A/N: Sorry this took a couple days, I've been traveling and haven't had a lot of time to type! But now I'm back in Iowa and will be getting chapters up much more regularly. Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I really really appreciate them!
I have to say, I'm enjoying writing Blaine's point of View. I hope you enjoy reading it. For fun I added a section of Wes/David POV too, so I hope that doesn't throw you off too much. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: Ryan Murphy, you hold the deeds to this house, it's true, but you have to let people in so they can ooh and ahh at the decor, otherwise there's no point in you having a house to begin with. AKA I'm just visiting. I'll use the restroom and be on my way. Thanks!
Kurt felt better after free period. He stood in the bathroom stall for a solid two minutes, though, staring at his Dalton blazer and cursing his skin for getting used to the satin lining of his black suit that morning, but he ultimately felt better. He felt like he'd relieved some sort of internal pressure. And the Warbler's hadn't seemed too upset about how he had burst in (on some kind of heated argument? Something about Nazis? Did he want to know? No. The answer was no) and disrupted their carefully scheduled rehearsal hour with an impromptu non acapella number. Now that Kurt was thinking about it: Kudos, Kurt! You single handedly destroyed probably a hundred years of tradition-all for a small, deceased bird!
Oh that was depressing. Impromptu, emotional releases like that would only be permitted in case of death. Oh Gods. Oh Elpheba. Oh, Holy Patti LaPone.
Kurt thunked his head against the stall door.
With a groan, Kurt finished tying his tie, washed his hands out of habit, and stepped back into the hallway. Blaine pushed himself off a wall opposite the bathroom. Kurt gave him a quizzical smile but fell into step beside him.
"You didn't have to wait for me."
"I know, but I wanted to make sure you were ok."
"I'm not going to break or anything."
"I am perfectly confident you won't break, don't worry."
"Uh, Thanks."
They came to the junction of two hall ways; Blaine would go down one and Kurt the other. Blaine turned to face Kurt and said, "No really. And that song-Blackbird-was really incredible. Really beautiful. Pavarotti couldn't have asked for a better song. Or singer."
Kurt blushed a little. Blaine sounded really sincere, and-calm? Kurt briefly sized him up. Blaine wasn't fidgeting, he wasn't rocking back and forth or humming. He was just standing there, looking at Kurt, straight in the eyes. Kurt blinked a couple times. "Thanks. I just-we used to do that a lot at New Directions, you know, break into song for whatever occasion arose. It was like our own personal soundtrack that we got to pick. "
"It sounds therapeutic." Blaine smiled, his gaze unwavering. Kurt had to look away lest he stop talking all together and just stare into Blaine's eyes for the rest of the day.
Kurt breathed out. "Yeah. It was." He tilted his head a little. "I think that's why I was so anxious to do a solo for the Warblers. And maybe one of the reasons why I was jealous-am jealous-of you. Because you get to sing and have that therapy all the time. And not just for me-I mean the other guys should have the chance to sing their feelings out too."
Blaine smiled a little. "I get that. I'm sorry that's how it comes off to you though-most of the songs the council picks for me to sing I have no connection to at all. Like, I think the week we were practicing 'Soul Sister'...let's just say, if I had picked the song we would have been doing 'Be Our Guest', from Beauty and the Beast, and I would have twirled you around on stage and made Wes and David dress as gravy boats." Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and twirled him, as Kurt broke into giggles, before letting their hands fall back to their sides.
The two men stared at each other for a moment. Kurt, for once, did not feel like he was leering at his best friend. He felt completely at ease. Blaine's warm, hazel eyes chocolate, warmth, want held his own, and their breaths intermingled softly between them.
But soon the mere fact that this silence and mutual gaze-fest wasn't uncomfortable had Kurt stepping back, looking at the floor and the rest of the (now empty?) hall. "I should get to class."
"I'll see you at lunch. Yeah?" Blaine said.
"Yeah."
"Great." And then Blaine turned and walked down the hall, doing a hop step every so often until he turned the corner and Kurt couldn't see him anymore.
Now the question was, had he remembered to bring his bedazzler to school with him?
Half way through second period Blaine wanted to cry.
He felt like his chest was tearing apart. It wasn't a painful sensation but it was a sensation none the less.
Or maybe he wanted to fly out the window. Or run up and down some stairs. He wanted-something. When Kurt was around, when they were walking down the hall this morning, Blaine felt like there was a magnet under his feet, keeping him steady, on course, on track. He felt like Kurt had another magnet inside of him, pulling not only Blaine's body closer but also Blain's life, worries, dreams and goals alongside. But now there were no magnets holding him anywhere and he thought he might fly into a thousand pieces. People were asking him questions and talking to him (Joey was talking to him at the same time as their professor. Who was he supposed to listen to? Where was the ground? Where was justice? What was going on? Why couldn't everyone just shut up?) He liked feeling sure and confident and whole. He liked that brief glimpse he got, this morning, of serenity. He was in the middle of chemistry and felt like he was being tossed around at sea. Kurt was a lighthouse, Kurt was a steady dock, Kurt was land.
After classes let out he practically ran across campus to get to Kurt so they could walk to the cafeteria together. Kurt didn't seem that surprised to see him-Blaine was surprised he was here, and had run like a maniac. But actually, the thought occurred to Blaine, he met Kurt every day before going to lunch. Did he run like a maniac every day? No, surely not. And yet Kurt didn't even look up from his book where he was trying to scratch some sort of grime off the cover, before he said, "Hey Blaine."
"How'd you know it was me?" Blaine said, out of breath.
"It's always you." Kurt looked up into Blaine's eyes.
Kurt's not a lighthouse. He's a freaking Inter-galactic Space Beacon.
xxxxx
At lunch Wes and David sat at their table but they might as well not have.
"So are we still on for Starship tonight?" Kurt asked.
"Of course. Unless you have homework. I don't want to make you stay up too late."
The line of Kurt's body caught the light from the windows, highlighting him just a little."No, that Thoreau paper is over with, Thank Goodness. Even if that man were gay I wouldn't be interested in him. He's more maintenance than I am."
Blaine laughed. His whole chest expanded, like he was finally getting enough air. "You're not such high maintenance," Blaine said, brushing a thumb over the back of Kurt's hand. He couldn't help it, he wanted to be closer. He could see, and breathe and hear so much clearer than normal. He wanted more of it, until he drowned in clarity. "Maybe you'd like a guy who works with his hands, and lives in the woods."
"No thank you. I like a guy who-"Kurt paused, and his eyes flickered down the table. "Well just suffice it to say that I like a guy who doesn't go into a shirt store and demand they create a whole new clothing style just for him. That's my job, and I do it so much more suavely."
Blaine imagined it, Kurt going into a store and demanding they make a specific shirt for him. The poor sales lady. "The shirts you would demand would either be completely impractical for ninety nine percent of the population-"
Kurt arched an eye brow at him. "Blaine I don't only appreciate high fashion. I know how to make things from Kohl's work. For instance, if you'd let me dress you..."
Blaine wrenched his eyes away from Kurt's, feeling his blood rush south and flooding his cheeks at the same time. It was an interesting sensation. Blaine tried to keep his voice steady as he said, "You could dress me, if you wanted." He flickered a glance at Kurt. He didn't want to freak Kurt out-maybe Kurt didn't like him like that. On Valentine's day Kurt had said he thought Blaine was going to ask him out but that didn't mean Kurt was pining over him or anything. Kurt had probably thought, 'Oh, Blaine's going to sing to someone? I bet it's me; after all, Blaine walks me to class every morning and walks me to lunch every day and every afternoon we do homework together, and Blaine buys me coffee almost all the time, and he touches me all the time and-'
Oh shoot. Well ok, maybe there was a reason Kurt thought Blaine was going to sing to him on Valentine's Day. Well, he had screwed that up.
Kurt leaned back a little, a little flushed, maybe, but not freaked out at all. "Really? What happened to Mr. I-love-my-blazers? Mr. Red-and-Blue-looks-good-on-me? Mr.-"
"Ok Ok, So my fashion is a little private schoolish. If you notice, we go to a private school. I don't exactly have a lot of opportunities to pull out my skinny jeans."
Kurt coughed up a strawberry. "You have skinny jeans?"
Blaine chewed on his bottom lip a little. "Maybe. In the back of my closet."
Kurt sat up and started waving his hands around wildly. "Oh my god, Blaine, why didn't you TELL me! I can do amazing things with skinny jeans! Even if you wanted to wear your Dalton sweater on top of them-actually never mind. Pretend I didn't say anything. I don't want you to get any ideas." Kurt's eyes scanned over Blaine once, twice, a third time.
Blaine blushed a little. "Too late, ideas have been gotten. I'm going to put my Dalton sweater on over my skinny jeans, with the cowboy boots my uncle randomly got me last Christmas. Maybe I'll add suspenders."
Kurt's eyebrows lifted and his lips pursed. Kurt's Lips. "Actually that sounds kind of hot if you get rid of the sweater."
Blaine had a quick flash of Kurt, in his room, helping Blaine take his sweater off and then throwing it on the floor, Kurt's hands on his bare chest. By the First Egg, you are doomed. Don't say anything raunchy. Don't say anything raunchy. Kurt likes romance. Kurt has expanded his repertoire. Don't say anything- "You want me bare chested?" Shards!
Kurt's eyes widened. "No! I mean. That's not what I meant. I meant, you know, a simple white tee shirt."
Had they always talked like this? This was so much fun. "I'm hurt that you don't want me bare chested."
Kurt threw up his hands. "Ugh. Fine. Blaine, if you want to be bare chested, go for it. I will not stop you. I might even ogle you just so you can feel as silly as possible."
Oh, I don't know if silly is quite the emotion I'd experience... Blaine smirked. "It's either bare chested or Dalton sweatered. Take your pick."
Kurt crossed his arms. "This is unfair. The range of appropriate tops that would work with the ensemble you've just described are almost limitless."
Blaine laughed. "What's unfair is how you interrupted me a couple minutes ago."
"I didn't. What?"
"I was saying, if you would allow me to finish-"
"Oh, I'll let you finish." Kurt said, smiling a little.
Holy Moses, I'm doomed. Blaine closed his eyes, briefly. "I was saying that any shirt you would design would either be highly impractical, OR it would be the most comfortable, sexiest shirt ever known to man. Angel's wings would feel like a burlap sack in comparison."
Kurt looked a little offended. "Are you making fun of me?"
Blaine shook his head, brows furrowed a little. "I wouldn't make fun of something you do extraordinarily well." He placed his hand on Kurt's, again, and then paused, their eyes locked for a moment. Kurt smiled before looking away and withdrawing his hand, and Blaine leaned back.
"Oh well. You're right. But you've failed to point out the third, correct option in this little scenario."
"Enlighten me." Blaine turned his body a little more towards Kurt.
"According to your Yoda wisdom, either the shirt I create is highly impractical, or it's softer than angel wings. Option three, the correct option, is that it's actually very sexy, soft, comfortable and still in keeping with the newest trends-even if that means it looks a little silly, it'll still feel good."
Blaine looked right into Kurt's eyes. Sea green. Giant Magnet. Intergalactic beacon. "Sometimes silliness is good."
"I...I agree," Kurt breathed his response. Blaine smiled a little. Oh, this was so nice. He could just stare at Kurt, in Kurt's eyes, all day. Why were they so far away from each other? What had they been talking about? More importantly, why were they so far away from each other?
"So Kurt! How was dinner with the folks last night?" David said.
David! Wes! The world! Blaine turned to glare across the table. Wes smirked.
Kurt cleared his throat. "It was fine."
Blaine took a sip of coffee. He was being very rude, talking only to Kurt and not letting Wes and David into the conversation. But honestly, he didn't want to talk to anyone but Kurt. "Finn freaked out because he was worried he'd let slip what New Directions are doing for regional's." Ha ha! He knew all about dinner last night with Kurt's family because Kurt had texted him about it! He was in the know! He knew all about Kurt's family. He had even spoken one on one with Kurt's dad!
Oh Shit. Right. The very awkward, horrible decision of a talk with Kurt's Dad. Right. Right.
Kurt nodded. "Yup. Accused me of mind powers and then stole the loaf of bread right off the table."
"Rachel put the fear of god in him," Blaine said, casually, looking decidedly not at Kurt.
"As usual." Kurt took a bite of salad.
This set up was too perfect. "She wasn't so bad."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "Oh my god don't get me started."
"Good kisser," Blaine continued.
"I don't want to know. I don't want to know. I'm so glad you're gay. So glad you're gay."
"Just out of curiosity, what would have happened if I'd been straight?" Blaine was still trying to look at Wes and David across the table, to make it seem like the conversation was going on between more than two people.
But he had to look at Kurt when Kurt said, "My world would have crumbled around me, that's what."
Blaine frowned, and tried to read the expression on Kurt's face. "Really?"
Kurt was picking at some lint on his pants. "Well, yeah. I mean, you-you helped me with-with stuff at McKinley, and I trust you and for the whole thing to turn out to be-and that it was me by myself, again... for you to be straight, like Finn-"
Blaine lifted a hand. "Hold up. Even if I was straight I wouldn't be straight like Finn. There are many ways to be straight."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I mean, the situation would have been like the one with Finn, and I didn't want to do that over again." The situation with Finn. Kurt and he had talked about Finn, about how Kurt had had a crush, and Finn had freaked out, etc. But Kurt wasn't like, confessing to being in love with Blaine right here, right now, so Blaine was drawing a blank.
"What was the situation with Finn?"
Kurt crossed his legs and let his eyes wander up to the ceiling. "Oh, you know. He was straight. And nice to me, but then not nice. And straight."
Blaine's face fell at the look on Kurt's face (that he suspected Kurt was trying to downplay). "I'll always be nice to you," he whispered. Understatement of Century.
Kurt looked back down at the table. "I know."
Blaine leaned an elbow on the table, moving towards Kurt a little bit. "And, for the record, I'm glad I'm gay too. And I'm glad you're gay."
Kurt frowned. "There wasn't ever really a question about me, though."
"Still-I'm glad that the spy McKinley sent over was someone Out, and proud, and excited to be exactly who he was. You're really amazing, Kurt. I've never met anyone like you." Shut up shut up shut up-it'll freak him out if you compliment him too much without knowing why, and you are NOT confessing to undying love with Wes and David watching. Oh God, Wes and David. He waited for the small nod from Kurt, and then he pulled back and inhaled a big breath. "So! Wes! David! We're doing Misery and Raise Your Glass-what song have you chosen for the second number?"
Wes paused, and then moved to stand up. Why was he always doing that? "Blaine, how kind of you to ask. I would go into that topic of conversation with you, but unfortunately lunch is almost over. We can talk about it at practice this afternoon, if you want."
"Oh, sure. I didn't realize..."
"Blaine stop gaping like a fish. I'll walk you to class." Kurt loaded their two trays together and headed towards the trash can.
Blaine's attention immediately whipped back to Kurt, and stayed there. "You'll walk me to class? Don't I usually walk you?"
"Yes. That's why we're switching today. It's not fair you always get to be the gentleman."
"I like being the gentleman."
"So do I."
"We could both be the gentleman."
As they continued down the hall Blaine decided that there was no way he was going to screw this up.
Wes and David watched the two exit the cafeteria.
"Well now they REALLY need to get a room."
"This is the big leagues, true."
"You know, Wes, I think Blaine may have actually figured out he's been in love with our newest counter-tenor all this time."
"I totally called it. The look on his face while Kurt was singing this morning was like, epic."
"I can't believe you didn't like, nudge me and point."
"That would have ruined the mood."
"I guess. But at least then I wouldn't have been blindsided; I would have gone into this lunch knowing what would happen." David heaved a sigh.
Wes said, "I just don't think they're suited for social interactions with anyone but each other, at the moment."
"Agreed."
"What do you want to bet that Blaine suggests he and Kurt do a duet today at practice? Or that Kurt help him with a prototype for new blazers? Or that Kurt help Blaine expand his range?"
"There's no use betting-it'll happen."
"True."
"I just hope it happens sooner rather than later, because I can honestly NOT stand another lunch like that again."
"It was funny."
"It was uncomfortable. Especially when Blaine said, 'sometimes silliness is good.'"
"I was trying to forget that incredible amount of goo."
"Wes," David turned to his friend, "you need to let go. Sometimes silliness is good."
"Oh Blaine, I agree! I agree! Kiss me now! -oh god, don't actually kiss me."
"I wasn't going to. But I have to say, I've never met anyone like you, you're so strong and proud and beautiful and I'm just glad you're gay, like me, so we can be gay together."
"Do you really meant that? You want to be gay together?"
"Oh Kurt, your glaz eyes are sparkling from the cafeteria lights. Yes, I want to be gay, with you, together, with both of us bare chested and glistening from a thousand unshed tears."
"Oh Blaine!" Wes clasped his hands to his heart and threw his head back.
"Here, wait." David whipped out his phone and sent out a mass Warbler text, after carefully omitting Kurt and Blaine's names from the list.
B has finally seen K's light. Team Klaine is unofficially a go, so be prepared for mushy looks, wistful sighs and heaving bosoms at practice. -W+D
They laughed all the way to class.
That afternoon, at practice, Kurt caught both Wes, David, and several other Warblers giving him weird looks. Did they mind that he sang, impromptu, this morning? When Joey saw him in English, after lunch, he turned bright red, turned a fit of laughter into a rather unbelievable cough, and then hid behind a book. When he saw Marc in the corridor, Marc smiled, wiggled his eyebrows up and down, and then jabbed an elbow into his side as they passed each other, saying, "Get it, Hummel!" The shove didn't hurt, and it seemed like Marc was congratulating him for something, but it was weird anyway. And then at practice, when he came in and Blaine gave him, frankly, a dazzling smile as he scooted over on the couch to make room for Kurt by the armrest, Kurt swore several Warbler's immediately turned to their neighbors and started talking very loudly, but every once in a while glancing over at him and Blaine.
Kurt was a little freaked out. Were they going to expel him from the Warbler's for breaking the rules? No one seemed to mind this morning. What the hell was going on? Blaine didn't seem to notice anything, he was smiling and laughing just like he had been this afternoon. Lunch had been, quite frankly, thrilling. It had been so easy and wonderful. Sometimes he felt as though Blaine's attention was going in a million other directions, and Blaine only paid attention to him because he was the token gay kid that Blaine was mentoring this week. Admittedly, he had felt like that mostly in the beginning of his stint at Dalton, not so much lately, but the idea that that feeling could happen again was always there. Except at lunch today, Blaine had actually scowled at David when David had asked about his family dinner the night before, and then promptly ignored the other guys' existence until the end of lunch. Maybe your whole 'remind Blaine that you have opinions and are a force to be reckoned with' plan worked. Maybe he's seeing you as an equal, now. Maybe. Kurt hid a smile and pretended to listen to the meeting that had just come to order. Today they would be discussing options for their second song, and going over 'Raise Your Glass' to make sure the choreography was working.
Kurt tuned out, a little, trying to think where he'd put his bedazzeler for Pavarotti's coffin. Had he brought his glue gun? Had he packed it or had he put it in the upstairs closet? Oh this was going to bother him until he got the chance to rummage under his bed. There was, he thought, a forty percent chance it was in the upstairs closet, two hours away in Lima. Ugh, Kurt did not want to drive there and back for a bedazzler. Maybe one of the other boys would have something-uh, no. None of the other boys would have a bead kit like he had a bead kit; that would be a safe argument.
Kurt tuned in when Thad said, "You know, I think Blaine's version of the song is actually better than the original."
"But it's not in his natural key," David retorted. Kurt looked over at Blaine, who just looked bored.
"How dare you?" Trent exclaimed.
And then Blaine spoke up, raising his hands just a little. "Enough, I'm tired of this."
"I agree," said Thad. "I think we should just let you pick the song that you want to sing." Oh my god, were they all gay for Blaine? Did Blaine have a freaking love spell out on these guys? He doesn't walk on water, people! Just because you want to kiss his honey toned skin and run your fingers through his ungelled hair doesn't mean you have to bow down before him!
But Blaine continued. "No, I'm tired of the Warblers being all about me. Dave, please make sure everything I'm about to say goes down in the official minutes." A hush went over the other boys. Blaine was going to say something big, and Kurt was glad he'd stopped thinking about his Bedazzler. Blaine paused, and then said, "We are going to lose at regional's." Someone, probably Trent, made an noise of outrage. "I am incredibly grateful for the belief you've all given me as a junior member to lead you all in these wonderful songs this year, but from what Kurt has told me about New Directions," he glanced at Kurt, "I just know I can't beat them on my own. Which is why I propose that we rearrange our eleven o'clock number and turn it into a duet to showcase other talent in this group." Kurt looked at Blaine in suprise. A duet? Well, good. Yes. Obviously Blaine had actually listened to him the other day. Wow. Kurt smiled, hesitantly.
David said, "Why don't we just play it on kazoo?" But Kurt saw David smirk directly after, and kick Wes under the table.
"Point of order, point of order," Blaine said, in a tone Kurt thought Blaine was trying to use to speak to the civilized and cultured part of a raging hyena brain. "Now, we all lost one of our own this week." Oh, good one, play to their moral and emotional side. "Pavarotti's voice was silenced by death and I don't want to silence anyone else's voice in this group. I think Pavarotti would roll over in his tiny, tiny little grave."
"The placement of which has yet to be determined." Kurt said, in what he hoped was a sad enough voice.
David kicked Wes under the table again, and Wes said, "All right, a vote. Who's in favor of Warbler Blaine's proposal for a duo lead at regional's?"
All the hands in the room went up, and Kurt decided that yes, this pretty much confirms his everyone-has-the-hotts-for-Blaine-and-would-follow-him-over-a-cliff-if-possible theory.
Kurt leaned forward. No matter why it happened, he was going to take advantage of this turn of events. "Put my name on that audition list."
But Blaine interjected. "No, no auditions." What? He continued. "I want to sing the duet...with Kurt."
Kurt gaped for a few moments. What? What's he doing? What's he playing at? What is this? "That's ridiculous. I mean, there are so many great voices. I mean, everyone deserves a shot at that honor." Don't agree with me, Don't agree with me. Agree with me. Don't agree with me.
"All in favor of Kurt being my duet partner at regional's?" Blaine was looking at Kurt with a slight smile as every hand in the room went up, once again, and as Kurt looked around at all the sort of creepy, knowing smiles that the other Warbler's were shooting at him, he wasn't sure what he had actually signed up for.
Wes struck the gavel on the desk. "Decided." Everyone clapped, Blaine looking at him steadily, the way he had this morning, and again at lunch. Kurt forgot the other guys in the room as Blaine's gaze enveloped him. If everyone had the hotts for Blaine, he was obviously the president of that club.
Thad slapped Kurt on the back. "Congratulations, Kurt," he said.
Wes struck the gavel once again. "Alright, you two, I would like song options presented to me this afternoon, since both of you board. In keeping with the rest of the numbers we've chosen, it should probably be something relatively current, and meant for radio play."
David followed up. "No Broadway, in other words."
Wes nodded. "It's not that Broadway isn't great, but I think a more contemporary piece would help keep the flow of our set going in the right direction."
"And maybe something slower. Both Misery and Raise Your Glass are faster and more upbeat, so it would be good to mix it up with something slower."
"That's fine," Blaine said. "That's great. I have a couple ideas."
"Excellent. We'll expect to hear from you later today, then. We'll practice the number tomorrow during free period and after school. We're cutting it close, guys, but I think this could work."
"All right!" David stood up. "Let's get into our formations for Raise Your Glass. I don't know if those three lines are going to work unless everyone is actually counting beats in their heads so we all move at the same time."
"Agreed. We need this to be sharp, guys! Sharp!" Wes banged his gavel once again, and Kurt caught Blaine's eyes as they stood up. Chocolate, Warmth, Want, Safe.
A/N: Oh man I had so much fun writing this chapter. I basically spent all day on it. Lesson planning what? Syllabus writing, What? Who needs that? I just need some awesome Klaine fluff.
Thanks again to Melissams7924, who provided all the canon conversation!
Next up: "you move me, Kurt," and then a lot of kissage. If I get bold I may change the rating to M (that means smut!). Thoughts?