Title: Fall- back

Chapter sixteen: The Blaine Thing

Rating: T

Summary: After the war Harry moves to Lima, Ohio to try and live a normal life as just another invisible teenager. You know what they say about best laid plans, though. KH/HP

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise…. Isn't mine. Though I probably wish it is. Now I'm sad.

AN: You guys…. Wow. I can't believe the response to the last chapter! You guys are seriously amazing, even though I completely suck. I wanted to have this up way sooner, but life got in the way.

For those of you who are interested: I had to finish op the school year with nearly a month full of exams, which exhausted my mental capacities like you wouldn't believe. Finally, at the end of July I got the all-clear and was free to enjoy my one month vacation. Such is the life of a university student. Ah well.

Also, I kinda maybe sorta definitely met someone and fell in serious like during that time (love's too big of a word just yet) and we spent a lot of time together during which I didn't really think of anything else. Besides, I figured I owed myself a little break from my laptop. Which is now punishing my absence by freaking out like a little bitch.

About the Blaine/Harry/Kurt questions I've been getting: This is not, nor was it ever going to be, a threesome fic. I'm not against the pairing, but this was never intended to be a Blurty (as I've dubbed the threesome pairing) fic. More about that in the chapter.

Okay, long author's note was long. Go on and read the chapter, ya scoundrels. Enjoy!

"I'd say it was a success," Harry idly mentioned while the last of the wedding guests were leaving the venue. "My feet might beg to differ, though."

"Your feet shouldn't whine," Kurt replied while running a hand through his immaculately done hair. It bounced right back into place. Harry decided he didn't want to know how much hairspray had gone in there.

"No, I'm with the midget," Puck cut in before Harry could respond. The wizard decided he didn't much mind the insult if it meant Puck was agreeing with him. "My feet are killing me."

Kurt huffed and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Santana, who chose that time to sit down in Puck's lap ( Ignoring both his protests and Lauren's evil glare) and say: "Shut it Hummel, I don't think I'm going to be able to walk straight for two days."

"You are weak, all of you," Rachel said, taking a seat in Finn's lap. "And you call yourselves performers."

"Hummel, control your girlfriend," Santana told Finn, all the while glaring at Rachel. Finn looked at her confusedly, then turned to his brand new stepbrother:

"Dude, is my name Hummel now?"

"Of course not, Finn," Kurt replied. "You're still Finn Hudson. I thought Carole talked to you about that?"

Finn shrugged. "Probably."

Harry couldn't have stopped his chuckle if he had wanted to. He predicted many exasperating moments for Kurt while his dad and stepmother were on their honeymoon. And he didn't even need a crystal ball to do so, either. Eat that, Trelawney.

"Remind me again why we're having coffee in Columbus, even though neither one of us lives here?", Blaine asked over the rim of his medium drip.

"I don't think I told you why we're having coffee here, so your question is invalid," Harry grinned before trying his hazelnut coffee. Not bad, though he would have preferred something a little stronger after having had only five hours of sleep the night before.

"I know that," Blaine sighed, "That was me politely reminding you of the fact that you pretty much kidnapped me from the gym and drove me here in a small clown car without telling me why. All of which could have been pretty scary, if I didn't know I could flip you over my shoulder easily."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "You were only able to do that once. And I wasn't even paying attention at the time."

Blaine shrugged. "Why are we here, Harry?"

"I need new shoes," the raven- haired boy answered, " and I don't trust Kurt not to drag me around the mall for hours because the colour of them isn't the exact shade he has in mind."

Blaine snorted. "So I'm the next logical choice?"

"Pretty much," Harry shrugged.

Blaine rolled his eyes, before throwing back the rest of his coffee. Harry looked at him in wonder. He had nearly burned his tongue on his own coffee not a minute before. How the hell had Blaine done that? Blaine stood up and threw his empty cup away.

"Are you coming then? I need to be back at school before curfew."

"Nice shoes, Harry!", Tina beamed at him before walking into the choir room at McKinley.

"Thanks, Tina," Harry smiled after her. Next to him, Kurt paused in his steps and looked down at Harry's feet.

"Those are nice," he said, before narrowing his eyes. "Have you had them long? I think I would have remembered them if you did."

"I got them after school yesterday," Harry answered while walking into the choir room, "While you were in your arts and crafts group. I drove out to Columbus with Blaine. He helped me loads with picking them out."

"Who's Blaine?" Kurt asked casually as he took his seat beside Harry.

"Hmm? Oh, Blaine's a friend of mine," Harry answered distractedly while looking through his bag for his phone. "We met at the gym."

"Oh," Kurt answered non- committedly before settling in to watch Puck's performance of his interpretation of the week's theme, which was still 'Magic'. Harry turned his head to look at his sort- of- boyfriend ( and wow, he really needed to clarify the label they were putting on themselves with Kurt) in confusion.

"Is something wrong?" he asked Kurt quietly, deciding he didn't much like the way Kurt was avoiding his eyes.

"Of course not," Kurt whispered back. "Why would something be wrong? Now shush and watch Noah perform. He's not completely terrible today."

Harry really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when Kurt showed up at the gym when he was working out the next night. Or the night after that. Or the night after that. After three nights of having to see Blaine watch him in amusement while his boyfr, no, his very good friend who he sometimes liked to snog and cuddle with, no. -While his Kurt read a fashion magazine from the side and steadfastly ignored the stink eye he got whenever one of the older men there looked at him, Harry decided he had had enough.

"Kurt, can we talk for a bit?", he asked after having successfully brought Blaine to the ground by flipping him in some complicated manoeuvre he was sure he could never pull off again (and, okay, rubbing it in Blaine's face for a bit).

Kurt looked up and nodded, blindly reaching for his bedazzled bookmark and placing it between the pages he was reading in that day's magazine. Kurt didn't dog ear his pages, he bookmarked them. And he had gotten quite tetchy when Harry pointed out the sparkle- factor of the bookmark, so Harry hadn't mentioned it since then.

"Sure," Kurt responded and patted the spot next to him on the bench. While he walked over and Blaine left to shower, Harry couldn't help but notice how distinctly out of place he looked, all prim and pristine on top of a towel so that his carefully picked out clothes didn't get any sweat stains on them from whoever had occupied that bench before him. Harry sat down next to him.

"What are you doing here, Kurt?", the wizard asked his… Kurt after a few seconds of floundering to find the right words.

The countertenor –yes, Harry had managed to learn the proper names for all things music related thanks to Kurt (and, surprisingly, Remus who could really jam on a guitar as it turned out)- sighed and answered: "I might have been a little bit jealous when you mentioned you went shopping with a guy friend I had never heard about before. I wanted to check him out to see if, you know, he was a threat or something."

Harry secretly loved the way Kurt's eyelashes lowered and his cheeks flushed. "Why would Blaine be a threat?"

"Because," Kurt forced out, flushing even darker. A little ways further on Blaine left the locker room, then quickly backtracked on tiptoes when he noticed they weren't done talking yet. Harry would have laughed at any other time, but he didn't want to give Kurt the feeling he was laughing at him, so he restrained himself. Kurt continued: "Because I really like you, and I know we didn't talk about us yet, and if there even is an us, but I kind of think there might be, I mean you kissed me right? And then you went shopping with a gay guy I don't know and I guess I got foggy brained or something. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Harry smiled. "I get that you felt that way. To be honest, I've been confused out of my mind by all that too."

"You have?"

"Of course. But trust me when I say that Blaine is not a threat to us. And also trust me on there actually being an 'us'. At least, I'd like there to be. I've been calling you 'my Kurt' in my head for lack of a better word-" Kurt let out a short laugh at that "- and I'd really like it if I could change that into 'Kurt, my boyfriend' instead. What do you say?"

The flush on Kurt's cheeks started to fade a little. "I'd be agreeable to that," he responded, "On the condition you tell me when you go shopping with someone that's not me so I can punch you for it in advance."

Harry grinned. "I promise."

"Good," Kurt said before leaning in to kiss him, "boyfriend."

Harry closed the gap between them, both of them ignoring Blaine's quiet 'Is it safe to come out now?' as they were just a little too wrapped up in each other to care.

As always, don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts!

Till next time,

-Robin.