A/N: BLOWN AWAY by the massive support, thanks guys! I wouldn't be still writing if it wasn't for y'all. Plus, Klaine's everything lol! So, here's Ch.25!
Chapter 25:: One More Night
Blaine was truly enchanted by the sight before him.
Blaine's chest clenched as he realized how lucky he was. It was the first time he ever woke up next to Kurt and was able to see him. Last night had been adorably awkward for them both because Kurt constantly blushed whenever he stared at him lovingly, having reveled at how the moonlight illuminated Kurt. They'd chosen to simply sleep in each other's arms, Kurt had been awkward when the possibility of making love again was brought up so Blaine decided to not pressure him. They'd wait until the right moment.
But he wanted Kurt to feel safe with him, to feel home with him.
So, Blaine stares up at the high, chandelier-equipped ceiling. He took a moment to take it all in.
He shifted, watched Kurt sigh softly and the countertenor's eyes gradually surfaced.
"Hey," Blaine breathed, vowing he'd never hurt him. The thought of losing Kurt killed him. "Morning, my prince."
Rubbing the sleep off his tired visage, Kurt sheepishly looked out at Blaine, mesmerized by his chocolate orbs. "Morning," he reached up, brushing back a stray strand of curly hair from Blaine's tan forehead. Blaine still hadn't cut his overgrown canopy of curls nor has he shaved off his thick stubble yet. And Kurt guiltily fell for this rugged look. Blaine's arm tightened around Kurt, humming when he melted under those cerulean eyes.
Kurt frowned, "I'm guessing that's my fault?" He placed a finger over a hickey on the contour of Blaine's clothed shoulder, the duvet still blanketing them.
Blaine's nose crunched cheekily. "We did sorta make out last night…it was intense." Kurt chuckled before being silenced when Blaine ran his fingers over Kurt's neck and shoulder tenderly. "I still can't believe you're here," he hesitated. "With me. God, I love you."
"Mmm," he hummed, shuffling closer to plant a kiss on Blaine's lips. "Well, I love you too."
"Do you have anywhere you need to be today?"
Kurt's face falls. "Oh, I still have to work today. Lauren Zizes, an editor there, already edited your book and I have to go and see what notes she left. Then, after all that, we can all start talking about pushing it for publication as soon as possible. Apparently, you have this reputation of writing irresistible novels and people have been waiting for this one for so long."
"I can't thank you enough for helping me finish this one," Blaine sounded, slightly disappointed that Kurt had to leave for the day. But tonight, Kurt was all his. "Guess I'll go with you too today then so I can meet up with Graham and tell his the news," he jokingly pointed to his eyes. "Plus I'll need to see what the editing results and Graham and I can discuss the publication date—"
All of a sudden, Kurt's heart raced. Fuck, if Blaine comes across Sebastian…
"No no no," he placed a hand over Blaine's chest as the author had begun to sit up, it required all his acting skills just to hide his panic. "You stay here and rest, remember Dr. Rose said you should rest and not do much right after the surgery. She warned about the sunlight—"
"M'not a vampire, Kurt." Blaine laughed, pulling back the sheets and standing up.
"Blaine, if you lose your eyesight again…" Kurt's voice dropped, his blue eyes bearing deep into Blaine's core.
A tensed silence fell upon them. Kurt staring desperately at his lover while Blaine stood, both flabbergasted and warmed that Kurt cared for his well-being.
Blaine sighed. "Fine, I won't go. I'll just call him to discuss it." He kneels over the bed, the springs stretching, and kissed his soulmate with gratitude, reveling in how Kurt moaned and chuckled when his own stubble tickled his skin. "But I'm still taking you out tonight."
"Thank you," Kurt exhaled, both reassured that Blaine understood his concern but also reassured that a Blaine-Sebastian confrontation won't happen today. "I'm just looking out for you, honey."
The author's heart swelled and he offered an appreciative smile. "I'll hop in the shower quickly and then you can have it, okay? Be right back, love."
Accepting another kiss on his forehead, Kurt nodded as he watched Blaine venture to his walk-in closet and enter their bathroom. Close call, he thought.
As Blaine began discarding his clothes, he began imagining what he'd like to do with Kurt later that night. He falters just as the water cascades down upon his bare body, and he grins when a certain thought came to his mind.
"He got his sight back?!" Rachel gasped, she was about to rehearse for her upcoming Broadway audition but she'd called Kurt when she noticed how he hadn't rang her yesterday. Kurt had just arrived at his desk, iPhone to his ear while starting up his computer, his nonfat mocha latte still hot in his hand.
"Yes, Rach, I just told you for the third time!" His heart skipped when he saw his office's username profile picture appear over the screen: a picture of him, Blaine and Santana that had been taken several weeks ago. "Oh crap, I'm not even sure I should be telling you this cuz Blaine seemed pretty hesitant about spreading the news—"
"But Kuuuurrrttt, I'm your best friend! I deserve to know what goes on in your gay blind Nicholas Sparks-esque romance!"
"Offended," he muttered, looking up and smiled when Lauren Zizes, one of his only true friends at work and from the editing department, arrived by his desk with Blaine's manuscript and a bunch of papers. "I gotta go, Rach. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"What! You haven't told me if you and Blaine had—"
He hung up.
"Hey, Hummel! I finally finished going through your lover's manuscript—" She grinned when Kurt sent a don't-even-start-with-me look. "I made some notes throughout so you should show it to him and Graham hopes to get this baby published within a week."
"Great!" He accepted the thick manuscript, setting it down but he frowned when Lauren still stuck around, a devious smile on her plump face. "Was there…something else?"
"Oh, after you randomly ran out of the office yesterday for some reason, Sebastian the hyena's been acting all weird since then."
Kurt froze, "What do you mean?"
"For one thing, that weasel was limping and he had some painful, aggravated expression on his twisted face. And the weird thing is that he appeared like that just sometime after you ran off." She neared him, a raised eyebrow. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"
Immediately, Kurt understood everything. He recalled kicking Sebastian in the nuts yesterday after he…cornered him in the printer room. That's why he was limping and acting all weird after he'd left. He almost allowed a grin to surface but he held back.
"Not that I know of," he lied. Shrugging, Lauren wondered off and just as Kurt was mentally prepared to start work, a shadow casted over his desk. That familiar intoxicating cologne, those impeccably-tight clothing…
He glared up at the man. "Sebastian, unless it's work-related, I suggest you back off and go back to your desk—"
"Whoa, I haven't even said a word yet, my adorable little rebel." He bent down with a whisper, "You know, I'm willing to forget that little stunt of yours yesterday—"
"You had no right to…to force yourself on me yesterday. That was completely inappropriate, disgusting and low on your part." He hissed, managing to keep his voice a bit low after looking around to see that no one was near enough to hear them. He was grateful that since the day barely hasn't started, most employees were at the cafeteria getting coffee. He couldn't help but realize that since Karofsky and McKinley, he was feeling a lot stronger now and he'd be damned if hee ever let a creep like Sebastian get to him again. "If you ever kiss or harass me like that again, I swear I will—"
"What? Run off and tell your blind Romeo? I really don't understand why I'm apparently not good enough for you. But the Blind Wonder apparently has become a changed man? You don't know what he's like. Do you remember what he used to be like? You think he's with you because he loves you? No, he just wants someone who's weak so that he can manipulate you into being his puppet. He's a monster—"
He abruptly stood up, provoked. "Stop calling him that! I am not going to get into this argument again—"
"Speaking of the cripple, where is he, huh?" Sebastian cleared his throat. "Too afraid to leave his lair? Too nervous to come here to fight your battles? Can't you see that he's not going to be there for you just like you apparently seem to be for him? I don't like that—"
Kurt crossed his arms, displaying a sarcastic smile. "I don't like you. I don't like your ridiculous CW hair. I don't like that you think that I'm some desperate bachelor thirsting for an Andrew McCarthy reject. I'm in a relationship with Blaine so get that in that twisted mind of yours."
He leaned forward, "Odds are by the end of this year, you'll be mine and hopefully get a promotion here so I can have more input in telling Graham to stop publishing any of Blaine's future books here. Blaine will be nothing but a lonely bearded social reject with his pathetic bowties and his insane amount of hair gel. I mean seriously, he has more hair gel on that helmet of his than the cast of Hairspray. It's probably gonna leave him blind since the gel's seeping through his scalp and ruining his eyes. You don't belong to Blaine, Kurt. You belong to me."
"Blaine's got his sight back." Kurt cocked his head, noting the frown on Sebastian's face. "And once he sees you coming onto me, you better run cuz if he really is a monster like you said, I wonder how he'll be when he's really angry."
The taller man simply snarled.
"Threaten me or Blaine ever again and I'll report you to Graham for sexual harassment and have you fired." Sebastian paled. "This is my last warning so I suggest you leave, Smythe."
The man clenched his fists, his snarl slowly forming a dark, lustful smile as he eyed Kurt up-and-down before turning to go.
A woman with a pile of paperwork screamed when Sebastian passed her and threw down everything from her hands.
Later that evening
An overwhelmed Kurt had arrived home to lay the day's work in the study before bolting to quickly freshen up and change in his own former bedroom—the one that has been sadly unused since Kurt began sleeping with Blaine at the author's master bedroom—and he'd noticed that Santana and Blaine were still outside, leaving the nervous man alone in the grand penthouse.
Having placed his iPhone on speakerphone, Rachel was constantly reminding him to calm down while Kurt had just finished straightening his bowtie. Peering into the body mirror, Kurt then grabs his dark grey blazer and puts it on, laughing when Rachel began trying to guess where Blaine was probably going to take him out.
"I don't know if I've said this already but I'm really happy for you, Kurt." Her bubbly other shifted.
"You'd think that after Ohio, no one would ever notice someone like me here in New York…but then Blaine came along," he mused, smiling as he appreciated his reflection, his outfit complete. He realized that this was the first time Blaine would ever see him at uber fashionista-mode.
"Expect a speech from me at your wedding—"
"Oh, god." Kurt stumbles at the vision of seeing him and Blaine exchanging vows, both dressed to impress, staring at each other and never looking back…he blinks those too-good-to-be-true thoughts away. Would Blaine want to spend the rest of his life with me? He wondered.
The sounds of the front door opening and Santana, Blaine and Brittany's voices in the distance bring him back.
"Anyway, I'll see you soon, okay? I gotta make dinner now. Tell me everything tomorrow!" Rachel teased.
"Bye, Rach." Chuckling, he hung up and exhaled before heading to the foyer to see Santana and Brittany hugging, Blaine however was missing.
"I'm so happy for you, Brit!" Santana enveloped her girlfriend. She had invited Brittany over so they could talk and when Brittany revealed the news that she had been accepted to be a dance instructor at NYADA (New York Academy of Dramatic Arts). "So, did you quit being a waitress at that tacky restaurant?"
She nodded, "I wanted Lord Tubbington to celebrate with me but he was too sleepy this morning. Think he drank too much vodka last night during our Shrek marathon. Ya'know, cats and their hangovers."
Santana laughed and hugged her again. She was planning to take Brit out for dinner tonight right after she drives Blaine and Kurt off to their evening date—she had to convince Blaine that him driving wasn't the best idea since he hasn't been behind the wheel in months. Prior to Brittany arriving, Santana had helped Blaine prepare for his date with Kurt. She constantly teased whenever she brought up how she wondered Kurt will react to what Blaine had planned tonight. It was all part of Blaine's plan to "start anew" with Kurt, now that he could see again.
Brittany then turned and grinned at Kurt, nodding with acceptance of his evening wear. "Hey, you!"
Santana spoke. "Oh hey, Lady! Blaine quickly ran into his room to freshen up and then, I'll drive you guys off."
Nodding, Kurt couldn't help himself. "Brit, you're gonna teach at NYADA?"
She grinned again.
"Congratulations!" He ambled to hug her too, admiring how she's moving up in life these days. She only hummed with gratitude.
"Okay, San. I'm ready to go." The bedroom door opened and out came Blaine, dressed in slim maroon pants and a tasteful maroon blazer that hugged his lean form, his black tie straight and loafers sleek to amaze. "You know where Kurt is? I—"
He froze upon seeing his lover standing beside the ladies, also equally astonished at the other's sight.
Kurt stared at how the maroon evening wear just made Blaine ten times more handsome and he saw that in Blaine's hand was a bouquet of calla lilies, making Kurt recall their first ever date in Manhattan all those months ago where Blaine had nervously offered him the same flowered bouquet that very night. Kurt then lost all inherent thought when he noted that Blaine had finally shaved, his jaw and chin free of his thick stubble, he'd gotten a haircut too and now his hair was much shorter but it still retained its curly nature. And those thick-framed glasses altogether practically made Kurt blink, dumbfounded.
"There you are!" Blaine slowly approached him, already taking in Kurt's stunned expression. "You look dashing, Angel."
Swallowing, "You look…"
"I figured I wanted to impress you tonight," Blaine admitted nervously, holding out the bouquet. "I got these for you. I remember how you loved the calla lilies when I took you out on our first date."
Accepting it, Kurt blushed when Blaine neared him and kissed his cheek. Internally, Kurt grew frustrated: how does Blaine manage to rock every look? Oh god, Blaine as a bad boy with a leather jacket and—
"Oh, Blaine, I've been wondering…how does it feel to have your sonar vision back?" Brittany broke the silence. "Now that you can use it to detect other dolphins in this sea we call life?"
"Um…" Blaine's eyebrows rose, confused.
"Brit, he doesn't need to find other dolphins." Santana jumped to rescue him, the man remaining perplexed as he wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist. "He has Kurt, remember?"
Brittany frowned, "Oh, then get a refund from your surgery bill cuz clearly you didn't need your sonar vision to find another dolphin after all."
Santana shooed Brittany off to the elevator when she saw his dumbfounded expression—Brittany could be a handful to people sometimes indeed, leaving the two men alone on the foyer for a moment.
"How was work today, love?" Blaine peered down, scanning Kurt's outfit in astonishment.
Oh fuck, his boyfriend hesitated. "I-I got your manuscript back and we should be able to publish your book within a week. But clearly, you also were busy grooming yourself today, sir."
He laughed, reaching down to his pocket. "That's because we're going somewhere I think you'll like."
Before Kurt could reply, his eyes fell on the two tickets in Blaine's hand. Handing them over, Kurt skims through it, heart flipping when he saw they were for two third row seats, near the orchestra for Wicked tonight.
"Br-Broadway? Tickets? Wicked?!" Kurt gasped, Blaine only grinning at his reaction. "B-but how—?"
"You told me you only managed to watch Les Mis with your friend, Rachel once and that was it because it's too costly and it was either that or Wicked." Blaine answered, cupping his lover's face, enthralled in the man's pale complexion. I can still see you, he thought, relieved his surgery was all worth it. "And I love seeing you happy."
"Rachel's so gonna kill me," Kurt chuckled, his lips trembling as he felt emotional. "I-I don't know what to say…"
"Don't say anything, love." Blaine whispered. "I want to treat you right." When Kurt shivers again, he kisses him firmly to show he does want to prove to him that he's moved on from the past. "I love you, Kurt."
All of Kurt's insecurities, guilt and troubles faded in that one moment as he surrendered to Blaine's hazel eyes. "There's something work-related I need to tell you, Blaine. It's sorta important—"
"Hey, I don't want to talk about work anymore today, okay? Let's just enjoy tonight." Blaine requested. Kurt grew numb, guilt washing over him again. He stares blindly when Blaine raises a hand. "You ready for this?"
A bit lip, he nodded fervently.
Kurt had blushed upon the end of the performance when he'd realized that Blaine's hand never let go of his the entire time. He felt Blaine grip tightly onto his when Kurt realized that his boyfriend was getting emotional from several scenes and Kurt knew that Blaine was also overwhelmed with being able to see again. While he was excited about Wicked altogether, he was more focused on being there for Blaine as the man was trying to take it all in. After all, Kurt had already watched Wicked from some non-HD online videos and despite the knowledge that he was in the freaking Gershwin Theater again, he was more grateful that Blaine was doing all this for him.
As they were exiting the theater, he raised Blaine's hand and kissed his knuckles gently, the author turning to smile softly. "Thank you," he breathed.
"Oh, the night's still young, babe." Blaine teased, Kurt frowning.
"What? Broadway wasn't the only item on your itinerary?" Kurt should have known Blaine would've pulled a stunt like this. The author only shook his head, holding Kurt's hand tightly as they walked out of the building and out to the busy Manhattan traffic. He waved his hand and a bright yellow cab swarmed in.
Sliding into the backseat, Blaine mutters something to the cologne-heavy driver, his right knee touching Kurt's left and Kurt didn't blame him: all those months in the dark and now the first whole day with his sight back, Blaine just needs to physically feel Kurt beside him—a reminder that Kurt's still here for him, that he's not leaving despite the hardships both have been through.
Ten minutes passes and the taxi pulls up to the front of a warm-but-not-too-expensive-looking Vietnamese restaurant. Kurt's eyes bulged.
"I've wanted to try this place for so long but since I was blind, Santana couldn't exactly 100% help me with trying new foods, especially ones that can be hard to pronounce." Blaine declared, paying the driver and Kurt helped him out, both awestruck at the vibrant restaurant ahead. "What do you think?"
They walked in and upon led to a leather-seated booth in a humble corner by a tall Asian woman, Kurt finally answered, upon skimming through the figures on the menu. "You certainly learned, Anderson."
"I know you'd flip if I brought you to a 5-star restaurant right after watching a Broadway show," he chuckled.
The countertenor had to take a step back. Looking up, he watched with complete love as the handsome man before him curiously looked over his menu, realizing that Blaine has done far too much for him. His heart swelled when Blaine—still oblivious to Kurt's stare—tried to pronounce one of the meals' names, flashing a very brief toothy grin before he bit his lip again.
Blaine deserves the truth, Kurt finally declared. But he decided once-and-for-all that he'll tell him everything tomorrow. For now, he wanted to enjoy one more amazing night with him. One more night before he's sure drama will plague them.
And then, he'll tell him.
A/N: So Kurt's been going crazy about keeping his secret but I do promise that Kurt does finally tell Blaine next chapter! I'll try to update as soon as I can! Let me know what you think!