Blaine cocked his head and looked at him, then smiled.
"Okay," he said.
"Okay? You let me go through that whole speech and all you say is 'okay'?"
"Well." Blaine looked down, his smile a little unsure. "You were very persuasive. All I want is that you know what you're getting yourself into, and you seem to have thought about it, and...well. I'm just not sure I believe what you said about me."
"That's okay. We'll get there." Kurt leaned a little over the table, wanting to make sure Blaine really heard him. "Just believe me when I say that I thought about nothing else the last week. And I want you to know that you are not some kind of project for me. I really think we can be amazing together."
"Okay," Blaine said, a little teasing, his smile genuine.
Kurt shook his head, chuckling. "I'm looking forward to that cheekiness when we are in a contract."
He took a bite from his food, which was as promised very good, and then decided to keep to small talk for a while.
"So how did you come into the scene?"
Blaine smiled. "I knew what I wanted, had known for a while, but did not really know how to get there. I was just out of college, with a major in music education. And my grandmother had just died, and she had been the type, you know - "the gay is just a phase, just wait until you find the right girl", so we never got along very well, and then she left me some money with a very strong suggestion to use it to go back to college for business or law or something. And my mom – she and I get along really well, usually, she's great, but – she was so heartbroken over the death of her mother that she said I should try to honor her will, the business, the girl, everything. So I was really pissed that night, and I was on my way home and I had the money and the mood and came across a gay BDSM club called Defiance."
He shrugged, still smiling. "Seemed like fate."
"So you joined in a spur of the moment decision? Did you ever regret it?"
"Not really. I strayed once, after two years or so. Fancied myself all seasoned, all experienced, and went to a different club, one of the rather...seedy ones? I got picked up, was in a contract before I even knew what happened. That...didn't end well."
Kurt could imagine where this had led to, but he let it go for the moment. This was no topic for today. They went back to small talk for the duration of the meal, and when Blaine, who had insisted on it, had paid the bill, Kurt asked,
"So, what do you say you come to my place on Friday night, bring a bag, and I'll give you a tour and we go over the contract together, and if you still want to, we sign. If not, that's okay, no hard feelings, and you take your bag and I call you a cab. But I very much hope you sign and stay."
...
As soon as he was home, Blaine pulled out his phone. He knew it wasn't entirely fair to the person he was about to call, but he really needed to talk about this, and Sebastian was his only friend in the lifestyle. Besides, they had agreed to stay friends, and were in fairly regular contact. It was only when Sebastian greeted him with the words,
"Blaine? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?", that Blaine realized he rarely called him to just chat.
"No. No, Seb, I'm fine, I didn't mean to worry you, I'm sorry..."
"Hey," Sebastian laughed, "I was worried for perhaps ten seconds. No harm done. So what's up?"
"I'm – I'm kind of freaking out, a little. A lot. I don't know. But I'm definitely freaking out."
"Care to elaborate?"
"I think I'm going to enter a contract."
There was silence on the other end. Only Sebastian's breathing showed that he was still there.
"Seb, I'm sorry, you know I don't mean to -"
"No. I'm sorry," Sebastian interrupted. "I appreciate that you're telling me, and you have every right to...I really want you to be happy, Blaine. Anyway, this contract – is it with Kurt?"
"You know him?"
"He came talk to me after your first scene. Don't get mad, it wasn't to invade your privacy, he only asked about things he should definitely know if you are to enter a contract."
"So you're the one who told him about Alex."
"I had to, Blaine. And I didn't tell him any particulars – hell, I don't even know the particulars! Which should tell you that I really had to tell him, because you wouldn't, or not until it was too late, and that is really something he should know."
"Maybe you're right."
"You know I'm right. So what has you freaking out? That he'll hurt you?"
"No, miraculously, that's not it. I don't think he'd hurt me, not intentionally. It's more – me. I screw up, Seb. I don't submit easily, and you know how I freaked out when we were together, over such a little thing..."
"It wasn't so little. When I told Kurt, he looked at me like I should be shot at dawn. He cares for you, Blaine. And if you screw up, you'll have him to tell you – you don't have to do it yourself. And certainly not before you have even done anything."
"I guess you're right. Thanks, Seb."
"No problem. Anyway, I should let you go, I have work to do. I love you."
"I...know. Have a good night."
When Blaine hung up, he was feeling a little guilty, but also reassured. This contract was something he really wanted, and now he started to believe he could actually have it.
...
The week went by in a flurry of preparation. Kurt cleaned and sorted the playroom – again – and he finally got rid of some of Chandler's more personal toys. He couldn't replace everything – that would amount to more money than he was willing or able to pay – but Blaine deserved some things that had never been used before, some things that were all his own. He bought a few basics, but decided to leave the rest until he knew what exactly Blaine liked. And didn't like.
Friday arrived, and Blaine rang the doorbell at exactly six pm as arranged. Kurt was only a little nervous; he was in his comfort zone again, in complete control of the situation. Of course, the final decision would be Blaine's, but ultimately, that was always the case.
There was some initial awkwardness when Blaine arrived, but that soon dissolved when Kurt started to make dinner.
"It's an exception today," he said while he cut the vegetables for the stir-fry he had planned.
"If you sign, cooking for us will be your responsibility."
Blaine blushed. "I can't cook."
"Learn," Kurt advised. "We can do take-out in the beginning, and you can work your way up. It's a usefull skill to have in any case."
"Yes, Sir."
That Sir went directly to Kurt's cock, and he had to discreetly grab the counter to avoid a moan. It wasn't that he had never been called that before – he had been a Dom for nearly ten years, of course he had -, even Blaine had called him sir before. It was the fact that he didn't have to. They weren't in a contract, and they were not in a scene – Blaine could have called him Kurt, as he had done before.
"You can still call me Kurt, you know. If you decide to sign, though, you will never call me anything but sir, at least while we're alone."
Blaine smiled. "Then maybe it's best if I get some practice, Sir."
Kurt looked at him closely, and saw that Blaine's smile was a little too smug. He smiled and shook his head.
"You know exactly what it does to me when you call me that, don't you?"
Blaine's smile grew bigger. "Maybe, Sir."
Kurt went up to him, dragged him up by his shirt collar and kissed him once, hard and claiming. God, he really hoped Blaine would sign that contract.
Then he let him go. "Alright. You help with dinner, then we can get started sooner on the fun part of today. Finish cutting the veggies, I'll start the rice. Don't think you're getting out of learning to cook, though."
They finished cooking and eating quickly, then Kurt dug out the papers he had prepared earlier in the week while Blaine cleared the table. They sat down together and Kurt started talking.
"So, basics first. I know that you have work obligations and a social life. I have no wish to interfere with that, although if we are to be boyfriends in addition to being Dominant and submissive, you'll probably take me with you some time. All I ask is that on Sundays, you give me a rough itinerary of your week and tell me if anything changes that I should know about. And your weekends are mine."
"What if the occasional work or social obligation falls on a weekend?"
"Then that's okay. Although that will probably be the events where we'd take each other as boyfriends, if we choose to do so."
"I'd like to," Blaine said, blushing. "As you said, it gets awkward to have to pretend to be single just because the relationship isn't...a typical one. Apart from that, I'd be open to a six months contract, with possibility for renewal or renegotiation after that period."
"You'd go with a six months contract right from the beginning? Alright, but I'd like to suggest a one-month trial period, also with the possibility of renegotiation."
"That sounds reasonable," Blaine said, then laughed a little. "This is kind of awkward, isn't it?"
Kurt smiled. "It is. But I guess it's difficult to negotiate a contract without a ...somewhat formal language. So, why don't you just read the contract I prepared, and then come talk about it?"
Kurt busied himself with cleaning the kitchen, but Blaine didn't take long. He stood up from the table where he had been reading after a quarter of an hour.
"So quick? So either it's very good or very bad," Kurt said, only half kidding.
"No, it's – it's a good contract. Pretty basic, but covering everything important."
"Well, we can add things after the trial period, when we know each other better."
"Okay," Blaine nodded. "I like that you wrote both of us were to get tested for STDs. But I have one concern. Well. More of a question, really."
"Go ahead."
"Before we first played, I told you my limits. You seem to remember them quite accurately, yet you didn't list complete sensory deprivation among them. I'd like to know why."
"I'll add it if you really want, but I left it out because...well. I think that it isn't something you don't like, but something that you're scared of because of what you went through. If you're willing, I'd like to work up to it. Very slowly and only when and if you trust me enough."
Blaine sighed, rubbing his neck. "It's a little scary, the way you are able to see me, you know. You're right. Complete dep is something – the thought of it used to really excite me, but now, after...what happened, it just...scares the crap out of me. So...how about we talk about it after the trial period?"
"Okay. I wanted to ask, do you want to change safewords? Use personal ones?"
"No, I'm fine with colors for the time being, if that's okay."
"Of course. Now, shall I give you the grand tour?"
Kurt's apartment was beautiful and spacious. It had a combined kitchen and living area and two bedrooms, the smaller of which Kurt slept in. The second room was quite big, almost as big as the living area. It contained a bed, a big mirror, a few chairs, various cabinets and a padded leather bench.
"That's the playroom. I know it doesn't look like one, but that's because it has a second purpose as a guest room. I have a lot of clearing out to do whenever I have overnight guests."
Blaine looked around. The walls were painted in a warm red, the furniture was dark gray. He noticed that the ornate headboard of the bed had bars and looked quite sturdy, and that the padded bench that looked like a footstool was probably a spanking bench. He assumed that the cabinets contained toys and bondage gear. He smiled.
"I like it. It's very classy. I was with a Dom once who had a similar arrangement, but his choice of décor was pastels and floral prints. He had me waiting for him and then came into the room wearing leather pants and a cap, wielding a flogger. Everything looked very much like the devil in a Laura Ashley ad. I had to laugh so hard I had to leave, and never saw him again."
"Well," Kurt smiled. "I certainly hope laughing is the last thing you'll do in here. That is, if you decide to sign." Blaine wasn't sure, but he thought the smile that had started out a little diabolically and full of innuendo, turned a little insecure at Kurt's last words. He took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.
"Kurt." One last time. "Sir. I'll sign."