AN: Hello readers! I cannot believe how many of you already found this story! I've been blown away every time I open my email and see the favorites and story alerts. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You will never know how much it means to me! Anyway, this chapter is super long, so enjoy! :) Also, the Klaine skit tonight? ADORABLE. Perfect OTP is perfect.
Chapter 2
Blaine woke up first the next morning, squinting from the sunrise that came in their tiny window. He found Kurt curled into his chest, still deep into sleep. Glancing at the clock, he realized they still had fifteen minutes to sleep, so he decided not to wake Kurt just yet.
Blaine felt the ache in his hips and shoulders of the movement from moving in; it scared him because even though he was only 19, he realized he was getting old. He wanted so much for himself and for the man sleeping in his arms. He wanted to give him the world and everything that came with it, but instead they got a third floor walk up with no air conditioning or carpet.
Kurt was so perfect that Blaine couldn't even believe that he'd gotten someone like him. His hair stuck up in some places, his mouth was slightly open, and sometime in the middle of the hot August night he shed his pajamas, which were pooled on the floor. Blaine loved Kurt more than he could ever articulate, which scared him from time to time. Nevertheless, it also gave him the drive to move ahead and make a better life for them.
Kurt's phone started playing "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and he poked his head up. "G'morning," he husked out, grinning up at Blaine before letting his head fall back onto Blaine's chest.
Blaine ruffled Kurt's hair, "Good morning, sleepy head! Ready for your first day of work?"
Kurt sat up and glared at Blaine, "When did you become a morning person?"
Blaine shrugged, hopping off the couch, "When I realized that having more coordination in the morning would be the only thing allowing me to get the hot water in the shower." Blaine took off down the hall, sprinting the short distance and closing the bathroom door.
Kurt bound behind him, almost getting hit in the face by the door. "Blaine Alexander Anderson, you will let me shower first. I cannot take a cold shower!"
Blaine pretended to not hear his boyfriend as he readied the shower, then popped his head out, "Well…you could always join me."
Kurt all but growled at him, "You are lucky, sir, or you would be sleeping on the couch again tonight."
After a (not so) quick shower, Kurt and Blaine stood in front of their empty closet. "We forgot to get clothes," Blaine murmured.
"Thanks, I hadn't noticed," Kurt retorted, rubbing his temples, "not like I have anything to wear. I've got four months with just window shopping."
"Blasphemy, didn't you buy new clothes just for our trip here two months ago when we first looked at apartments?"
"Well, it felt like four months," Kurt stuck his tongue out at Blaine, "and just for that, I nominate you to go out to the car and get the boxes of clothing."
"But I didn't even do anything!" Blaine whined as he threw his dirty clothes on and returned minutes later with the boxes. "I don't deserve this!"
"Get dressed. We're going to be late," Kurt sized up a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of plaid shorts, throwing the former at Blaine. "Wear this and that yellow v-neck."
"It's hot," Blaine whined again, but dressed in Kurt's choices.
Kurt dressed quickly in his best clothes, ready to take on his orientation at work. "Okay, so I have orientation from 9 to 12, and then your grandmother wants me to take her shopping and she's treating me to lunch, then I guess I'll come home and make us dinner. Sound good?"
Blaine attempted to tame his hair, "Sure. I have orientation 10-3 and then my grandfather wants me to help him fix a leaky pipe or something, and then I'll be home. Need me to pick anything up?" Blaine grinned at his boyfriend through the mirror, "And do I pass?"
Kurt smoothed more of Blaine's hair, "You'll do, and I don't think so. Can you just text me when you leave SoHo?"
"Of course. Coffee before we venture into our first jobs as adults?" Blaine grinned, a little sway in his walk as he led Kurt out the front of the apartment.
"You do realize we were adults the day we turned 18, correct?" Kurt tried to hide the joy he felt because this is really what it meant to make dreams come true.
Blaine locked all five locks on their door, "Yes, but this is official. Like, we can't run home to daddy and mommy to fix everything."
One of the perks of living in New York, Kurt decided, was having a Starbucks literally on every corner. One of the downfalls of going to Starbucks, Blaine decided, was having a $10 coffee bill every morning.
The two boys walked towards the Subway, coffee in one hand, the other hand clasped between them. "You realize we just charged coffee?"
Kurt nodded, "I do."
"That's pretty low," Blaine's face scrunched up, "I mean…we didn't even debit it. We charged it."
"Our children will pay our coffee debt," Kurt kidded, but when he saw Blaine's face immediately dropped the act, "Come on. It's our first day here. By the time we get our first paycheck we'll have enough money to not charge it."
The boys discarded their coffee and boarded the Subway train. Kurt sat immediately, but Blaine grabbed the handrail and stayed standing. "I know. It's just…I'm not used to having money we can't play around with. You need to shop, that's who you are. I need to have money to feel comfortable, that's who I am."
"While this isn't a discussion I wish to have in such a public place," Kurt glanced towards an elderly man who was listening intently to the conversation, "We really just have to play by ear for now. We'll be fine."
Blaine thought they'd discussed it enough, so he nodded and clutched the bar tighter as the subway bounced around on the track.
Blaine walked Kurt to Fifth Avenue before walking to work himself. He was nervous, anxious, but excited. Today marked the first day of his life, and he was going to make the best of it.
Kurt
Kurt's heart pounded in his chest as he walked into the small boutique. His shoes clicked on the floor as he looked around the store. Not much had changed since the interview a few weeks before. There was still a singular register, clothes hanging from racks and displays, and a rather large shoe area towards the back of the store. The boutique itself wasn't what Kurt was into, stylistically. It was full of bohemian clothing with a lot of hemp and beading. But every piece was handmade, and Kurt hoped even if he couldn't get on the Broadway stage, he could possibly design some pieces in the near future.
The woman who stood at the register looked up when she heard him, "Kurt!" She came around the front of the register and kissed him twice, "Welcome, welcome! How was moving in?"
"Hayden! You look great!" Kurt returned the kisses, "It was a lot of work, but I made Blaine do most of it."
Hayden was a modern day hippie. She had long blonde hair and huge green eyes. Today she wore a peasant skirt with handmade hemp wedges and a tank top. She piled bangles on her arm all the way up to her elbow.
"What's going on with this situation?" She motioned to Kurt's outfit.
"Is something not right?" Kurt looked down and thought he looked quite good for working on Fifth Avenue.
"Honey, this place is laid back. I don't need button ups and dress pants. When you interviewed you wore skinny black jeans and a t-shirt, that's what I'm looking for. Be yourself, not who you think I want you to be. Do not underestimate yourself. Human beings have unlimited potentials." Hayden smiled sweetly at Kurt.
Though embarrassed, Kurt warmed instantly. Never in life had he truly been told to just be himself and it would be okay. Sure, in glee club he was himself, but he forged his own path to do so. Perhaps New York City really was the place he'd longed for all those years. "So I can wear whatever I want?"
She nodded, back to beading a necklace, "Just don't, you know, show up in a ballgown or something. Or naked," she glanced at Kurt, "Or maybe you can show up naked. Up the eye candy around here."
"I don't think my boyfriend would approve," Kurt said delicately. They hadn't discussed Kurt's sexuality, but he thought she knew.
She rolled her eyes, "I was kidding. Besides, totally against the law. We tried it last year and almost got sued."
"You made an employee work naked?"
She shrugged, jumping up from the beading and grabbing a sketch pad, "No, he offered. And he wasn't naked. He had a sandwich board…and a sock."
"Oh…" Kurt felt out of place and didn't know what to say.
Hayden looked around, "Well shit. I guess I should give you something to do, huh? I'll train you on register later. I don't really feel like doing it today. Want to dress some mannequins?"
Kurt looked at the mannequins scattered all over the small space, "Er. Which ones?"
Hayden was now mixing paint in the back corner, "Whichever. The nude ones first preferably. There's clothes in the back room through the bead curtain."
Kurt wandered into the back of the store and saw the biggest collection of clothing he'd ever seen. There were piles of jeans, shirts, skirts, dresses, and shoes. Through a small doorframe were bins of accessories. "Do you make all of this?"
Hayden scrambled into the room to grab a hammer, "What? Oh yeah. I make it all. Sometimes employees help me. But since you're the only one right now…not at the moment. But I'll probably train you to do that eventually."
"I studied fashion design for a year in college," Kurt commented absentmindedly as he dug through a bin of necklaces.
"Really? Good. I need someone who knows what the they're doing." Hayden pulled at the beads in the doorway, "I think we need curtains instead of beads," with that, she skipped out of the room.
Kurt knew he was in for an interesting ride with this one, but she paid well and he loved the environment.
Three hours passed quickly and Kurt only got to dress four mannequins but he helped a woman pick out a particularly gorgeous pair of blue gem shoes for her wedding and a young girl find a hemp diaper bag. Overall, he had an amazing first day.
When 12 hit, a sleek town car pulled up outside of the boutique and out stepped Angela in her best pink Chanel suit and pearls.
"Mrs. Anderson, you look absolutely perfect as usual," Kurt commented.
The older woman slipped her arm into Kurt's, "Call me Angela, dear. I do believe we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I need a new shopping companion."
Kurt flushed, "Oh? I hope I'm not taking someone's job."
"No, she died." Angela said as she led Kurt down the street.
Kurt almost tripped, "Oh, I'm so sorry…"
The woman laughed, "I'm kidding, of course. She moved to Florida to live with her boyfriend in a condo."
Relieved, Kurt laughed, "Oh. Well then. I'm glad to be of service. Where are we headed?"
"Nowhere in particular. I thought it would be nice to stretch my legs. We can shop for you?"
Kurt paused, he didn't want to reveal just how much he'd love to shop, but also just how much he couldn't afford it. "Well, perhaps I could window shop. Blaine and I are trying to save money."
"Ah, well. Window shopping it is then. You know, I can't get Jack out of the house to shop, so I rarely see the men's section." The woman led him towards Saks, glancing in the window of Tiffany's, "Do remind me I need to pick up some cuff links for Jack. He needs new ones in the worst way."
Taking Kurt into a store was like torture for him, though he didn't want to reveal that to Angela, so he played along. As soon as Angela walked into the store, a man followed closely behind her, holding the clothes she picked out, "I must buy some things for Jack, I suppose. He'll need some trousers."
Kurt poked through the clothing and saw things that he would kill to own. A funky button-down that would fit in perfectly at the boutique, he decided that maybe one shirt wouldn't be too bad of a purchase. He flipped over the price tag and saw $350. Kurt grimaced and walked away from the terrible shirt, that was a week and half rent after all.
Angela gazed at Kurt over a table, "Don't you like the clothes here, Kurt?"
Kurt, startled, made eye contact with the salesperson helping them, "No, no. Of course not. But I thought we were just window shopping?" He could practically see the salesperson seethe inside.
Angela turned to the man, "Please set up a dressing room for Mr. Hummel," turning back to the boy, "part of the fun of window shopping is trying the clothes on. Live a little."
Kurt was sure he was being punished for something, but he picked out clothes he loved and tried it on, modeling it for Angela, who sat outside the dressing room. She didn't realize it tore him apart.
After modeling a pair of $400 Dsquared jeans, Kurt was ready to have a nervous breakdown. He walked out, feeling pity for himself and the salesman who now had to refold everything. To his surprise, the salesman had everything folded. Kurt supposed that meant he knew all along that the entire trip was for naught.
Angela looked at Kurt, "Anything you're going to buy?"
He plastered his best confused face on, "I don't know. I can't decide what I like best, and I don't have $3,500 to spend on clothing right now." That was three months worth of rent.
Angela pursed her lips in what Kurt thought was disgust. "Well then, Bobby," she motioned for the salesman, "ring everything up. We'll take all of it." Kurt's heart leapt to his throat as she looked at him, "Any boy moving to New York needs a good wardrobe to live here. It's on us."
Kurt surged forward and hugged the woman, "Thank you! Thank you! Oh my god, thank you!"
She hugged him back, "Anything for the boy that makes my Blaine happy."
The town car picked them up and Angela insisted on driving Kurt back to their apartment.
The car stopped by the sidewalk and Kurt watched as the driver grabbed the bags from the trunk to follow him upstairs. "Thank you so much, Angela, you don't know how much this means to me."
The older woman leaned out the window and kissed Kurt's cheek, "Anytime, honey. Let me know when you're free and we can do lunch or tea sometime."
Kurt nodded and skipped up the steps. He knew he had to make Blaine a great dinner tonight, because they now had something to celebrate – new clothes!
Kurt immediately set to work on the spaghetti.
Blaine
After dropping Kurt off at work, Blaine had to speed walk to Ellen's Stardust Diner. He walked into work about five minutes early, but needed it to wade through the sea of people. He approached the man seating tables, "I'm here for orientation?"
The man looked Blaine up and down, "Name?"
"Blaine Anderson."
The man checked a list, "Right. Here we go. You're shadowing Gabe today." The man looks over his shoulder, "Yo! GABE?"
A boy with spiky black hair walked over, "This Blaine?" The boy smiled at Blaine, "Welcome to the Ellen's team. I'm Gabe. Been here about three years. Understudied in The Pajama Game."
Blaine shook the boy's hand, "Blaine Anderson. College dropout." The intense adrenaline rushing through Blaine's blood hit its highest point when he heard the music get louder.
A boy with longer blonde hair danced on the bar as a girl with dirty blonde hair walked on a catwalk between the tables. They sang a beautiful rendition of "Summer Loving" from Grease, playing with the hair of customers and as they flirted with each other across the room. Blaine couldn't wait to get his shot to do the same.
Gabe bounced along to the music, "The boy is Bryce, he stared in an off-Broadway production of Les Miserables, the girl is Heidi, she was ensemble casted in the Wicked tour."
"Had everyone done Broadway?" Blaine wondered aloud, feeling somewhat out of place.
"No, no, no. But those of us that do get casted usually work mornings so we have nights off." Gabe winked at the table he led Blaine to, "Morning ladies, I'm Gabe, and this here is Blaine. It's his first day so go easy on him. What can I get you?"
Blaine mentally took notes the whole morning as he followed him around. He didn't get to perform anything, but he saw just how much heart and soul each performer put into the three songs they had to sing an hour. Plus, they got to climb on furniture, an added bonus.
Heidi spied Blaine across the room and twirled over to him, knocking her hip into his, "Hey there! You the newby?"
Blaine laughed, "Yup. That's me."
Heidi whirled around to another waitress named Erykah, "Dibs. So dibs."
"Excuse me?" Blaine was about to launch into the uncomfortable discussion when she laughed.
"Duet partner, I'm sick of playing off Bryce." With that, Heidi ran to take care of another table, leaving Blaine alone with Gabe.
"Hey man, she's off limits," Gabe said under his breath as he readied a milkshake.
Blaine put his hands up, "You won't get a fight from me. I'm taken. And gay."
A look of relief flashed across Gabe's face, "Thank god."
Blaine hadn't expected that reaction, but was happy he got it. Blaine spent the rest of the day learning how to make milkshakes and trying to memorize the table system. Everything was complicated, but he thought he had it down pretty well. They sent him off early with a book of songs he could familiarize himself with, or at least pick from.
Blaine's grandfather sent a car for him, so he jumped into the shiny black car, feeling somewhat guilty. He couldn't afford this, and felt like an imposter.
He got to his grandparent's apartment building and used his key to get onto the elevator. He wished his building had an elevator. As he went up several floors, Blaine used the mirror ceiling to fix his hair and straighten his outfit.
Blaine knocked on the door and waited for his grandfather, who pulled open the door quickly, "Boy, you could just walk in," the man grabbed his grandson and pulled him into a hug. Blaine was somewhat taken aback, but hugged the older man back. Blaine could now count on one hand the number of times he'd been hugged by his grandfather.
"What do you want me to do, Grandpa?" Blaine looked around the apartment, which was in immaculate condition.
"There's a pipe in the guest bathroom that is leaky." Jack remarked, "But you don't really need to fix it if you don't want."
Blaine laughed, "That's why I'm here."
The older man nodded, "True. I'll show you the way."
Blaine was glad he offered, because Blaine had only been in the apartment a handful of times. The apartment was huge, the living room could fit Blaine and Kurt's apartment in it with some room to spare. "Do you have a t-shirt I can wear over this?" Blaine motioned to his shirt, "Sometime you wouldn't mind getting messy?"
His grandfather walked over to the dresser in the guest room and pulled out a Giants t-shirt. "Here you go."
Blaine crawled on the floor and stuck his head under the sink. His grandfather hung around and sat on the edge of the tub, watching. "Can you hand me the wrench?" Blaine figured if he was going to hover, he could at least help.
His grandfather reached into the tool box, "This one?" He held up a pliers.
"No…like the Clue game piece?" Blaine tried, shocked his grandfather didn't know which tool to pick.
"Oh!" Jack handed him the right piece and sat himself back down.
Blaine quickly tightened the pipe and tried the water. The entire event took him not even twenty minutes. "Anything else you need help with?"
His grandfather shook his head, "No, but Blaine…I wanted to talk to you. Come here."
Blaine followed his grandfather into the living room and they sat on the white couch, "Yes?"
His grandfather's face had more wrinkles than he remembered. His eyes still sparkled the same way the always had, however, and Blaine could see the strength in them. "Blaine, I know everyone thinks your grandmother and I should help you boys out."
Blaine tried to cut in, "Grandpa, I don't think…"
His grandfather raised a hand to silence him, "And I agree. We should. Blaine, I want you boys to work so you know what it feels like when you can have whatever you want. But when I saw that apartment, I almost cried for you. That isn't how I want you boys to live, paycheck to paycheck. Your grandmother and I haven't always been there for you, we know that."
Blaine nodded, remembering the three years after he came out that his grandparents only form of communication with him was the money they sent him every birthday and Christmas. "You guys did the best you knew how. I know I'm not what you wanted in a grandson."
His grandfather's eyes closed briefly, "Blaine, you are the greatest pride of my life. You are a strong, independent man of good character and ambition. Yes, it took me awhile to understand who you love, but now I can't imagine it any other way. Your grandmother is quite smitten with the boy of yours. I know I can't make up for the years we lost, but I don't want you boys to be strangers to us anymore. Our home is always open to you both." Jack reached out and grabbed Blaine's hand, "I don't have many years left in me, Blaine, and I want to spend them getting to know my grandson and the love of his life even better."
Blaine felt his eyes water, "Grandpa, you have plenty of years left."
The old man's eyes still sparkled, "Maybe enough to see great-grandchildren?"
Blaine nodded, "Definitely enough for that."
His grandfather glanced at the clock, "I guess I have to let you go back to Kurt."
Blaine nodded, "Yeah, he's making dinner. Spaghetti."
Jack stood, "Well then, I will be right back."
Blaine waited patiently while his grandfather shuffled off into the kitchen. He came back quickly with a bottle of wine in his hands, "Grandpa, you do know we are both only 19, right?"
"Only 19? Live a little, Blaine!" He handed Blaine the wine and a check, "And use that wisely."
Blaine looked at the check, "What? What is this for?" The check was for $1,000.
"That's how much it would have cost me to get a plumber out here," his grandfather remarked, shrugging. "I figured that was only fair. Don't fight me, boy."
Blaine hugged his grandfather again before he left for Kurt, feeling slightly better about the future.
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