A/N: After such a long wait, here is the elusive Ch.28! Blame college, writer's block and stress! Thank you all again for supporting me all this time so without further ado...!
Chapter 28:: Out of the Woods
Keys being played from a grandiose black Yamaha piano echoed throughout the halls of the Manhattan penthouse, its bold yet heartening harmonies already performing its magic on the two men who sat huddled closely together on that small and equally black bench before it.
Kurt Hummel watched in awe as his lover's slightly tensed hands danced across those keys, warmed by the overall resulting melody. But he was also warmed by the man who sat right beside him.
It had been a couple of weeks since they had finally gotten back together after that weasel known as Sebastian Smythe almost ruined what they had.
And since then, they've gotten a lot more closer yet also felt so far apart at the same time.
Blaine Anderson had been hopping from city to city, ranging from Los Angeles to Seattle, as he was busy doing his national book tour while also lecturing in conferences and signing a lot of copies of his new book, Lost at Midnight, for the many fans who'd come up just to see him.
With his publisher Graham Woods of MountCrest Publishing having set up the entire book tour and with Santana as his assistant and confidante during this book tour, Blaine had been away for several weeks.
Away from New York. And away from Kurt.
On one hand, he was shocked to find just how many fans he still has throughout the country despite the dark road he'd travelled eight months ago. The dark road that led to his temporary blindness, being shut out and casted aside by his former peers and friends and being left all alone to practically crumble at his Long Island house with only Santana to assist him.
But it wasn't enough.
There was always a sense of emptiness within him. Loneliness was the perfect term to call it.
And everything changed when he met the love of his life down this dark road.
Of course, he would never know how Kurt really did look like when they first met all those months ago. The moment when he first encountered Kurt would remain a mysterious, dark and enigmatic matter. He'd never seen that angel's face when they began growing closer…and closer towards something that Blaine never thought could still be in the cards for himself.
He never thought he'd fall in love again.
And that's why upon embarking on his national book tour, Blaine was disheartened to discover that Kurt couldn't join him because Kurt had a career at MountCrest and he couldn't exactly just toss all that out. Blaine honestly felt selfish when he tried to convince Kurt otherwise but he learned something from that experience—that he really, really hated arguing with him.
And so, on the night right before he was to fly off to the West Coast, they made up and had the most passionate, almost sinful sex yet…three times (in the bedroom, over the kitchen counter and in the shower). And at JFK International Airport where Blaine had been scheduled to take off, they also shared an intense yet tearful kiss goodbye, both not minding that they were practically having a makeout session in public.
Don't ever say goodbye to me, Kurt had declared during their farewell embrace. I'll be right here once you come back.
Naturally, they Skype'd every night and Kurt was truly happy for the author as Blaine would always babble about just how many fans had come down just to see him and let him sign copies of his books at local bookstores.
And once, Santana literally choked on her Strawberries N' Crème Starbucks frappuccino when she walked into hers and Blaine's shared hotel room, only to see a stark naked Blaine in the middle of phone sex with his better half back in New York.
In the end, upon Blaine flying back to New York after weeks of publicity and book-signings, he was eager to reunite with his love at JFK. Kurt had mindlessly ran up to him like a thirsty puppy, catching him in a deep hug-slash-liplock, once again earning raised eyebrows from the surrounding public.
It was now the very next morning and after a night of making love and embracing until the clock struck eleven, Blaine woke up at seven just to try remembering his skills at playing the piano.
"Is there anything you're not good at?" Kurt chuckled, having been woken up five minutes earlier by the grand piano's acoustics. He had surfaced from their bedroom, grabbed a robe and walked over to see a hunched Blaine playing away on the Yamaha.
The once-blue-now-turned-hazel-eyed man turned to face him with a cheeky smile, "Well, apparently, according to you, I'm not great at styling my own hair. So there's that one insecurity I have."
Kurt slapped him on his arm, making Blaine laugh hysterically. "That's because you should let your curls roam free. You're denying them their civil rights, mister."
Shaking his head with a chuckle, Blaine turned to focus on the piano's keys once more, before frowning when he played a wrong key.
"Ugh, I can never get that note right." He sighed, Kurt noting his now-depressed body language.
"Blaine, why did you wake up so early just to play the piano?" Kurt finally addressed the elephant in the room.
A long pause.
"Blaine—"
"I don't know," Blaine bit his lip, visage knotted in tension. "I guess that now that I have more free time since today's the last stop of my book tour, I could perhaps try to relearn how to play the piano."
Kurt cocked his head, now recalling that Blaine's scheduled to head down to the large Barnes and Noble bookstore at Fifth Avenue to do his last book signing for his national book tour.
Almost instantly, Kurt remembered that he also had to go to work in an hour. If he wanted to get that promotion to be a full-time editor one day, he would need to clock in his hours and work his butt off just to impress his boss, Graham. It was also a reason why Kurt chose not to accompany Blaine in his book tour.
"Before I…" Blaine continued but suddenly hesitated. "Before I became blind, I used to play the piano to forget about everything. To forget about all those sinister rumors and tabloids about me back then and to forget that I really didn't have any true friends. Well, except Santana but I still felt so lonely. And so, playing this would relieve everything. But when the accident happened, over time, because I lost that passion for music inside me, I guess…I forgot a bit about playing altogether."
Kurt leaned in, sighing in understanding but intrinsically knowing that Blaine wasn't done with his speech yet.
"And as I've said, now that I ought to have some free time now since my book tour is literally ending this afternoon," he let out a little self-deprecating chuckle. "I think I wanna try to find that passion again. So yes, it does frustrate me a little when I can't seem to remember everything about playing music. Thank God for muscle memory though."
Kurt smiled, cupping his boyfriend's tensed jaw, gently motioning him to look at him now.
"Well find that passion and bring it out then. In time, I know you will," he leaned his forehead against his, feeling the frown lines wither away upon contact.
Blaine also leaned into his touch, warmed by the tender hand that rest over his the side of his face, facial muscles animating into a smile when Kurt's hand began trailing patterns on his left cheek.
"Kurt?" Blaine smirked after a few seconds.
"Yeah?"
"Do you know about this other passion of mine?"
"Oh?"
"It's this particular passion of mine that involves making you feel good," he husked lowly, a hand gradually snaking onto the knot that was holding Kurt's maroon robe together. Leaning in to Kurt's ear, he steadily began undoing it, his fingers carefully forcing the knot to surrender.
"It involves me taking off your clothes," he continued, Kurt's robe now slightly parted to show the gorgeous alabaster skin underneath that Blaine never had enough of. "Although it really is a tall order because of—"
"—because of the layers," Kurt hummed, filling in with an embarrassed laugh. And Blaine watched him.
"But it wouldn't kiss you yet, I'd want to make you wait impatiently for that."
"B-Blaine—" Kurt merely breathed his name, not knowing how to respond to Blaine's abrupt switch from an insecure author to this primal beast before him.
"And then, I'd take a moment to realize just how lucky I am to have such a breathtaking boyfriend."
At that instant, the author rested a hand over Kurt's bare abdomen, sparks dancing within as he began running his fingers across the pale landscape…cherishing every ripple and every smooth surface he felt. Kurt sighed into his touch, eyes closed in a lustful haze as he did nothing to prevent Blaine's hand from elevating to his chest.
It was among the most erotic views Blaine had ever seen, noting Kurt's satisfied state and the way he bit his lip and when he pinched and toyed with Kurt's nipple, the countertenor groaned. Advancing his conquest, Blaine intimately ran his hand up again to Kurt's shoulder, lifting the man's robe off his body and shrugging off the other side, revealing Kurt's bare shoulders.
Already, both men felt the familiar tightness in their groins and before they knew it, Kurt was straddling Blaine's thigh, grinding their mutual morning wood. Both didn't, for one moment, care whether the piano's bench could stand under this new pressure and all coherent thoughts left both minds when Blaine met Kurt's reckless thrusts.
The countertenor had to compose himself when Blaine pulled away, groaning when the author proceeded to remove his own shirt, neither bothering to wonder where he'd let it fall to the ground.
"And I—shit, I-I would…" Blaine's speech blurred when Kurt's selfish hands slid across his tan body and tweaked his newly-exposed buds, the sensation of Kurt over his own nipples almost pushing Blaine off the edge.
Blaine gulped, "And I would then take you apart at whatever speed you'd want me to. Whatever you want, I can go slow and make it last." He almost lost track of his monologue when his lover's grunts grew louder, more primitive. "Or…I could—"
"Just take me now, Blaine." Kurt growled, hands clutching Blaine's biceps with white-knuckle grip now. Painfully aroused to the point of no return, he instinctively bit down on the junction between Blaine's neck and shoulder, obtaining a broken cry from his boyfriend. "Just shut up and take me."
"Don't let go," Blaine said almost hoarsely, Kurt heeding his words, wrapping his arms around his neck and legs around his torso like a desperate viper, when the author stood up. He began attacking Kurt's glorious neck and chest with teasing pecks and licks, while compressing the twin globes of Kurt's ass as he walked them back to their bedroom.
Kurt moaned upon being playfully shoved down onto their bed, now given a front row view of Blaine's hard-on after the author swiftly discarded his shorts. Doing the same, the blue-eyed man surrendered to the beast that towered over him, falling victim to Blaine's exploring hands and fervent lips over his bare body.
"And then, finally…" Blaine cupped his lover's face in a moment of warmth. "Finally, I get to kiss the love of my life."
Upon executing those words, he crashed his distraught lips against his in a concoction of passion, lust and desperation, earning an exceptionally low groan that ripped from Kurt's throat.
Soaring over him, Blaine ironically crumpled when Kurt wrapped a defiant hand over his length and began his work, eliciting an array of profanities, squeezing and twisting and relishing.
Attempting to reciprocate, Blaine blindly—okay, poor choice of words but nevertheless—rutted against Kurt's thighs, gritting his teeth while hands fisting into Kurt's bedhair.
"Looks like…ah, I-I've made a monster," the author barely whispered before scrunching up his face as a result of Kurt giving him a rather brusque squeeze. Then, he slapped away Kurt's hand and enveloped both his own and Kurt's lengths together into his fist, this new intimate sensation only heightened when Blaine stroked them in unison, increasing his strokes and pacing.
Within moments, Kurt came with a bitten moan, clutching onto Blaine's muscled shoulders, falling limp to the bedsheets, cheeks flushed and forehead glossy with sweat. The author's rolled backwards as he climaxed too, thick, silvery strings of cum shooting over the sheets and Kurt's thigh.
Collapsing beside him, Blaine ran a hand over his unruly curls, "Thank God Santana's stayed over at Brittany's for the night."
Giggling, Kurt faced him, drumming his fingers over his chest that's slightly dusted with masculine chest hair. "Poor Rachel, she still lives back in my old apartment with Brittany back in Bushwick. She ought to wear earplugs the whole night since I'm sure San and Brit—"
"Nah ah ah," Blaine cut in, shaking his head. "Don't need to know, Hummel."
Chuckling, "Alright, Anderson. You have your last book tour stop at Fifth Avenue at 2pm and I have to go to work in…" He peered at a wall clock. "In anytime now so...wanna—"
"Rinse each other off?" Blaine stood up, Kurt flushing from Blaine's bare form, his flaccid cock hanging before him, a reminder of their recent lovemaking. "Off to the shower, it is then, my prince."
Blaine's grin was answered with a thrown pillow to the face.
"So when are you going to tell him?"
Santana considered it as she sipped at her morning coffee, all dressed up and ready to go for the day. She'd stayed over with Brittany and Rachel's after having flown in from LA just yesterday, Rachel forced to wear earplugs and cover her ears with her pillow when Santana and Brittany became inseparable in their own room.
The cozy Bushwick apartment used to be co-owned by Rachel and Kurt, two best friends who wanted to brave the nearby Manhattan to fulfill their dreams—Kurt originally wanting to be in theatre but now resorted to publishing; Rachel still constantly auditioning for parts on Broadway.
They'd paid monthly rents together but that changed when Kurt temporarily moved away to stay over at Blaine's Long Island beach house to help the formerly blind man finish his book there as part of an assignment. It was there that Kurt fell for him and he never moved back in as Blaine asked him to move in with him at his own Lower Manhattan penthouse.
Brittany then, with Kurt's blessing, opted to move in with Rachel after explaining that she has having trouble paying her own rent at her original apartment. And Santana has been coming over more often.
Santana gazed at her girlfriend, mentally wondering how she'd gotten so lucky, and shrugged. "I don't know."
"Well, you're planning to move out from Blaine's and move in with me. I think he deserves to know really soon."
"Brit, when the time's right, then I'll tell him, okay?"
The blonde sighed, "Okay. But soon, promise? We already paid the lease and we're due to move in in a few days from now."
Nodding, Santana grinned, leaning in to kiss her girlfriend again. "What would I do without you, Brit?"
"Shut up and kiss me again."
"Good afternoon, H!"
The greeting prompted Kurt to look up from his desk to his fellow colleague-slash-only-true-friend-at-work, a smile plastered over his face. "Hey, Zizes! What's up?"
"So I heard that your dreamy, blind and curly-topped lover's back in town since last night," Lauren Zizes raised a teasing eyebrow, her hands behind her back as if to hide something.
"Ah ah ah," Kurt hoisted a finger up. "Formerly blind lover, and yes, he's back."
"Have you actually taken the time to pick up and read his book?" Lauren queried, raising her arms finally to reveal what she'd hidden: a copy of Blaine's Lost at Midnight. The font that spelled his boyfriend's name over it made Kurt feel a sense of pride for him; not to mention, it was nice to know Kurt himself helped contribute to finishing the book all those months ago.
But he drooped with an apologetic sigh, "Sorry, I've been busy with work and Graham's been nailing me down with assignments and errands—"
"That's a good sign, our boss wants to make sure you can handle and juggle all the work at one time," Lauren tried, now sitting over the edge of Kurt's desk. The movement made Kurt look at where she temporarily seated herself, suppressing a beam as a framed photograph of a close-up Blaine mischievously kissing Kurt's right cheek stood nearby. "You didn't hear it from me…" Lauren leaned down, hushed. "But I think you're so gonna get promoted to an editor any day now."
Peering up again, Kurt flushed. "Oh wow…"
"Just remember to not forget me and the rest of us when you move up," Lauren winked.
Before Kurt could respond, he heard some other colleague call his name from elsewhere, beckoning him for help with what looked like a heavy box of binders, files and paperwork—leave it to the Hummels to fix everyone else's troubles.
Promptly shuffling to his feet, he fixed his slightly-wilted black bowtie and straightened away some wrinkles off his dress shirt. "Gotta run, Z! We're still on for lunch tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I just have many files and documents to handle today too. See ya later, H!"
Bidding farewell, Kurt advanced off, abruptly feeling self-conscious when a number of his other colleagues were giving him looks. But what surprised him once again was that there were hints of smiles over their faces—they were happy Kurt helped get Sebastian the Hyena fired. Ever since the fiasco when Blaine pummeled a bloodied Sebastian with his bare fists to the ground weeks earlier after Blaine realized that Sebastian had been harassing his boyfriend for some time, Kurt remembered being shocked after Sebastian was fired since many of his colleagues began thanking him for kicking that snake out.
He doesn't deserve you, Kurt. Sebastian had muttered when he returned to clear out his desk after Graham fired him. He's still the same monster underneath and this time, you're the blind one for not seeing that.
And it took all of Kurt's drama class training to merely send him a hollow gaze of indifference when Sebastian left the building. Though inside, he was overjoyed.
All thoughts of Sebastian and the prior drama left his brain then instantly.
"I'm telling you that girl almost ran up to your table and kissed you!" Santana laughed, removing her pea coat after the two of them arrived home for the night. "Trust me, some of your fans are actually thirsty for you—"
"Flattered," Blaine shook his head with a grin. "But I'm taken."
"You must be also tired of hearing 'Can I take a selfie with you?' after today," she hummed.
"Yeah, speaking of which, I think I'll head to bed now. I miss my bed—"
"More like you missing Kurt and his d—"
"Santana Lopez! Shut up!" Blaine gasped, pointing towards her bedroom. "Go to your room!"
"Blaine, honey, I hear things. And apparently Lady Hummel has a thing for—"
"Goodnight, Satan." Blaine declared sternly though internally, he was blushing wildly now.
"Oh before I go, remember I need to tell you something really important? Guess we'll chat about this tomorrow, it is getting late after all."
"Bad news?" All teasing stopped.
"We'll see," she concluded before retiring to her quarters.
Pondering about what Santana could mean, Blaine headed over to his room to see Kurt at his vanity, performing his nightly moisturizing ritual. Eyes raised and met with Blaine's, Kurt stood up, "Heard you guys coming in. How was your day, J.K. Rowling?"
Walking over to lightly peck his cheek, Blaine laughed. "Nothing that should worry you. Oh there's something I need to talk to you about. Graham called me right after I finished my book signing event."
"Oh?" A frown.
Hoisting a teasing finger up to match his smirk, he began to reach into his exquisite black Zara coat, he fished out an extremely slim and miniature rectangular parcel. "But first, I want you to have this."
Bemused, the countertenor received it and took no hesitation in undressing it, an almost thrilled expression over his face. He blinked when it revealed a perky bowtie that bore a partial map of the London Underground after recognizing some tube station names like Embankment and Waterloo.
A glimmer of inquisitiveness crossed his face, further widening Blaine's childish beam. "Wow, it's so adorable. Thanks, Blaine."
Watching Kurt fidget and curiously play with the bowtie, Blaine had to bite back his already-displayed grin.
"I love it, Blaine, I do…but I don't understand the occasion—"
"Remember when I said Graham called me earlier?" Kurt's slow nodding prompted Blaine to continue. "Uh, he said that because there's been a lot of great sales and feedback from across the pond—" He noted the gradual bulging of his lover's orbs. "Well, he wanted me to fly over to London and Manchester to do more book signings and conferences, all for also publicity."
Puzzlement still persisted to control Kurt's visage before a supportive smile emerged. "Well, that's great! I'm happy for you! But wait, I'm confused…"
"I want you to come with me this time, babe!"
Silence permeated the room, Kurt frozen by the declaration, hand numbly holding onto the bowtie.
Blaine mentally counted.
3…2…1…
"L-London? Manchester?! Hold on, LONDON?!"
Blaine almost died when arms dove for him, almost sending them sprawling onto the ground but the author's quick reflexes redirected back against the wall instead, moaning hopelessly when Kurt unconsciously met his lips. A near-aroused Blaine enjoyed being between the weight of Kurt's warm body against his and the wall behind, and barked out several laughs when Kurt blindly mumbled I love you so much repeatedly.
Ultimately parting, Blaine cupped Kurt's face, both panting.
"You told me a while ago how you and your mother used to always want to visit England when you were much younger. But you two never got to…"
A pang of sadness struck a chord inside Kurt, gulping. "Yeah, and I never got around to saving enough to make the trip even without her after what happened."
Using his thumb to massage and draw patterns over Kurt's cheek in understanding, Blaine kissed him again, this time more romantic and supportive in nature, and less sloppy and desperate.
"That's why I want you to come with me. I already talked to Santana and she agreed to stay behind here so it'll be just the two of us." He tried to convince the still-numb man before him. "Well, there'll be all those interviewers and probably all the people who'll come down to see me there as well but—"
"Graham agreed to having me come over with you? What about my work here?"
"He said you need a break and should see this as just another assignment: accompanying me and all. He agreed, trust me! It'll just be for a few days only."
"Ah, so that explains the London Underground bowtie."
"So, start packing up tomorrow, alright, babe? MountCrest covered all the expenses so go wild! We fly off the day after—"
"You really need to start letting me treat you instead sometimes," Kurt guiltily deadpanned.
"Night Sky, the very presence of you on this planet is more than enough for me."
"And you're forever always the corny one—mmph!"
Blaine smashed his lips into his again, effectively shutting him up, both whimpering at the sensation.
Pulling away, Kurt groaned. "Wow, I'm the worst boyfriend ever. You know I'm your biggest fan but I've yet to actually pick up your book and read—"
"Well, we'll need to rectify that tomorrow. Right now, I'm in the mood for something else…that doesn't require words and all."
The sinful smirk across the author's façade was all Kurt needed before he reached out into his kisses and whispers of naughty promises.
A/N: There you go! Happy with how I left it off? Next chapter: England and Kurt finally gets into reading Blaine's book, discovering something that'll shock him! Let me know what you think! :)