Watc 13
After what feels like forever including a lot of long months filled with tiring, busy days, Kurt finally graduates at the top of his class and is offered a place on the masters degree program beginning in September after the summer break. One of his favourite professors has also offered him a TA position in one of her first year classes to give him extra credit and experience.
His internship with Vogue is nearing the end of his second year and Isabelle has (obviously) offered him a permanent contract as her assistant on her creative team, exclaiming that she just couldn't bear to let him go.
Tai has sadly broke the news that he's moving back home for a while now that he's finished college. He doesn't think he needs a place in New York anymore—what he wants to do with his future will hopefully take him over-seas, and he wants to spend some time with his family before that happens.
Blaine is attending a movie premier this Saturday night and has casually asked Kurt to join him—as if it's no big deal at all. Kurt is yet to say anything at all on that matter.
It's a midweek evening and Kurt sits on his bed with his head in his hands, frantic and frustrated, not knowing what to do about any of the choices he's recently been presented with.
There are so many offers and choices. So much opportunity for just one person, anybody would be lucky and privileged to land where Kurt is right now, and yet—he feels somehow lost. Stuck. Why?
He tries to weigh up his options in an appropriate manner and check off the good against the bad points.
He's glad that he doesn't have to attend any classes anymore. If he does his masters degree, (though, an awesome opportunity as it is) there will be a lot more classes for the next 12-18 months. Does he really need another qualification behind him to get where he needs to be? Could he juggle such a challenging degree, alongside his future career prospects?
Working full time at Vogue with Isabelle would be amazing—but they don't have a stage or an audience waiting to applaud on their feet. He loves fashion but does he want to be tied down that road for the next few years of his life—potentially the most important ones? Fashion is something that has been and always will be a huge part of him. He can still have that part with him no matter where he is or what he does with his life.
And then of course there's Blaine. Adding him to the mix alongside anything is challenging enough with his popular status and jetsetter lifestyle. And although Kurt tries to tell himself that he doesn't have to find a place for Blaine in any of this—he finds it impossible to do so. Because Blaine in fact has become an integral part of his current life. He's a friend, a smiley face to turn to when he needs one. He's Kurt's own something more. Something that nobody else has.
His bedroom door suddenly creaks open a smidgen and Kurt smiles into his hands before dropping them to his lap. Tai is working his last shift tonight and everyone knows what that means.
Blaine nudges the door open with his shoulder and comes into the room holding two champagne flutes full to brim with something sweet and bubbly—something that he obviously brought with him because Kurt and Tai have never owned such luxury items.
Blaine takes a seat on the bed beside Kurt and hands him a glass. Silently they clink their glasses together and take a sip. In that moment Kurt is thankful for Blaine, for his mere presence and the comfort that it brings.
Kurt's official graduation was last weekend but Blaine was kindly asked to stay away while Kurt's family came to visit to celebrate with him. It had pained Kurt a little more than he'd expected or care to admit to hear the hurt in Blaine's voice when he'd called him last week to ask him nicely not to make a song and dance about it.
Above everything, Kurt's just not quite prepared yet to introduce Blaine as a part of his life—whatever part that may be.
Together, they sit on Kurt's bed, crossed-legged, knee to knee— and Kurt doesn't feel at all self-conscious. Yes, Blaine likes to be close to Kurt, that much is obvious. He'll touch him in any clothed way that he can, or maybe a bare ankle or elbow—just for the closeness and the nearness of him. And Kurt has grown used to it. Fond of it, actually.
He doesn't worry about Blaine's flirtatious nature. He'll come on to Kurt but it won't amount to anything. They've set their boundaries and Blaine respects that—but it doesn't stop him letting Kurt know how attractive he finds him.
It's almost as if the tables have turned and now Kurt finds it quite difficult to bite his tongue when a suggestive comment or complimentary word creeps up his throat and sits waiting on the tip of his tongue.
He doesn't know how he's going to broach that conversation with Blaine. How to tell him that his feelings changing? They have changed. Could he deal with Blaine's no doubt smug reaction once he admits that there is a connection between them. A smouldering attraction that will not diffuse.
He decides to shelve the topic for now. Save it for a time when he doesn't have to worry about not just his future but what he's going to do in the present tense, like tomorrow.
Blaine is quiet beside him and it stays that way for the next few moments. He's very strangely quiet. Both of them are just sitting glancing around the room, holding their glasses carefully in their hands.
Blaine's eyes flicker to Kurt's direction. "You know you could live with me? Or I could I move in here?"
And that's it. The ice broken. The unwanted silence dissipated. Because out of everything that Kurt has to think about, that is Blaine's suggestion. And as funny as it is, Kurt knows that there is a part of Blaine that is being rather serious.
And that makes it even funnier.
Kurt laughs and then Blaine laughs and then they're both draining their glasses and giggling and Blaine is skipping off to the kitchen to get the remainder of the bottle of Bollinger he'd brought.
And Kurt's worries just a little bit less then he was just a few moments ago, the frown on his forehead calming and decreasing.
Later, another bottle has been popped open and they've moved in to the living area, both spread out across the couch, their legs tangled together. Blaine had ordered food while Kurt was in the bathroom and now there is quite the variety on offer, all laid out along the coffee table. Kurt had come back in to the room just on time to hear Blaine's phone voice (the one he uses when he's trying not to get recognised, and Kurt finds it rather amusing.)
Kurt's busy dipping a mozzarella stick into some sweet chilli sauce when Blaine swipes at his mouth with a napkin, turns to him and says "Kurt, you know that you don't need anything or anyone else to do what you want to do. You're you. You're fabulous. You're the most interesting person I know." His voice is a little slurred and lazy but his face is very serious with a lot of finger pointing going on.
Kurt nods and grins in all the right places as Blaine continues his on-going tirade. He's just happy that Blaine has moved on to trying to give more appropriate advice and help rather than suggesting shacking up together. Honestly.
Blaine's right. Kurt knows this. He needs to get himself out there. He doesn't need to rely on anybody else to get him where he needs. He's got a good education and a boat load of experience behind his belt—that's better than nothing. That's enough.
He's silently contemplating this current train of thought when Blaine (always somehow knowing what he's thinking about) breaks the silence with a prod of his finger to Kurt's ribcage, causing them both to giggle before he gets all serious again.
"Don't bite my head off here, ok?" He starts cautiously, which of course causes Kurt to prepare to indeed bite Blaine's head off if needs be "but you do know that I could help you out here- I could ask around, pull a few strings—"
Kurt points a finger straight up in Blaine's face, effectively shushing him. "—don't even finish that sentence, Blaine Anderson." It's not exactly a head-biting tone but its stern and Blaine gets the point.
Blaine pouts, puts on the puppy eyes and drops his chin almost to his chest, though still nodding sullenly. He gets it.
Kurt knows that just one phone call from Blaine will get him exactly where he wants to be in life. But he doesn't want to do it that way. He's not playing that game. This is exactly the reason why he didn't want to meet Blaine in the first place. He has something to prove, no matter how much he likes Blaine now; he still has to prove he can make it on his own.
He also knows that it would be a hell of a lot easier to let Blaine help him out that way. The connection between them would be made, they would be outed as friends or maybe (probably) rumoured to be something more and then that would be their free pass to go out in public together.
But with that comes the shit-storm of questions, the paps, the pictures, the everything.
He's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, but if he had to make a split-second decision he'll still go with his instincts and do things his way—even if his relationship with Blaine is put on hold.
"I guess that means Saturday is a definite no?" Blaine asks quietly when he looks back up at Kurt.
Kurt tilts his head to the side and looks at Blaine tenderly. He can't help but feel sorry for him a little. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I just can't risk that exposure. Not yet, not until I make a dent of my own in your crazy world. Something with my stamp on it and not just 'friend of Blaine Anderson'."
Blaine regards Kurt carefully. There's a quirk to his lips and a twinkle in his eyes. "If it makes you feel better you could be 'boyfriend of Blaine Anderson'?"
Kurt cracks and lets out a giggle which makes Blaine smile his megawatt smile, the one that should be called 'the Kurt smile'.
Blaine has managed to do it again; to break the tension and cheer Kurt up with just a small dose of his inappropriateness. And because of that Kurt decides to reward him.
He leans in and presses the shortest of chaste kisses to Blaine's slightly stubbly cheek— but it's enough to make Blaine's eyes widen and his cheeks color with heat in two adorable little patches of pink.
Could it be that Blaine Anderson is blushing? Kurt feels his chest fill with a strange sense of prideand his heart seems to thump harder against his ribcage.
Blaine schools his features back into something more normal to get his ego back on track. "Was that an answer?" He asks, his voice low and velvety, enough to make Kurt's skin prickle with gooseflesh.
Kurt swallows hard and begins to shrug his shoulders before thinking better of it and ends up with a vehement shake of his head.
Blaine smirks at Kurt's reaction and gently boops at his nose with the pad of his thumb. He leaves it there for a second before stretching his fingers out and reaching them across Kurt's face to tenderly cup his cheek.
Kurt inhales a quick breath, but it's not deep enough. Blaine's gaze is too intense, deep and dark and yet somehow languidly staring back at him.
Of course the moment is interrupted by the sound of Tai unlocking the front door and stepping in with an open mouth and a question in his eyes. "Oh, am I interrupting? S-sorry."
Kurt smiles, breaking eye contact with Blaine to look over at his helpless friend. He knows that Blaine will be cursing Tai in his own head. "S'ok, Tai. Come on in, you want some food? How was your last shift? We have champagne, we could celebrate?"
Kurt glances across at Blaine wanting to try and gauge his reaction and when Blaine looks back at him, Kurt's belly gives a pleasant kick like a wave of butterflies.
Blaine's face is open and happy with an easy smile on his face. He hops up almost instantly on to his feet to shake hands with Tai and congratulate him on graduating before walking him over to the kitchen to get him a champagne flute.
Kurt watches the pair almost in awe and feels another happy kick in his belly when Blaine looks back and sends a knowing wink his way. "So, Tai we've never really had the chance to get properly acquainted, and I think it's time that we did." Blaine says like some kind of business proposal.
Tai smiles at him weirdly, his eyes flickering between Blaine and Kurt; and Kurt barks out a laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
Because, really what are the chances?