New chapter yay! Thanks Lizz for being awesome and being my beta :)
The Friday after the Halloween party, Kurt decided to surprise Blaine at school during lunch to ease his nerves before his concert, which was that evening, and specifically asked to have time off from work. Kurt had finished Blaine's suit and was excited to attend the concert as Blaine's "plus one," as he promised. He knew the concert was important and that Blaine was receiving an award, but Blaine wouldn't disclose why he was receiving an award or what he was performing.
He signed in as a visitor at the front desk, smiling at the receptionist whom he'd met once or twice before, holding two coffees and lunch.
"Who's Mr. Anderson?" Asked another woman beside her who had just gotten off the phone when she heard who Kurt was in to see.
"The music teacher," she replied, handing Kurt a visitor's sticker.
"The blind guy? Has he ever had a visitor before?"
Kurt clenched his jaw. "I've visited a few times before." He tried his best not to sound annoyed. "I know it's not really my place, but isn't it your job to know the names of the school's employees? He's worked here for two months now." When the women didn't reply, he continued, no longer hiding his annoyance, "The 'blind guy' has a name. It's Blaine. Blaine Anderson. Please respect him like you do every other teacher at this school and learn it."
As he walked down the hallway, he tried to turn his peeved expression into a smile, because somehow, Blaine always knew when he wasn't.
Although Blaine seemed to enjoy when Kurt surprised him, Kurt felt like he did it for selfish reasons, too. Kurt loved the way Blaine's face lit up when he heard his voice, because he never could say he'd been with someone who became so overjoyed by the sound of his voice.
They ate lunch together on a bench at a park about a block away from the high school. The air was cool and the sky was clear as the sun poured light upon the two of them.
"This is probably going to be the last nice day of the year," Kurt mentioned casually, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Please don't say that. Snow makes things difficult."
"Snow is great in theory, though."
"Not when you can't see it…" Blaine trailed off, and Kurt didn't know what to say. Sometimes Blaine made comments like that, and it made Kurt think about all the great things he took for granted, like snow, for instance. "My parents," Blaine began, "used to take me and my brother sledding at this really hilly park near our house. It was a lot of fun."
"I bet." Blaine was beginning to talk about his parents more and more, and Kurt loved hearing stories about them, because he'd started moving past the person who was afraid even to mention them.
"Hey, did you hear anything from that producer yet?" Blaine asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Not yet, but he said he wouldn't know for sure until at least tomorrow." Kurt tried to hide the excitement in his voice, but was failing miserably. "I don't want to get my hopes up but Rachel said it's pretty likely that I'll get the job. It'll be so great to have an actual job with something I love. Not having to live paycheck to paycheck anymore won't be so bad either." Kurt looked over at Blaine, who was smiling and shaking his head. "What's that face about?" Kurt laughed.
"I'm so lucky. My boyfriend is the most talented man in New York City," Blaine replied.
"True." Kurt said with all seriousness before laughing.
"I can literally feel the heat radiating from your smile."
"I'm pretty sure that's the sun."
"One in the same."
"You're ridi-"
"Buster!" A woman's voice yelled. The moment Kurt looked over, a giant dog jumped onto Blaine's lap, effectively knocking the sandwich he was eating out of his hands.
Blaine immediately covered his face as the German Shepard had his front paws on Blaine's lap. The young woman yanked at his leash, forcing the dog off of Blaine. "I'm so sorry," she said, "I don't know what's wrong with him today."
Blaine was breathing heavily, keeping his head down and away from the woman. It didn't take her long to realize. Kurt knew the face well by now; the exact moment people realized Blaine was blind. "Oh, I- um," she stumbled. "Is he okay? Does he need help?" she asked Kurt.
Why was she asking him? Kurt looked over at Blaine, then back at the woman, then at the pedestrians behind her who had stopped and were staring at them.
"I'm fine," Blaine replied to her question, his voice uneven and strained. "I was done eating anyway." He tried to smile as his knuckles began to turn white from gripping the arm of the bench.
"Oh, again, I'm sorry," she said before quickly walking away, the dog taking one last bark at Blaine.
Kurt stared back at the people staring at them until they were all gone. "Hey," Kurt whispered. He didn't want to touch Blaine without his permission, worried that he might make things worse. "You're okay."
"I know," Blaine breathed. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I just wasn't expecting it."
"A dog as big as a tiny horse just jumped on you and you handled it perfectly. You don't have anything to be sorry about."
Blaine felt around for Kurt's shoulder, then rested his head gently on top of it. "Just...warn me next time...if you can."
"Yeah...of course." Kurt was wary of every single animal from that moment on.
"I swear if you don't come out soon I'm gonna break into that bathroom Jack Nicholson-style," Kurt laughed, sitting on the edge of Blaine's bed as he put on the tuxedo Kurt had made for him that afternoon.
"Oh god, don't tell me you're sitting out there with an ax," Blaine said from the other side of the bathroom door.
"Please," Kurt whined. "I wanna see what it looks like on you." Although the concert was that night, Kurt had yet to see the finished product on Blaine, since he had only finished the pants the night before.
As Blaine opened the door and began to walk out Kurt couldn't stop smiling. The suit fit perfectly, and Kurt gave himself a mental pat on the back. "You look amazing," Kurt said in awe. "If I do say so myself."
Blaine touched his collar. "Do you have-"
"Of course." Kurt walked up and looped the bowtie he'd been holding around Blaine's neck. "I just wanted the pleasure of putting it on you myself." Blaine smiled for half-a-second before it quickly faded. "Are you nervous?" Kurt asked as he tied Blaine's bowtie and fixed his collar.
"No...I don't know...I haven't performed in a while."
"I still don't know why you won't tell me what the concert is for."
"It's just for a silly thing I composed back in college."
"I can hear what you play, and it's not silly." Kurt reached for Blaine's hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you so much for...everything," Blaine said, smiling the smile that made his eyes crinkle and body radiate.
You're everything.
The concert hall was in the heart of the city, and the event was being hosted by NYU, from what Kurt could tell.
They walked in together, hand-in-hand, until it became so crowded that Kurt gripped Blaine's arm, pulling him in closer. Kurt asked one of the attendants where the performers were supposed to go, and led Blaine to one of the doors that went backstage.
"You're going to do great," Kurt said, patting dust from Blaine's shoulder.
"Where are you going to sit?" Blaine asked.
"Front and center," Kurt replied without a beat.
Blaine grinned and reached out for Kurt's hand. "Can I have a kiss for good luck?" Blaine asked shyly.
"Of course." Kurt leaned forward and kissed Blaine on the cheek, then on the lips, lingering for a few moments before finally pulling away. "I'll be right back here when it's over."
Kurt did as he promised, sitting in the front and center of the massive theater in the area reserved for guests of those performing. The front of the program read "Young Composers of America Honorees," and Kurt almost couldn't contain his excitement. Blaine Anderson you humble piece of shit.
The house lights darkened and everyone became quiet as an elderly man walked out on stage. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen," he said into the microphone in the middle of stage. "After a grueling application process, tonight we celebrate ten young artists under twenty-five who are each being awarded for an amazing work of composition. They will be performing this piece, along with a new composition they were given the challenge of writing just for tonight."
Because the show went in alphabetical order, Blaine was the first on the program to go. "Our first composer is a first year teacher at Jefferson High School, having received a BFA and masters in music theory from Ohio State University in the span of three years. He composed his award winning piece during high school, after a tragic accident left him without his sight. We are so privileged to have him with us tonight. Without further ado, we welcome Blaine Anderson to the stage."
As the room clapped, Blaine walked out on stage by himself, slowly, yet with undying confidence. His glasses reflected the spotlight, and it was impossible to see his eyes, which is what Blaine wanted. He sat at the piano bench in the center of the stage, laid his fingers across the the keys, and took a breath.
Kurt had heard this song hundreds of times, and he honestly had no idea Blaine had composed it. For all he knew it could've been a famous classical composer who'd been dead for hundreds of years, not his boyfriend.
When Blaine was finished the crowd raved, and Kurt had to turn around just to look at the crowd.
"Hello," Blaine said into the microphone above the piano. "I'm Blaine. I'm so thankful to have this opportunity to play for all of you tonight. A few months ago, when I was asked to compose another piece for tonight, I hit a creative block. I had just moved and was getting ready to start a new job...and something was keeping me from this piece. I was about to decline the offer to perform tonight, when someone knocked on my door, both figuratively and metaphorically." Blaine smiled bashfully, and Blaine turned to Kurt, as if he were looking right at him, front and center. "This piece is different than the one I just played because I wrote that one in such a dark place in my life, no pun intended...and now I'm the happiest I've ever been. So, Kurt, this is for you."
Kurt covered his mouth with both hands, his smile so wide it hurt. People seemed to be looking around for him, and there was no way to make it less obvious.
Kurt had never heard this piece before, and he wondered how that was possible. Blaine's fingers danced across the keys weightlessly, pouring every ounce of emotion he had into every note. It wasn't heavy like the previous one, and flowed as if it were just him and Blaine on a river together, combined with sweet, tender, love.
Was this love? Kurt had been in love before, or at least he thought he had. But everything about Kurt's previous relationships were blanketed by the physical aspects and attraction, that he never got a serenade or a song written for him before. The idea that someone could care this deeply about him with only knowing his personality was something so foreign to Kurt. Although it felt amazing, it also made him nervous, because there were only two endpoints, as Kurt had learned all too well.
The moment Blaine's fingers lifted from the piano keys Kurt was on his feet, clapping and cheering Blaine's name. As soon as he heard him, Blaine's face lit up, and Kurt couldn't have been more proud of him. He didn't want to argue with Blaine, but Kurt was pretty sure he had the most talented boyfriend in New York City.
The moment Blaine walked out from backstage after the show Kurt was by his side. "Blaine!" Once he knew Blaine had heard his voice, Kurt threw his arms around him. "You were amazing. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you." Blaine pulled him closer, squeezing tightly. "I told everyone about my designer."
"I expect at least half of them to call me or you didn't do your job," Kurt laughed, pulling away taking a long look at Blaine. "No one's ever written something for me…" Kurt said softly, gently straightening Blaine's bowtie. "I just don't know how I never heard it before."
"I wrote it at work. I didn't want you to be spoiled."
"I want to hear it again when we get back to your place," Kurt mentioned, taking Blaine's arm.
Blaine smiled. "I'll play it for you until you tell me to stop."
As they were walking out of the theater, Blaine paused for a moment and felt around his jacket. "Oh no, I left my phone backstage."
"There's a bench right there," Kurt said, making their way through the crowd. "I'll go get it."
Kurt found the performers' dressing room, which was empty except for a few performers who were still packing up their things. He noticed the young violinist who had performed during the show putting away his violin.
"Excuse me, have you by any chance seen a phone-"
The violinist, whom had dark, chiseled, stereotypically attractive features, held up the phone in his hand and smiled. "I haven't seen a flip phone in years," he said, handing the phone over to Kurt.
"Yeah...well...my boyfriend can't really use touch screens."
He clapped his hands together and pointed at Kurt. "You're Blaine's boyfriend, the one he wrote the composition for."
Kurt blushed and nodded. "Guilty."
"He would not shut up about you. You're going to design for a show on Broadway?"
"Hopefully...it's not final yet."
"Well, good luck with that," he said, snapping his violin case shut. He looked at Kurt for a moment, then held out his hand. "Jacob."
They shook hands. "Kurt."
"Wow." Jacob ran his fingers through his hair and bit his lip. "Man, he's lucky. I just..."
Kurt cocked his head to the side, his expression becoming less friendly. "Just what?"
"I just don't get it. From what he told us you two haven't been together very long. It must be difficult for you."
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, the fact you had to come get his phone for him...do you always have to do things for him?"
Kurt tried to interject."No-"
"You're just way out of his league."
"I'd have to disagree." Kurt never had a bigger urge to slap someone. "If this is your weird attempt at flirting with me just know you're failing miserably. I'm with Blaine. Don't act like you're better than him, he got the same award that the rest of you did."
He smiled smugly, crossing his arms. "You and everyone else knows why he got it."
"He got it because he has more talent than anyone on that stage tonight. Goodbye, Jacob." Kurt immediately made his way for the door before stopping. "Oh, and please take your violin and shove it up your ass."
Kurt didn't look to see his reaction, he didn't care to see it. There were always going to be people like Jacob, Kurt realized, but Blaine deserved everything, and dammit, that's what he was going to get.