing it to his lips.
This time Kurt's eyes were on him. "You weren't tree-watching today."
Blaine looked up at the other boy through his lashes before glancing at the tree. "It's doing okay. I looked at it when we came in."
"No deep questions about it this time?"
Blaine shrugged and put the mug down. "Not today."
Kurt glanced out the window himself before looking back at Blaine, a smile on his face. "So tomorrow I really hope you don't have plans for after school."
This cued an eyebrow raise from Blaine. "Oh really? And what will we be doing?"
An excited glint shone in Kurt's eyes, and he leaned forward slightly in his chair. "Well, you see, that's a surprise. Which you should've known." His lips curled at the corners up into a mischievous smile.
Blaine took another sip from his medium drip. He made a noise of acknowledgement as he drank before setting the cup down and crossing his ankles. "I do know, but I thought maybe you'd be a bit more pliant in telling me."
Kurt rolled his eyes and cradled his drink closer to him. "Not happening."
Blaine merely smiled.
After finishing their drinks, they stood, satisfied smiles on their lips. Not many words had been shared between them as they sat and sipped, but there was a nice sense of comfort and familiarity between the two. Kurt stretched, exposing his long, pale neck to Blaine and making the curve of his back and backside more prominent. "I should go." He turned to face Blaine with a warm look in his eyes. Blaine wondered what the emotion was.
At Kurt's silence, Blaine realized he waiting for him to answer. "Oh," he said dumbly, "yeah, you should. Still have homework and stuff, I guess."
Kurt laughed. "No need to get awkward now. Um…," he suddenly looked hesitant and nervous, "do you maybe want to …. maybe you could possibly … would you by any chance want to," he swallowed, eyes darting from place to place, before Blaine grabbed his hand.
The action startled Blaine just as much as it startled Kurt. He wasn't one to just grab people's hands. But he didn't let go. Instead he gripped it tighter and gave the other teen a reassuring smile. "Hey, it's fine. You don't have to ask."
Kurt shook his head. "No, I'm asking." His expression turned determined. "Come over. To my house," he added, voice quick, eyes wide.
Blaine's eyes widened also. "Really?"
Kurt nodded, eyes closing. "Yes. Come over."
Blaine hesitated, thinking about his father. There was a strong chance he'd be asleep by the time Blaine would get home from Kurt's, but he could still be awake. Then again, Blaine could handle practically anything his father threw at him. He agreed to Kurt's proposal. "I'll go."
A smile blossomed on the other's face. "Thank you!"
Blaine smiled too, but the genuineness of it was minimal. "Yeah."
Kurt moved to make his way out of the shop. That's when Blaine realized their hands were still connected. Quickly, he dropped Kurt's hand. He pretended not to notice the negative change in Kurt's demeanor after he did so and followed him out the door.
DISCLAIMER: Any characters that seem to be associated with the television series Glee belong to the show's producers, directors and the actors portraying the characters. (Mainly Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, portrayed by Chris Colfer and Darren Criss.)
Sometimes I wish I could write longer chapters, but then I remember that if I were to do a rewrite after finishing the fic, I could easily join two chapters together. Good-but-also-bad-news for upcoming chapter: we're getting some Burt-Blaine interaction! This chapter was pretty "fluffy" in terms of no fighting between Klaine, but I was kind of getting sick of their drama queenliness. It's really exhausting to write when the fights start getting repetitive. I mean, it's like ... I don't know, Kurt is cheerful, Blaine is moody AF, Kurt says something, Blaine snaps at him, Kurt snaps back, fight happens, then they "make up" and go to the cafe. I don't know, I just want to change that pattern. I don't know. Ranting about my own writing that I could EASILY CHANGE is kind of dumb, but it's also relaxing.
Anyways, I hope you all had a good Saturday! xx
Emma Wants a Warbler
