The Storm: Safe Harbor
Chapter Sixty-Eight
By Gayforkurt
Summary: Kurt and Dave have come to terms with the past but can they battle the envy and jealousy of others to make a future for themselves? This is rated M.
A/N: I'm still figuring out how pushy Cooper should get. Drop me a line, guys, and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: Messrs. Ryan, Falchuk, et al are the owners of my favourite boys. Only the OCs and situations belong to me, alas.
The following days followed hard on each other and, before Kurt knew it, it was opening night. Well, it was the evening of their opening night and he was sitting in his dressing room, trying to get into that space in his head that allowed him to become another vastly different personality.
He opened his eyes and smiled when his glance fell on the beautiful floral arrangement David had had delivered to him. The roses, lilies and orchids were all soft white with a delicate blush pink reminiscent of Kurt's skin and the first time he'd seen them he had, indeed, blushed. No one could doubt that they were sent by a lover and their beauty drew the eye of anyone who entered his dressing room.
Now he sighed as the door opened and his assistant came in with the newly-cleaned robes he would soon step into. In a little while he would have to start doing his makeup and then Angie would do his hair, adding the glitter and tiny leaves and berries that were part of Oberon, the King of the Fairies' look. The glitter he added to his own skin was a special kind that didn't itch when he was sweating under all the lights of the stage.
He hummed one of the arias he would be doing just to keep his chords flexible and sipped the room-temperature chamomile and honey tea. Sometimes he used pineapple juice which also keeps his vocal chords nice and lubricated but he felt for tea this evening.
The door opened again and Rex stepped in, probably doing his usual rounds where he would stop in and check with his principals to see if they had all that they needed. Kurt was happy it wasn't Cooper; the man had taken to leering at Kurt every time he got the opportunity.
Kurt smiled up at Rex, noting that the man was, indeed, looking a little more fatigued and gestured for him to sit.
"Rex, hi, do you want anything to drink?" He made to get up to fetch whatever it was and when Rex asked for water he quickly retrieved a bottle from the tiny refrigerator and handed it to him.
Rex quickly unscrewed the cap and took a quick draught of the cool liquid, a little sigh escaping him as he set the bottle on his knee. He looked at Kurt with a rueful little smile and then shrugged at the concern he could see in the countertenor's eyes.
"Oh, I'm alright," he waved a hand at Kurt, indicating he could return to his seat at the dresser and stop hovering. "I've just been feeling my age these days; Cooper being here unwittingly makes it worse, actually."
Kurt frowned as he looked at the best Artistic Director in the business and turned to his assistant who was still fiddling with his things and trying to be surreptitious about her eavesdropping.
"Uhm, Angie, you can leave that for now. Maybe check back with me in ten? Thanks." He waited for the girl to leave with a nod of her head and a flick of the eyes at Rex.
Finally he looked at Rex and smiled softly. "Why is Cooper being here making things worse, Rex? Isn't he supposed to pick up the slack?"
Rex gave him a sarcastic eyebrow tilt before shaking his head, taking another sip of his water before replying. "You would think so, right? Well, Mr. Cooper Anderson is a real pain in the neck, let me tell you."
Kurt snorted indelicately but nodded in agreement. "Yeah, tell me about it!"
Rex shook his head, saying: "The cocky bastard simply rubs everyone the wrong way. Funnily enough, he's not an idiot and he has a really sharp mind. The thing is…" and here he paused as his eyebrows knotted together. "The thing is I think he has his own agenda, you know what I mean?"
Kurt stared at Rex, an unusually somber expression on his fair face. He wondered if he should mention his own issues with Cooper and then made up his mind.
"Did you know I'd met him before he turned up here?" He watched as Rex shook his head. "Yeah, well I knew his younger brother, Blaine, when I was at Juilliard and he's a sweet guy. They're from old money and when Blaine would invite me to their house in the Hamptons over holiday breaks, I would see Cooper there."
Rex's grizzled eyebrows lifted and he sneered. "The Hamptons, huh? I should have guessed. Half the Board of Governors must have known him when he was diapers, then."
He let out a puff of air, drank the last of the water and thanked Kurt when he took the bottle from him, disposing of it in the little bin by his dressing table. He stared at Kurt now as he mused out loud.
"What I don't get is what he would want with a lowly assistant AD job? A guy with his contacts could probably rustle up something a lot more prestigious than trailing after me."
Kurt's eyebrows lowered as he bit his lip. He turned to his tea, took a sip and then looked at Rex with a little sneer to his full lips.
"Oh, I think I have an idea why being your assistant isn't irking him." He waited for Rex's curiosity to get the better of him and he smiled as he leaned toward the older man. "Cooper Anderson is used to getting whatever he goes after, you see."
He leaned back and waited to see if Rex would figure it out or if he would have to spell it out for him.
Rex simply shook his head, still at a loss and Kurt sighed. "For some reason, Cooper is dead set on my 'going out' with him. So far, he's only asked for lunch and a sight-seeing tour of the 'old town' but I have a nasty feeling he's angling for more." His eyes were getting a little stormy as he took another sip of the lukewarm tea.
Rex's eyes widened and he sputtered a bit before blurting: "But… you're engaged! Why- what does he think is going to happen?"
Kurt placed his cup on his dressing table and gave Rex his full attention. "Well, I have a theory. I think he's the type that will always want what someone else has… It's as simple as that."
Rex stared at him and then sagged back into the couch. He didn't doubt Kurt one bit; Cooper came across as being somewhat predatory and his charm couldn't hide it. At least it was obvious to Rex who had been around the block several times and could size up a person very quickly. The first time he'd met Kurt it was after Rex had seen him performing at some Juilliard-supported gala or other and he'd been very impressed.
At that time, Kurt had not been the elegant, sophisticated and worldly-wise young man that was sitting before him now. No, he was still one of those bright, unbelievably optimistic people who believed his big break was just around the corner. He had been right, of course, because Rex had watched him stun the audience of music lovers with his performance of one of Vivaldi's gorgeous arias. If Rex had thought he was a one-trick pony, Kurt had returned to the stage to give one of the best renditions of 'As If We Never Said Goodbye' from Broadway's Sunset Boulevard.
He knew that he would find some way to hire the slim, pale-faced young man with the bright pink cheeks and he did. Kurt had been inundated with offers and Rex never found out why the singer had chosen him. Surely he'd had more lucrative offers but he wasn't going to question his good fortune at the time and over the years he'd never asked Kurt.
In a few months, Kurt would leave him for good, though, to settle into the no doubt exciting life of being the husband of a billionaire. Rex would miss him but could only wish him the best because, for nearly ten years, Kurt had given him more than 100 per cent of himself in all his performances.
Now he watched Kurt prepare himself to put on his stage makeup and he heaved himself to his feet. "Well, I better go and do my rounds. If I didn't, everyone would be wondering if the old man was finally losing it, eh?"
Kurt chuckled and shook his head at him as he used a cotton ball soaked with witch hazel to clean his face. "Thanks for stopping by, Rex. I wouldn't let Cooper get to me, if I were you. Simply ignore him, okay?"
Rex paused at the open door and looked back to smile at his favourite countertenor. "I would say the same to you but he's a wolf and you're my lambkin. Just be careful, please, Kurt."
Kurt's mouth dropped open slightly at the look of concern in the AD's tired dark eyes. He smiled, however, and nodded. "Will do," he said jauntily and fluttered his fingers at the man.
Rex nodded once and then slipped out, closing the door firmly behind him.
Kurt heard voices outside and ignored them but then suddenly they were raised and he paused in his task. He tilted his head to the side, trying to hear what was going on and then when it quieted down he resumed cleaning his face. He hummed a few bars of his opening aria and proceeded to get himself settled into Oberon's mindset.
As he worked, there came a quiet knock and the door opened before he could call out. His assistant slipped back inside and shot him a sneaky look before grinning. Kurt was immediately curious and looked at her with an eyebrow raised in inquiry. "What?"
Angie looked over her shoulder at the door as if she were expecting someone to come barging in and then leaned forward to say quietly, "There was almost a scuffle outside a minute a go, y'know!"
Kurt looked at her wide eyes and remembered that she was a huge gossip. He nodded for her to continue and she did, happily. "The new chap, Cooper, was just about to come in when Mr. Rex came out."
Kurt waited for her to continue and just as he was about to huff impatiently she blurted: "Mr. Rex looked a little annoyed and told Cooper that he wasn't needed in here and that, in fact, he needed to see him in his office."
"Go on," Kurt said as he turned back to put on his moisturizer before he started the makeup. "What did Cooper say to that?"
Angie started laying out the rest of Kurt's costume but her voice was excited as she related how Cooper had puffed up and said in his snooty way, "Can't it wait a minute? I just need to see Kurt."
She turned to look at Kurt, an avid gleam in her eye as she stared at the back of his head, unaware that Kurt was watching her surreptitiously in the mirror.
"Mr. Rex told him, right there in front of everyone, he did, that he needed to start pulling his weight more. Cooper turned red at that, he did, because we'd all sort of stopped to listen. Anyway, Mr. Rex didn't wait for him to say anything; he just turned and walked towards his office and Cooper couldn't do anything but follow."
Kurt shrugged now and lifted his cup of tea, saying to her with a smile. "Could you give this about five seconds, please?" He waited for her to move off to the microwave on top of his mini refrigerator before rising from the dresser. He thanked her as she brought it back and then asked, in a light, friendly voice: "Do you like Cooper, Angie? After all, he is sort of attractive."
Angie, about to turn back to the rack of costumes, turned with her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. "Mr. Kurt, I think he's really hot. I mean, he's nice, too, for someone like him."
Kurt lifted his head and frowned slightly before asking: "What do you mean 'someone like him'?"
Angie, suddenly realizing she might have been overstepping some boundary she wasn't even certain of, turned back to Kurt and smiled tentatively. "I only meant someone rich and posh; he doesn't act all snobbish like, as if he's too good to pass a word or two with us lesser sort, y'know."
Kurt went, "Ah, I see; he's pretty friendly with everyone, right?"
Angie, not as innocent as she'd like Kurt to believe, looked away for a second and then back at him. She bit her lip as if she were thinking what more to reveal and then went for it. "I think he'd be up for a bit of … uh, action, is all. If I looked like that I wouldn't settle for any one thing, at all."
Kurt burst out laughing and when she smiled back at him he shook his head. "Angie, you always seemed so quiet; no one would guess you thought about things like that."
Feeling on firmer ground with her rather temperamental boss, she glanced at the beautiful floral arrangement and then looked at Kurt, a sly expression creeping into her eyes. "What I mean is, even if I were engaged, I wouldn't turn down something that's being given away free."
Kurt, about to slip into Oberon's flesh-toned tights, looked up from what he was doing, his eyes wide. "What? Angie, do you know what you are saying?"
She flounced over to the rack to take down the first of the robes he would don before putting on the more elaborate over-robe. "Of course, I know what I'm saying! I mightn't be all posh like you ones but I know how the world runs."
Kurt returned slowly to his task, easing the tights up his long legs and smoothing them properly before stepping into the moss-green boots. "Well, I don't hold with that nonsense, really. I never did."
Angie spun around to him, a slightly mutinous look on her angular face. For the first time Kurt wondered if this girl who so often saw him in all states of undress even liked him. He straightened up and held his arms out for her to slip the robe on and he stared closely at her face.
"Angie, is everything alright?" He didn't often speak about intimate things with her; she was employed by the company as a dresser and she'd been with him for nearly a year now. He realized he didn't know much about her and this was one of the few times he'd spoken about something other than work with her.
"Of course, I'm alright! I just don't see what all the fuss is about being all faithful and everything. Me and mine were together for years and he was seeing some bint behind my back; never suspected a thing until he says she's pregnant." She huffed angrily as she tied the robe firmly and then smoothed her hands down the material to settle it properly into place.
"Oh, Angie, I'm_, gosh, that really sucks!" He felt angry on her behalf but he still didn't agree about fooling around.
She smirked angrily and looked at him, taking in the beautiful skin, the large eyes with their unusual colouring and she shook her head. "You wouldn't understand, Mr. Kurt; you are the type who gets everything, don't you."
Kurt stared down at her, a sad look lurking in his eyes and he shook his head slowly. "No, Angie, I don't get everything but I have been lucky recently, I have to admit." His eyes flicked to the flowers, gleaming softly in their pristine beauty and a little smile pulled at his pink lips. "I couldn't jinx that luck by doing something stupid, now could I?"
She relaxed slightly, stared at him for a second or two and then nodded slowly. "No, you're smarter than that, you are." She stepped back and took up a soft towel and turned as he reseated himself at the dressing table and placed the towel over the robe and around his shoulders.
He smiled his thanks at her and then went on to complete his makeup, the glitter coming last, hence the towel. Her words percolated in his brain even as he hummed some of the music he'd been practicing the whole evening. She did his hair quickly, professionally, adding the extra bits with a little flourish and he thanked her softly.
After they finished up, he moved to sit on his couch, closing his eyes to continue his centering. The sounds of Angie moving around and clearing up the room didn't disturb him; he was too accustomed to it. She finally slipped out, knowing better than to call to him and he was grateful for the return to routine. He would stay like that hopefully until someone came to let him know his cue was coming up.
When his door opened quietly, Kurt thought Angie was returning, having forgotten something. The soft footsteps didn't alarm him, of course, because he was in his own dressing room. It was only when the couch dipped beside him that his eyes flew open. Angie wouldn't sit down beside him uninvited!
The moment he gasped, lips were on his, moving with determination and a tongue slid against his insistently. Kurt tensed and with his eyes wide, tried to wrench his lips away. He was held immobile by the heavier body and he groaned as his legs were shoved apart.
With one desperate shove Kurt wrenched his lips away and smacked his hand flat against the heaving chest opposite his.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" He stared up at the grinning face and felt like slapping him. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, y'know!"
"God, you're so dramatic! Can't I kiss my fiancé without almost getting kneed in the groin?" Dave smirked down at his love's outraged face, watching as he tried to right his costume with annoyed little twitches.
Kurt pouted at him and then, as he stared at David's unrepentant grin, he started to smile. "Now, I'm going to have to do my hair again. But… as it's already messed up – come here," and he grabbed the lapels of David's coat and dragged him back down onto him.
Dave smiled into the kiss, one large hand sliding beneath the waist of the robe onto smooth, warm skin. He groaned as Kurt sucked on his tongue, his hips pushing up into Dave's and one long, tights-clad leg coming up to wrap around him. Making out on the dressing room couch was probably undignified and very uncomfortable but he couldn't even begin to care.
Kurt hummed into David's mouth and gasped when his lover's large hand slid down to one taut cheek and squeezed it. "Mmmm, David, missed you… so much," he panted as he felt his body heat up.
Dave shrugged clumsily out of the black, ankle-length light wool coal and tossed it to the floor before settling himself back onto his lover's lithe body. He couldn't get enough of the way Kurt felt, writhing beneath him and those sexy, breathy little sounds he always made in the back of his throat.
"Oh, Kurt, baby… I missed you, too," Dave muttered as his lips wandered from the luscious mouth to wander down to the long, smooth neck that Kurt bared for him. "God, I could fuck you right here," he groaned and shuddered when Kurt gasped and tightened his leg around him.
Whatever Kurt would have said was lost as the dressing room door was flung open and quick footsteps stopped abruptly. The gasp from both Kurt and the intruder caused Dave to finally ease away from Kurt and turn to look over his shoulder.
The man standing there staring at them wide-eyed, a strange look in his eyes, was the last person David had expected to see striding unannounced into Kurt's dressing room.
Dave lunged to his feet, uncaring of the bulge straining the front of his dress trousers and looked down at Kurt before looking back into blazing light blue eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He growled, his shoulders hunching and when Kurt came to stand beside him he glanced down at his frowning lover. "Kurt?"
Cooper stared at the two men he'd just interrupted in the middle of what looked like a heavy make out session. "I work here; what are you doing here?"
Kurt stepped between them and glared at him, one hand tugging at the waist of his disheveled robes. "What do you want, Cooper? Weren't you just in a meeting with Rex?"
Cooper smiled into Kurt's eyes, his own glittering with anger and recklessness and ignored the singer's fuming fiancé. "I just came to tell you you're on in ten. I didn't know I'd be interrupting… something."
Kurt felt David move closer behind him but he continued to glare at Cooper, his nose tilting up and he said coldly but politely. "Thank you."
Cooper looked at the unyielding expression on his face and then up at Karofsky who was still boring holes into him with his eyes. Those twin expressions of antipathy decided him on his next move.
With a smirk he leaned forward quickly and dropped a light kiss on Kurt's swollen lips before stepping back just as quickly. "Break a leg, sweetheart. See you later…" and with a wink he slipped back out the door before either man could react.
Kurt spun around and slammed one restraining hand against David's heaving chest. Kurt had never seen his lover so furious before and his heart clenched in fear. David must have seen the frightened look in the big blue eyes because he stepped back and dropped his head, letting out a huge sigh.
"David, please, it's not what he wants you to think!" Kurt's voice was high and tight with fear the that David wouldn't believe him. "Oh, sweetie, please – say something…"
Dave looked at Kurt, seeing the sincerity mixed with love and anxiety and his shoulders slumped. "Just-just – why didn't you tell me… he was here with you?"
Kurt couldn't stand the look in David's beautiful eyes. Tears started to come to his and he stepped forward, sliding his arms around David's waist.
"Sweetheart, he's not here with me… he's Rex's assistant. I didn't even know he was here until I arrived."
He laid his head against David's chest and waited; he only relaxed when he felt the strong arms go around him and his chin resting against his hair.
"That idiot means nothing to me, David; if you don't believe me, ask Xavier and Julian, even Monica!"
Dave eased back to stare down into Kurt's now-frantic face and he hurried to calm him down. "Shhh, baby, I believe you…"
"Oh, God, David, I'd never want anyone but you… He knows that and has been trying to get under my skin ever since we got here." Kurt sniffled and suddenly realized he'd have to do both his hair and makeup again.
"Shit!" He pulled away from David and dashed to the dressing table, sinking onto the stool and quickly grabbing cotton balls and swabs and all sorts of stuff Dave couldn't begin to name. His hands flew as he muttered curse words that Dave hadn't even known he knew.
Dave sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He'd told Xavier and Julian he was coming to surprise Kurt on opening night, having got Puck and Devon to fly him to Milan from Mumbai. They were all outside waiting for them to come out and he couldn't understand how Anderson had sneaked by them.
He watched now as his beautiful fiancé repaired the ravages of their lovemaking and couldn't help but smile. Kurt was not the type to sneak behind anyone's back and he needed to let him know that this wasn't about trust. It was just that Cooper Anderson raised all his hackles; he'd hated the man on sight back in New York and now it was worse.
Kurt finished with less than a minute to spare before there was a knock on the door. If he hadn't been so caught up with this little reunion with his sexy lover, he would have heard the orchestra playing.
Now he was flustered and anxious but as he stood, David gathered him into his arms again, staring down into his face with a serious expression. "David?"
"Kurt, I love you and I trust you. This isn't about not trusting you, okay?" He waited for the singer to nod slowly. "It's Anderson I don't trust. You understand that right?"
Kurt's beautiful smile glowed up at him and they both relaxed. Kurt pressed a soft kiss on David's lips and stepped back. "Did I thank you for the beautiful flowers?"
The knock came again before Dave could answer and he walked with Kurt to the door, opening it for him and following him out. He smiled at the singer who was looking up at him, waiting for his response.
He slid his arm about his waist and walked with him to the wings. He whispered into Kurt's ear now, a seductive little growl in his voice. "Later… you can thank me properly later," and grinned at the little catch in Kurt's breathing. Oh yes, he knew how to push Kurt's buttons and though it wasn't fair to do it to him right now, he needed to distract him from the little drama back in the dressing room.
Kurt smiled up at David, his love for him glowing all over his face before he remembered where he was and what he was about to do. He nodded and turned swiftly to face the stage, slipping effortlessly into Oberon's persona. Even his walk was different as he glided forward and Dave could hear the audience's reaction to the sight of the beautiful fairy king.
When Kurt stepped onto the otherworldly set and sang the first lines of "Welcome, wanderer…", Dave knew he was okay. He hurried back to the agents waiting for him and pulled Puck aside.
"Why didn't anyone stop that guy from coming in when I was inside with Kurt?" His whisper was somewhat harsh because he was still a little angry.
Puck raised both eyebrows at him, puzzled and shrugged. "Why would I stop him? He's apparently one of the managers here or something. What happened?"
Dave eased back and realized he was being a little unfair. Anderson was doing his job, after all; even though he was an asshole, short of Kurt quitting the company right now there was no way he could avoid the man.
Dave knew he would have to be careful, too, that he didn't treat the touchy singer as if he couldn't handle the situation. He looked at Puck ruefully and shook his head, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, it's nothing. Kurt and I were, uh, well…" he halted as Puck raised his hands, a smirk coming across the tanned face.
"Ho-kay, no need to elaborate, man. I know what you guys are like, remember?" He laughed as he saw faint colour come into Dave's face. "It's natural; I'm just sorry you were interrupted."
Dave chuckled and then reminded him, "I need to get out front and find my seat. I really wanted to see Kurt in this."
Puck nodded and watched him hurry away, remembering that he had been ill when Kurt first opened this opera back in London last September. He knew that over the years since he'd become enamoured with the singer, Dave had tried never to miss an opening night.
He chuckled to himself, musing how much love enslaved us to the beloved, his eyes landing on Devon who was chatting quietly with Julian and Xavier. The shackles were soft and sweet, though, and he wouldn't trade them for indifference. Devon made him feel things he hadn't even known he was capable of feeling and a much more cynical man would have said they made him weak. He didn't agree with that belief.
He walked up to the other men, sliding his arm around Dev's waist and listening as he told the others about the sights they'd seen in Mumbai. No, he wouldn't trade these ties for anything, he vowed. As long as this man continued to look at him as if no one else mattered, he was fine.
The four men found seats and waited outside of Kurt's dressing room. They had no idea how long this performance would be but they were technically Kurt's team. They would safeguard the man their boss loved and nothing would get past them.
Rex and Cooper stood in the wings on the other side of the stage; the older man's expert eye was trained on the people bringing the surreal woods outside of ancient Athens alive. Cooper, though, was staring at one person, one man who glowed and glittered and whose voice tugged at his libido in a way he'd never expected.
Kurt Hummel thought he was safe from him. Cooper knew better, because Kurt wouldn't see it coming. The singer was too young, too naïve, too straightforward to know that not everything came at you head on. Oh, he didn't plan to hurt him… much. What Cooper wanted was to taste, to consume what it was that made Kurt special and addictive. His pulse hammered in his throat as he watched the way the stage lights loved the countertenor, giving the audience faint, tantalizing glimpses of his body through the beautiful robes.
He wanted Kurt and he knew he would get him. He just needed time – and he needed to find a way to separate him from his blasted shadows. As he stood there plotting in his mind, he murmured vague responses to Rex's sporadic comments. Oh, he didn't give a damn about how to improve the show; no, he wanted one thing now and his eyes glinted in the half light of the wings.
He wanted Kurt Hummel… and he knew he would get him.
.
TBC