Last time on "Unlock My Heart":
"Jeff? Nick? What are you guys doing here already?" Blaine asked.
"Is that any way to greet your old friends?" Nick asked, coming over to shake his hand.
Blaine shook his hand and turned to Kurt. "Kurt, this is Nick Duval and his Soulmate, Jeff Lynch. Guys, this is my Soulmate, Kurt Hummel."
Kurt shook their hands. Nick had dark hair and eyes while Jeff had blonde hair and brown eyes. Both of them smiled kindly. Jeff was more exuberant, reaching over to hug Kurt.
"It's about time Blainers settled down," Jeff said, grinning.
"Yeah, because seventeen is having one foot in the grave," Blaine scoffed. He put his hand to his head again. "I gotta get some aspirin. Do you guys want to come in? Er, Kurt, are you okay with that?"
Kurt nodded. "That's fine," he said. He figured having company would keep them from having an awkwardly silent afternoon. "Come on in, I'll make some coffee."
They walked into Blaine and Kurt's apartment. Blaine disappeared into the bathroom while Kurt and Jeff went into the kitchen.
"You guys are moving in pretty early," Kurt noted.
"Yeah, after we heard that you and Blaine were moving in, we figured we would too. Especially because my folks are going on an extended vacation and leaving poor old me behind," Jeff said dramatically.
"Poor old you my butt," Nick said leaning onto the breakfast bar. "You chose to stay behind if I remember right. Probably because you couldn't imagine being away from yours truly for so long."
Jeff walked over to Nick and gently cupped his cheek. "I think both of us would have had a problem if we were separated from each other for that long," Jeff said quietly, devotion shining in his expressive eyes.
"You're always right," Nick said, smiling. He leaned in and kissed Jeff tenderly.
Kurt couldn't help a quiet sigh as he watched the boys. They were very obviously Soulmates in love. Kurt wished he was that happy. Because of the way he felt about being a sub, he figured he'd never get there.
Jeff and Nick broke apart, smiling at each other for a moment. Jeff turned to Kurt with a friendly grin. "So, Kurt, tell me your life story," he said.
. . . . . . . . .
"Um, okay. Well, Fate decided the world should have something fabulous, so I was born. I grew up with my Dad. And here I am," Kurt said, with a smile. He hoped that was enough for now. "How about you?"
Jeff laughed. "Ironically enough, I, too, was born to gift the world with my fabulousness," he said. "Long lost brothers, you think?"
"Must be!" Kurt said, chuckling.
Blaine joined them and they sat, making general conversation. Kurt learned more about the Warblers and was encouraged by all three boys to audition. Nick and Jeff complained about the number of solos Blaine got. Jeff mentioned trying to grow a permanent strain of laryngitis so the dapper tenor would have to sit on the sidelines like everyone else.
"Of course, knowing my luck," Nick said. "Kurt will end up as the new soloist."
Kurt smiled. "That would be my dastardly plan," he said.
"Okay, just using the word 'dastardly' makes you the most fabulous of all," Jeff declared, lightly applauding Kurt.
Kurt nodded and gave a small bow. "You know it."
Later that afternoon, Kurt and Blaine helped Jeff and Nick unpack, amazed at how fast they were able to move in. Kurt gave Nick some pointers about paint colors and how to use their furnishings as accents. Jeff wanted to see Kurt's wardrobe after Kurt gave him some feedback on his own. Kurt took Nick back to their apartment and into the master bedroom. Jeff ooh'd and aah'd appropriately at all the outfits Kurt showed him, correctly guessing the designers.
"Hey Kurt, Nick and I are going to get Chinese for dinner. Do you want anything in particular?" Blaine called from the apartment door.
"Egg rolls and fried rice," Kurt replied. "Did you need to tell them what you want?" he asked Jeff.
"No, Nicky knows what I want," Jeff said.
"How long have you two been together?" Kurt asked.
"We've known each other since middle school. We were friends for years. After we turned sixteen, we made a pact to high five every guy at Dalton to see if one of them was our Soulmate. One day David asked if we'd ever bothered high fiving each other. We admitted that we hadn't and turned toward each other. One high five later and we were Soulmates," Jeff said, a happy grin on his face.
"I don't want to step on toes, but you're a sub, right?" Kurt asked. More than once over the afternoon, he'd seen Jeff lean on Nick or reach for Nick, like he had to be touching him at all times. Kurt figured that was a good clue.
"My toes are fine and yes, I'm a sub. As are you," Jeff said. "What about you and Blaine? How'd you find out?"
"We met at a coffee shop. I had something on my face and Blaine went to clean it off and that's when we found out," Kurt said with an obvious lack of emotion.
"You don't seem overly enthused about meeting your Soulmate," Jeff noted, an eyebrow in the air.
"Um, to be honest, no. I didn't want a Soulmate. Once I found out I was a sub, I knew I wanted to be alone. I still do, but that can just stay between us. Right?" Kurt asked, suddenly worried. He didn't know Jeff well and had no idea if he was going to run off to Blaine and tell him everything he'd said.
"Oh yeah, between us. Solidarity between subs. Why didn't you want a Soulmate? And what does it have to do with being a sub?" Jeff asked, his face openly curious.
"I always thought I was going to be a Dom. I've always done things my way, got other people to do things my way. I guess I was really, really wrong. After I realized I was a sub, I knew my life would be stuck doing what someone else told me to do. I didn't want that, so I figured if I didn't touch anyone, I wouldn't find my Soulmate," Kurt said with a shrug. "I wore gloves for the longest time."
Jeff looked truly bewildered. "I guess I don't understand. Why would being a sub mean you have to do what someone tells you to do?"
Kurt returned his look. "Um. Do you know what a sub is?"
"Do you?" Jeff asked.
"Okay, one of us has our wires crossed here. Look, I know that Doms are supposed to dominate the submissives, boss them around, tell them what to do, et cetera. Blaine started in with it the very day we discovered our bond. Telling me I should be grateful that he's going to make all of my important life decisions for me. It's asinine. I am not weak simply because I'm a sub. Unless you ask Blaine," Kurt said bitterly. "I mean the rules alone are for the birds!"
"Doms are not supposed to dominate and boss around subs. They love, protect, and guide but only when their Soulmate asks to be guided," Jeff clarified.
"So you're telling me Nick doesn't tell you what to do? No rules and punishments? Or chastisements, as Blaine likes to sugarcoat it," Kurt said. "A nice little notebook full of rules and consequences that Blaine wrote."
"Punishments?" Jeff asked and then stopped. His eyes clouded over and he looked like he was thinking very hard. "I guess every relationship is different. So, that blue and black sweater, did you say that was an Alexander McQueen?" Jeff said dismissively.
Kurt looked at him for a moment before shrugging. The other boy must not want to finish the conversation. He pulled out the sweater he'd asked about and showed it to him. "Yes, it's a McQueen. Don't you love it? I got the most fabulous deal on it."
. . . . . . . .
That night, Jeff couldn't get his and Kurt's conversation out of his mind.
"What is it, love?" Nick asked, as always he was able to tell when his Soulmate was troubled. That and he could feel through their open Marks that Jeff was upset.
"I'm worried about Kurt, Nicky," Jeff said, crawling into bed.
Nick got in beside him and tucked their comforter around his sub. "What has you worried?"
Jeff sighed. "I don't know if I can say. I don't want to talk bad about someone's Soulmate and I'm afraid it would come off like that."
Nick pulled Jeff into his arms. "You are here, in our room, in my arms. You're safe and can say anything you want without fear. If you are worried for someone and need to share, then do so, regardless of whether it's talking bad about someone," he said.
"Kurt and I shared how we met our Soulmates and he was saying he didn't want a Soulmate because it meant he had a Dom. He even wore gloves so he didn't have to touch anyone. He went on to talk about how he hated being told what to do by a Dom and even some book where Blaine wrote rules and punishments. He asked me if you gave me rules and consequences and I froze. I didn't know what to say because I didn't want to say something bad about Blaine. I just changed the subject and said that all couples were different. I'm worried, Nick. I mean, you know what Blaine knows, you are in all his classes. Is what he is doing right?" Jeff asked, worry making him frown.
"Baby, please try not to worry. We'll figure out a way to help them both. And yeah, I'm in those classes, too. I don't know if we hear things so completely different from one another or what Blaine's issue is," Nick said. He pushed Jeff's blonde hair off his forehead. Kissing him softly, he sighed. "What is Blaine doing to him?" he whispered, his expression troubled.
. . . . . . . . .
Sorry for the super short chapter. I thought I had more for this chapter, but nope! I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Me thinks Blaine is in for a world of hurt.