Not much to say today, just that the chapter hasn't been betaed. My lovely beta is already working on it and will have it soon. But I didn't want to make you all wait!
Please go to vote on the name for the pairing if you have a chance! Poll is up on my profile.
Author's note at the end.
See you at 805 or the 23/06
IIIII
Chapter 12
Spikey Horns, Duvet Wars and Christmas
Blaine sighed contently, curling against the source of warmth. Harry was the best pillow in the world, his presence was calming and the arm around him made him feel grounded and safe. It was still a little awkward when he was awake enough to think and worry about it. However right now, on the bridge between sleep and awake, he was on top of the world.
A warm, safe, cuddly world... made of clouds, and rainbows, and puppies… and… and hot pillows that breathe and are comfy and… cream puff…
"Go to sleep Blaine" muttered Kurt snappily, closing his eyes tightly before relaxing once again. Harry chuckled as quietly as he could.
"Go back to your safe, warm, cuddly world with unicorns and stuff" he said rubbing Blaine's back until his breathing regulated.
Blaine frowned momentarily. "No unicorns…"
"Oh?" asked Harry his eyes already closed.
"Their horns are spikey" said Kurt pulling the duvet towards his side.
"You can lose an eye" agreed Blaine speech slurred. Harry had to physically bit his lips to stop himself from bursting into a hysterical laugh attack. The sleepy logic those two seemed to share was hilarious to listen to.
So far, sharing a bed with Kurt and Blaine had proven an interesting experience. He was a very tactile person and he loved to sleep cuddled up to somebody. Kurt being his favourite by far, he loved to have his boyfriend in his arms and it had been a bit of a struggle to get him comfortable with that trait of his. Kurt had been very jumpy and overzealous of his personal space, but had quickly relaxed and come to even expect it in regards to Harry. He knew the twins were trying to get him comfortable around them too, but Kurt seemed always too suspicious of them to relax.
Harry didn't mind much cuddling Blaine. After coming to a truce, they were slowly bonding and getting to know each other as friends. The boy was clearly as starved from affection as he had been, still was in some ways, and Blaine subconsciously seemed to understand that Harry understood. He didn't have it in him to deny comfort to somebody that desperately needed it and deserved it. For all his faults Blaine wasn't a bad person; stupid, misguided and pig-headed maybe, but not a bad person.
Blaine tugged the duvet towards his side, which made Kurt give a displeased noise and pulled, rolling and getting tangled in it. Harry eyed the duvet battle with half opened eyes, he knew Blaine had kicked his own duvet to the floor, but couldn't move to recover it. He sighed when Blaine's sleepy hand grabbed at his shirt and tried to yank it closer.
They really needed a bigger duvet.
IIIII
Kurt had thought that Harry had exaggerated when he said he was too swamped by football and fencing to add Warblers to the mix. He figured it had been an excuse at the time to get Wes and the council off his back, however when he woke up on Monday in a tangled mess with Blaine and his duvet, he brushed it off easily. He did his morning routine, dressed and went to Harry's room. Breakfast, which consisted on cereal since they all seemed too lazy to go to the cafeteria, was just starting when Fred let him in.
"Is Harry ready yet?"
The brothers stared at him. "It's the week before the break" said Ron as if that explained anything.
"So?"
"He has fencing practice from 4 to 6"
"Isn't it on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? From 2 till 4?"
"No Kurt, he has practice from 4 am to 6 am so that he can have that slot free, so he can go through Oliver's week from hell. Instead of Football on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Friday mornings, they train all week. They have the semi-final almost as soon as they get back, so they won't have a lot of time to practice before that."
"He runs with the rest of the football team from 6 to 7, he should be here soon" added George in what he hoped was a helpful way.
Kurt stared at them in horror. "Is that even legal?" that sounded worse that Cheerios... Cheerios!
"Meh" replied the three brothers in unison.
They didn't have the time to get a new duvet during the week, at least Harry didn't. Despite constant reassurance that as long as they picked something that could cover them all and reduce the ruthless duvet battles at night, he was fine with it, they refused to go to the store without him. Oliver was going all out and he didn't have the energy to do anything but arrive to Kurt and Blaine's room and pass out.
He invited them to the game; however by that time they would have Warbler rehearsal and Wes had a strict rule about rehearsals. Especially because after coming back from the break, they had an inter-school competition against Crawford's Academy for Girls.
Harry was too exhausted to care.
Blaine and Kurt started exchanging worried glances whenever they saw him. Understandable, since the team had replaced lunch for nap times. They huddled all together at the corner table of the cafeteria and slept, Oliver included. Nobody dared to wake them after the twins assigned themselves the job of watch dogs, while Ron ensured he woke all of them up 10 minutes before the bell rang so they could eat something.
Harry half-heartedly apologized to Kurt for neglecting him, thankfully Kurt understood the situation, he was too consumed by worry to care, not that Harry noticed. Harry was glad. He didn't think he could deal with boyfriend problems on top of everything. The Weasleys, far more used to Oliver's brand of crazy fed him power bars and red bulls in between classes, giving him sympathetic pats on the back.
Finally, when Oliver started planning on making everybody wake up at 5 am to squeeze even more practice time during the weekend, Harry snapped.
"At this rate Wood, by the time the game comes we would be too exhausted to do anything!"
"But..." Harry grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the opposite corner of the team.
"Oliver, look at your team, they are barely able to move. They are giving you all they have, but we can't keep going at this rhythm or we'll collapse. I know the game is after the holidays, but you don't want the team to leave with this attitude. Tom and I have to wake up at 4 to do fencing, and Chad is using his free periods to catch up with the swimming team. I doubt Chris is sleeping at all, he has a test and if he doesn't pass, he's out of the team."
"We have to win the game Harry! Practice makes perfect."
"I know, I know, but you need a team capable of playing to do anything."
Oliver sighed. "I suppose we could spend today watching videos of our competition."
"And you will let us have the weekend free" added Harry in a commanding tone. "Otherwise, I'm organizing a riot and locking you until game day."
"Fine" muttered his captain unhappily. As Harry returned to the table Oliver's voice resounded from behind him. "We are still having a strategic meeting on Sunday morning!"
The team stared at Harry with awe. They had been unashamedly staring at them, trying to read their lips. "He did it! He did it!" screamed Chad while dancing on the spot.
Chris hugged him, pretending to cry dramatically on his shoulder. "I wanna have your bisexual babies!" he half shouted. The cafeteria fell into a deadly silence.
"This will only be awkward if we let it be awkward" said Harry while struggling to get Chris off of him. "Chris you are making it awkward!"
Kurt strolled towards them with his diva power walk and his bitch face on. He grabbed Chris by the ear and pulled. Hard.
"Ow, ow, ow" moaned Chris in pain, Kurt let go satisfied with the distance and grabbed Harry by the tie, pulling him towards the exit decisively.
"Blaine!" he snapped when his friend stayed frozen at the table. Blaine hurried after them; Kurt could be scary when he wanted.
Wes and David stared after their friend while shaking their heads.
"We lost him" declared Wes.
"I am suddenly thankful we don't have rehearsal today" muttered David.
"We should" said Wes with a frown. "We have that inner competition with the Robins soon."
"Relax Wes, we have been beating them for years now" said David shrugging. "Their club was practically disbanded this year and we'll have time to practice when we come back from the holidays… besides, do you really want to call Kurt and tell him he has to come back?"
"I guess we could use a break" decided Wes quickly.
IIIII
Harry watched in amusement as Kurt stared at the stores in excitement and Blaine stared at everything in amazement. Blaine and Kurt had immediately decided to use the rest of the day for a shopping expedition. It felt great to not be in the pitch. His muscles ached, but they seemed to be recovering from the abuse he had been submitted them to lately.
"Blaine" he called when the boy seemed to be distracted by a particularly shiny thing. Kurt had entered the store already and was harassing a poor girl into getting him what he wanted.
"Sorry" he muttered with a blush. "I am usually too tired by this time to notice things."
Harry nodded with a small smile. "I wanted to talk to you" for a moment Blaine panicked thinking that Harry was not feeling as comfortable with the arrangement as he had let on. "I want you to promise me that you won't act like you owe us anything."
"I'm afraid I don't follow."
"You are Kurt's best friend, and you are becoming a good friend to me, I don't want you to feel compelled to act differently around us because you think you need to thank us" Harry stared as Kurt waved from the inside of a store. "Don't let Kurt or me change or influence any part of you ok? You don't have to tone it down or agree with us on everything."
Blaine smiled. "I promise... I thanked Kurt, but I haven't..."
"There's no need" interrupted Harry while giving him a shoulder squeeze. "Be yourself around us and we'll consider it even. Now let's go make sure Kurt doesn't buy the whole store."
"Harry" says Blaine firmly. "I am going to thank you and you are going to accept it, because that's part of who I am. I am polite, not that you know what that means."
Harry laughed.
"So thank you, for being understanding and patient and for giving me a second chance" said Blaine firmly.
"You're welcome" said Harry almost laughing again at the satisfied look on the younger boy's face.
IIIII
Harry was already regretting the previous conversation. They had been inside the store for two hours and the only decision they had agreed on was the type of duvet they would get. By 'they' he meant Kurt and Blaine.
"Absolutely not... are you mad!" half screamed Kurt at Blaine, who had his arms crossed and didn't seem ready to let Kurt have his way. "Sorry that came out wrong, have you been abducted and experimented on? Because that could explain your inability to match colors! Harry back me up!"
"Oh! Because matching blue with a different shade of blue is so difficult! And since when do white and blue don't match! Harry, tell him that they match!" ordered Blaine in the same tone.
"I already said that I am not taking sides" replied Harry monotonously while texting. The girl gave him a sympathetic smile when Blaine and Kurt where busy glaring at him. They returned to their argument when he didn't contribute anything else.
"Your boyfriends seem pretty intense" said the girl, while taking a seat behind the register. Harry raised his eyes from his phone to stare at her in surprise. "Don't worry. I think it's pretty hot."
He was too tired to explain to her that he was only in a relationship with one of them. That the other one was his boyfriend's roommate and ex-gay mentor (they had both agreed that the label just put unnecessary pressure and strain on both of them and dropped it), now best friend and that yes, they all slept in the same bed, but did not sleep together. Or that as a matter of fact, since he started dating Kurt he had become for all intents and purposes celibate.
He missed sex, sex was great, sex was awesome and his boyfriend was miles away from being close to ready...
He sighed wistfully.
"Ok you two, that's enough!" Harry finally snapped after another fifteen minutes. "In the interest of getting out of the store today, we'll take the blue one" he said and before Blaine could start accusing him of favoritism he added. "And you can pick your own set of sheets and a duvet cover, we'll just rotate them."
He had been accused of taking Kurt's side at least five times, which didn't make sense since he kept repeating he wasn't going to take sides, which apparently, was taking a side. Even if he had, it was only fair for him to take Kurt's side since he was his boyfriend. He wisely did not bring that up, because apparently Blaine did have a bitchy side, one that he simply didn't want to anger.
Blaine seemed satisfied with the arrangement and went to find something different. The white duvet with blue edges he had been furiously defending forgotten. Kurt followed to ensure that he didn't pick anything hideous. Harry groaned, trying to get his head around the new aspect of the duvet war that escaped his understanding. Another fifteen minutes passed before they returned with their hands full.
Blaine had picked his set alright. He also had hypoallergenic pillows with foam memory. Exactly the same ones Kurt had, which made Harry wonder why they bothered when he ended up being the pillow anyways. They had also grabbed a matching set for the single bed in the room. Harry didn't bother to wonder what possible explanation they had for that, it was not like Blaine was going to be using it.
Among other miscellaneous objects they picked, because they 'must have them' was a tall lamp, cushions, picture frames and a bunch of decorative stuff that Harry didn't care about. He wanted to get out, if he had to buy the whole goddamn store to do it, then so be it. Absently, he couldn't help but compare the two of them to a pair of birds collecting shiny stuff for their nest. He didn't say it out loud of course. He was bored out of his mind, not stupid.
"Common Blaine, Harry can get all this in the car. I saw a scarf with my name on our way here" Kurt said with an authoritative air. He grabbed Blaine's hand and didn't give him time to think about it.
He paid and wondered if the girl was right and he somehow entered a relationship with Kurt and Blaine. He put everything into the car and texted Kurt to find out where they had holed up now. He was pretty sure he had a day of carrying bags ahead. For a moment he sulked in self-pity about how so far, this was the highlight of his week.
When he saw Blaine and Kurt laughing, with matching pairs of pink hats, his bad mood was suddenly gone.
IIIII
"We need to talk" said Kurt as Harry entered the room.
Ambush! Ambush! Retreat! A voice inside Harry's head screamed. Huh, and Hermione thought that his survival instinct was dead. It was totally still there, just very lazy.
"Ok..." he said with a frown, staring at the two boys sitting on their bed.
"We think you should move in with us after the break" said Blaine with a decisive air. Kurt nodded. Harry wondered if he had been longer in the shower that he had expected, because from the way they acted, it seemed a topic they had discussed in between them relentlessly.
"It has come to our attention that you spend a lot of time sneaking around to get here and to get out before hall monitors start their rounds" continued Kurt. "We feel it would be beneficial for you to move in with us. There's a room at the end of the hall that it's empty. It's meant to be used by three students at least... I know because I wanted it and apparently having an extensive collection of clothes was not enough to get it."
"You are risking a lot by coming to sleep here every night and I don't feel alright letting you do that for me" explained Blaine, steering the conversation back into track.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "But it was ok when Kurt sneaked to get in my room or when I did it for him?"
"It was different; after we almost got caught you had permissions slips for every day of the week, so technically we weren't breaking any rules" pointed out Kurt.
Harry stared at their resolute faces as they went on and on about why they had to move in together. Five minutes into the talk, Harry had figured out their game. Blaine was all about emotional blackmail, taking the blame for things, while making it seem that Harry would be a horrible person for not going along with the idea. Kurt was all about practicality, saying how much easier life would be for all of them.
He didn't let his eyes linger on their joined hands. Or the slight shaking that Blaine's left leg was doing or Kurt's compulsively fixing his hair every forty-seven seconds on the dot.
Yes, they were listing a bunch of logical reasons as to why Harry had to move in with them, but they weren't telling him the main one. They finished their ranting and looked at him with hopeful eyes. It was like saying no to a puppy and a kitten.
He knew he had more experience with relationships with boys (and/or girls) that the two of them combined. He knew, despite his constant reassurances on the topic, that Kurt was intimidated by his past. He knew where they were heading to and for one moment he wanted to tell them. If only to avoid the excruciating dance that the two of them were going to have to go through before making peace with the idea.
However, Blaine's blush was adorable and Kurt's constantly biting his lips was not unwelcomed. He decided it was better if they came to the conclusion on their own. He'll just sit back and let things run their course for once.
"I'll talk to administration in the morning. I think I can get everything done then, since the day after I need to go to the airport. Are you still going to drop me?"
"Of course I am!" Kurt sighed. "I'm going to miss you."
"Same" said Harry. "But it's just for a short time, and then when I get back we can move things from one room to the other… so Blaine, what are your plans?"
"My parents decided that after the 'incident' it would be better if we go to Chicago and visit my sister there. My brother might drop by, he's living in California at the moment" shrugged Blaine. "But I don't know. Cooper is not very reliable."
IIIII
Being the last day they could spend together and being exempt from football/fencing practice and Warblers rehearsal, Harry and Kurt were utilizing their time quite productively.
"Mmm" moaned Kurt arching towards him. "Do that again" he ordered.
"Bossy" said Harry warmly, nibbling the same spot just under Kurt's ear and receiving the same response.
Kurt's hands couldn't seem to decide where to stay. They roamed around Harry's back freely, enjoying the defined muscles he could feel through the fabric, they buried in Harry's hair, held onto his arms and it wasn't enough. Kurt wanted to feel more. The stupid uniform kept getting in the way of everything… maybe he could slip his hands inside the shirt and…
"Hey Kurt, are you… oh my God!" yelled Blaine, accidentally slamming the door shut in surprise. He turned around blushing furiously.
"Shit" said Kurt shoving Harry away, while his boyfriend groaned in protest.
"Are you clothed?" asked Blaine in a very tiny voice, almost afraid of the answer.
"No, we're naked" said Harry sarcastically and almost laughed when he spotted the tip of Blaine's ear reddening and watched his frantic attempts to open the door, which seemed to be winning the battle.
"Harry!" snapped Kurt. "He's joking, we're fully clothed."
"I don't know you, but underneath the clothes I am naked" said Harry letting himself fall defeated against the mattress. Blaine slowly peeked over his shoulder. Once he was reassured everybody in the room was indeed dressed he turned with a dejected expression.
"I sleep there" he said in a whiny tone.
"Eh…" said Kurt awkwardly, because it did seem a bit inconsiderate to make out on their bed.
"Fine, can we use that one instead?" asked Harry pointing to Blaine's bed.
"But… that's my bed" said Blaine frowning.
"Blaine, you can't have your cake and eat it too" said Harry exasperated, Kurt hit his chest.
"Like you are trying to right now? We won't make out on this bed or your bed anymore" said Kurt. "We are moving soon and we'll have an extra one then."
"Thank you" said Blaine relieved. The two friends continued to pointedly not look at each other. Harry laughed.
"Alright Kurt let's go out, before the two of you start to discretely try to kick the other out of the room and it turns into a bloody battle" said Harry standing up. Both boys gave him looks of reproach. "Fine, before you both try to politely leave the room for the other; I keep forgetting you guys are 'nice' people" he amended rolling his eyes.
Kurt smiled in a resigned manner, grabbing Harry's hand. "You live with savages… I'll see you later Blaine."
"Aren't you going to grab your jacket or wallet" Blaine frowned puzzled, while Kurt blushed mortified, hurrying his pace and pulling Harry, hoping he would be able to stop him before it was too…
"Let's go out is sometimes code for let's go have a heavy petting session at our secret spot" said Harry with a smirk over his shoulder and Blaine closed his eyes, hiding his face behind his hands.
"I didn't need to know that" he settled for saying with strained politeness.
"No, what you really don't need to know is that Kurt… ow!" yelped Harry when his boyfriend stepped on his foot. Hard.
"Oh, I am sorry sweetie" said Kurt through gritted teeth and pushed his foot harder. "Is there anything you want to add?" Harry laughed, finding Kurt's scary glare adorable.
"Has he always been this inappropriate?" asked Blaine puzzled. "I could swear he was more obnoxious than inappropriate."
"It sneaks up on you doesn't it?" asked Kurt throwing Harry another glare for good measure.
"You're cute" Harry said kissing his nose and walking into the hallway.
"Cute!" yelled Kurt marching after him. "I give you my best bitch glare and you say cute!"
"And hot" added Harry. Blaine shook his head, closing the door and decided to forget the last few minutes of his life.
By the time they came back they both seemed to have gone back to normal, slightly clingier to each other, but normal enough. Harry and Kurt fell asleep first, since they had an early morning and for a moment he considered going to his bed and let them be. However Harry opened one eye and shifted from his position spooning Kurt, to his back. Automatically Kurt rearranged to fit around his side, one leg curling over Harry's tight and with a relieved sigh, Blaine made himself comfortable.
"Night Harry" he said, clinging to him and trying not to think of how hard it would be to not have this brand of comfort available during the break.
IIIII
"This is nice" said Harry while walking next to Kurt. He had his right arm around his boyfriend's waist and was using his left to pull his luggage.
"What? Our last moments together until we have an ocean between us?" asked Kurt with a sulky air.
"Having you drop me at the airport" said Harry ignoring the tone.
Kurt smiled. "I am dropping my boyfriend at the airport… it sounds so grown up."
"Something is bothering you, I can tell" said Harry while they sat on the small coffee shop that overlooked at the runway.
Kurt nodded, poking his uneaten muffin. "I am very jealous, I've never even been on a plane and here you are about to leave the country. The idea you are going to go so far away, it's a bit daunting… I always known I am a small town boy, but it has never felt that way until now. I am dropping you in the airport so you can go to London… it's like… we're from completely different worlds; Columbus is the farthest distance I've been from home and I just… my world seems suddenly very small compared to yours."
"Kurt" said Harry with endless affection. "That just means that I get to take you to see the world someday. I would love to show you around London, Rome or New York, even Paris if you want. I've traveled Kurt, but I feel comfortable in this little world of yours because you are in it and eventually what you see as 'my world' will be ours."
"I hate and love that you always manage to make everything into a romantic moment out of a movie" said Kurt with a smile.
"I'll do my best to become an awkward teenager with no sense of tact" said Harry smirking.
"Don't you dare" laughed Kurt. With a quick check of his mobile, Harry sighed.
"I need to go now…"
"Hey, you owe me a dramatic kiss full of promises" said Kurt with a smile. It would have worked better closer to the gate, but there was nobody else in the café except for one bored staff member and it seemed like a safe place to do it.
Harry knew Kurt wasn't as comfortable with public displays of affection, so he took advantage of the request and kissed Kurt deeply, one hand holding his waist and the other the back of his neck. He applied enough pressure so that Kurt's lips parted and lazily traced his boyfriend's lips, committing everything to memory and trying to figure out how to survive 2 weeks apart.
They separated and after a moment to collect themselves, left the café and the shocked employee.
"I'll call you every second I am free" said Harry before the security point. "I am going to miss you luv" he finished drinking in every feature that made Kurt, Kurt.
"I feel so silly" said Kurt with watery eyes. "But I don't want to say goodbye to you… I am never going to say goodbye to you Harry."
"I will be happy if we never say goodbye to each other" said Harry hugging him tightly. Kurt nodded pleased. "I'll see you soon."
"Soon…" said Kurt, forcing himself to leave the safety of his boyfriend's arms. Harry kissed him chastely once in the lips and once in the forehead, before walking away.
They kept eye contact until the last possible second and Kurt sighed, feeling a lot colder all the sudden. He missed the warm body that was supposed to be attached to his side. He stayed around for a few minutes, selfishly wishing a snow storm would start and force Harry's plane to stay.
With a sulky move he went to his car, ready to be a total killjoy for the rest of the day. He smiled however when he read Harry's text.
'Miss you already… I think I am systematically sucking the happiness of the people around me; I will start telling children Santa is not real to make us all equally miserable if people continue to look so fucking cheerful.'
'Amendment to the plan: During turbulence, I will tell them we hit a reindeer.'
Kurt smile didn't leave him for a while.
IIIII
"Care to explain the drastic change of hearts?" asked Wes during lunch. David rolled his eyes, he had told Wes to leave the subject alone, but of course his friend was too stubborn to listen to reason.
"The change of hearts about what?" asked Blaine and looked at his plate, was this about the pasta?
"You were full of rants and ready to start a witch hunt when Kurt started to date Harry, and now you're like their biggest supporter" said Wes suspiciously. "I know what he did for you was pretty decent, but I don't get it."
Blaine poked his food. "I was wrong, I realized I was wrong and did the mature thing and owned up to that."
"Blaine" insisted Wes.
"You remember you used to make fun of my non-crush on the mystery guy?" asked Blaine finally. "You stopped and started poking fun at me with Kurt instead."
"Oh" said David with wide eyes. "Potter is the guy that talked to you that day isn't he?"
"Yeah" said Blaine laughing. "I am such a jerk, Harry was nice to me, a complete stranger and I always wanted to thank that guy for pushing me out of my funk. Then it turns out the guy I've been judging that person all along."
David chuckled. "I am sorry, but this is bringing back memories of stalking all the sport teams to figure out who was the guy that talked to you that day."
Blaine groaned. "Don't remind me. That was very embarrassing."
"You're ok with Harry and Kurt dating then?" asked Wes.
"Yeah, they balance each other and I think Kurt could use somebody like Harry in his life, he laughs more and he's happy" Blaine shrugged.
Wes and David exchanged a look, before shaking their heads. Blaine had clammed up and there was no way of getting anything out of him now. They continued their lunch, moving towards a different topic.
"Now that's settled" said David with a pointed look at Wes. "Can you tell me what the hell happened that night?"
"Ah…" trailed off Blaine. "I got pretty drunk too; I have vague recollections at most of what happened… I think you tried to lick Kurt at some point"
David stared at Blaine and then at Wes. "I did?"
"Yeah" said Wes frowning. "And Blaine was convinced he was going to drop out of high school and be an artist."
"Oh, I remember you banging a squeaky gavel and demanding we all drink in an orderly manner" said David.
The silence that followed was awkward.
"Why did I want to lick Kurt?" asked David frowning. "It makes no sense…"
"I don't know, monkey sees, monkey does" said Blaine shrugging. "And I remember Kurt and Harry spending most of the night licking salt from each other… even after the salt and tequila ran out."
"Let's just agree never to drink with them again" said Wes rubbing his temples. "I don't even remember how everything started."
Neither of the other two occupants on the table could give him an answer. After paying for the check and exiting, they all drove away in different directions, going to celebrate their holidays with their families.
IIIII
Shaking his coat and hair from the snow, he rang the bell. The door opened immediately after.
"Harry! It's so great to see you!" said Andromeda smiling.
"Hi Andy" he said smiling and hugging her. "Where's my little…"
"Uncle Harry!" yelled a small ball of energy. "You're here! You're here!" yelled Teddy jumping up and down.
"There he is!" said Harry and lifted him from the floor. "Oh wow, you are too big to be carried anymore!"
"Nu-uh!"
"Hi Harry" said Remus smiling at them.
"Remus, Tonks" said Harry smiling at them and giving them one armed hugs. "It's great to see you guys."
"How was your flight dear?" asked Andromeda.
"Not too bad" said Harry with a smirk that made everybody but Teddy wary. "But I am not allowed to fly on British Airlines for a few months."
"Of course" said Remus with a sigh, while Tonks laughed.
"Did you drop your things home?" asked Tonks retreating to the kitchen. "Tea?"
"Yes please!" said Harry while they all moved to the living room. "I didn't really fancy going on the tube with my luggage" said Harry putting Teddy down and taking his coat off.
"You know you could stay here" said Andromeda pursing her lips.
"You'd never let me get away with my free spirited ways" said Harry with a wink.
"But you aren't that free spirited anymore, are you Harry dear?" replied the woman without missing a bit. "I heard you got a boyfriend, I am sure he would have plenty to say if you were to…"
"Remus!" said Harry immediately in an accusing tone.
"She had chocolate" said the man while drinking his new cup of tea.
"Traitor" muttered Harry and stuck his tongue out to her. "I have a boyfriend and you don't, he's hot and young and perfect. You're just a jealous old h-a-g…"
Andromeda laughed loudly, while Teddy looked confused at the interactions around him.
"What she does have is a husband" said a new voice. "Harry, how are you?"
"Hey Ted" said Harry moving to shake his hand and hug him.
"Andy, dear, did you heard what Harry say? You can't let him win, go out there and find yourself a boyfriend immediately" he ordered while sitting next to the woman, who continued to laugh.
"We could use a gardener" she said with a smirk on her lips.
"Iugh!" said Tonks carrying a cup of tea. "Seriously mom, don't be disgusting!"
They all laughed at her distraught expression and proceeded to catch up, while Harry sat on the floor playing with Teddy and smiling at the people in the room. Dinner was an informal affair, with take out and more conversation, mixed with digs at Harry's love life and questions about Kurt and his friends.
"I'll see you all tomorrow at lunch" said Harry once Teddy had been put to bed and the jet lag caught up with him.
"Here's your coat" said Andromeda disapprovingly. "But I couldn't find your scarf, what did you do with it Harry?"
"I left it in Ohio" he responded with a guilty grin.
"I am sure it's being used to its full potential there" she said sarcastically.
IIIII
"Finn no!" said Kurt slapping his hand with a wooden spoon. "I said you are not allowed in the kitchen until everything is ready."
"Listen to your brother honey" said Carole laughing.
"Kurt phone, it's for you! You-know-who!" called Burt.
"Out of my way Finn!" yelled Kurt running out of the kitchen and almost making Finn fall in the process, an impressive feat considering their height and weight difference. He quickly grabbed the phone from his father hand and answered breathlessly. "Harry?"
"What's up buttercup?"
Kurt laughed. "You are being ridiculous again."
"I know, I tried to reach your phone, but no luck there" said Harry with obvious affection.
"One sec…" said Kurt and put the phone against his chest. "Finn! Did you grab my phone to play angry birds!"
"Sorry!"
"I will kill you later!" yelled Kurt.
"How are the holidays on your side?" asked Harry with a chuckle.
"Pretty good, just making dinner…" he twirled the cord of the phone, while they updated each other on their celebrations.
He giggled and flirted with his boyfriend, completely forgetting about his dad in the room, or the dinner he had been preparing moments before, or how he was supposed to be angry at Finn. Thankfully, Carole took over and nothing was lost. He stayed on the line for almost an hour and a half, before his boyfriend yawned.
"I have to go" said Harry with another yawn. "It's quite late here, just wanted to call you to wish you a happy Christmas and tell you I got you a kick ass present for when I am back."
"I got you a pretty perfect gift if I do say so myself" laughed Kurt. "Have a good night!"
"Have fun with your family… miss you loads, but I'll call you tomorrow" said Harry and after delaying the call for a while, they finally hung up.
IIIII
"Hey lovely" said Harry smiling.
"Harry!" excitedly greeted him Kurt.
"New Year here is going to be in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Happy New Year!" he said at the same time as cheerful voices called from far away and fireworks went into the night.
Kurt laughed, wishing him a happy new year, thrilled they had been able to share it.
"Call me for my side too" ordered Kurt.
"Will do" agreed Harry and had to end the conversation sooner that he would have liked because of all the fireworks. He quickly made calls to Hermione, Luna and the Weasleys, sending a quick email to the rest of his friends to congratulate them and after a moment of hesitation, he sent one to Blaine too.
Finally Harry stared at the ground in front of him, hands in his pockets and ignored the snow falling over him. "Happy New Year, mom, dad..."
He stared at them for a while longer. He had spent the night bringing them up to date about his life in Dalton, how his friends were, his boyfriend and everything he felt like sharing. He drove for the rest of the night, stopping at a small bed and breakfast on the way to sleep a few hours and carried on, until he finally found himself staring at his first home.
"She's a beauty ain't she?" asked a comforting voice.
"That she is" whispered Harry reverentially and turned to the man, hugging him for a few seconds and soaking the unique brand of comfort, before asking. "How are you Hagrid?"
- Flashback -
"Look, I might be 11, but I am not stupid" said Harry craning his neck upwards to look at the towering man with a bored expression. "I don't know who you are or anything about this fancy school of yours, but I think it's time for you to leave."
He slammed the door closed and reentered the house.
"Who was that?" yelled a woman's voice from the kitchen.
"Some weird guy" yelled Harry back.
"Oh… was he selling something?"
"Yeah, empty promises and a bunch of crap" mumbled Harry.
"Have you finished your chores boy!" yelled the woman when she failed to receive a response. Harry sighed.
- End Flashback -
"Harry! You are finally here!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically pulling him into a hug.
"Sorry for the delay" said Harry with a winning smirk, returning the hug gladly. "'Sup G-man?" asked Harry with a cheeky tilt of his head.
"Sit Harry" said the man narrowing his eyes. "We have plenty to discuss… have you given more thought about where you are going to study?"
"Here we go" said Harry rolling his eyes, but his smile didn't waver.
"Oh shush you old geese" said Dumbledore. "We have more interesting things to talk about, Harry, I hear you are dating…"
"His name is Kurt" said Harry with a resigned air, while he was forced to take a sit at the table and a bowl of lemon drops was placed in front of him.
"I want to know all there is to know about it, how did you two met?" asked Dumbledore eagerly.
Harry smiled and started talking.
IIIII
"So" said Rachel clapping her hands once. "How are things going with Harry?"
Mercedes rolled her eyes, looking at Kurt for support, but for once Kurt really wanted to be the obnoxious person in the room talking endlessly about his happy, perfect love life.
"Oh, where do I start" he sighed dramatically, hugging a pillow. "He's amazing and he makes me feel amazing."
Rachel smiled brightly, gushing in all the right places and even pulling a reluctant Mercedes into the conversation.
"You know what's the best part?" asked Kurt with a spoonful of low fat ice cream half way to his mouth.
"Apart from everything?" asked Rachel.
"I love that despite being very easy going, Harry is mature and grounded" said Kurt wistfully. "I say this with all the love in the world, but all the relationships in glee are messed up in some way or another and full of drama. This thing with Harry it's free of baggage, but it stills makes me feel all those emotions that you're supposed to feel. It's safe in the good way where you don't question how solid you are, but still passionate and intense. Can you believe we haven't even had a proper fight or broke into a spontaneous rendition of a song to express our feelings?"
Rachel and Mercedes looked confused.
"I know" said Kurt, it had taken him a while to get his head around that too.
"Not even once?" asked Rachel frowning.
"Nop" said Kurt giggling.
"Then how do you… I don't get it" said Rachel biting her lip.
"We talk" said Kurt solemnly.
"You talk" repeated Mercedes skeptically.
"Yeah, when we have an issue with something, we talk" reaffirmed Kurt.
"And it works?" asked Mercedes.
"Better than singing" nodded Kurt. "The resolution is far quicker and makes the whole being a couple in a relationship easier."
The three of them sat in silence for a while.
"I don't get it" said Rachel and Kurt smiled to himself, grabbing another spoonful of ice-cream.
IIIII
Kurt stopped the circling motion against his face when he saw his phone screen light up. He smiled at the picture. Harry and his friend had a tendency to randomly snapping pictures of each other. This one had been taken by Ron and it melted Kurt a little every time he saw it. He and Harry were on the ratty purple couch, with Kurt leaning against his boyfriend's back, reading his Vogue, while Harry was pressing a distracted kiss to his temple, eyes never leaving his book.
"Hi honey, isn't it a bit late for you?" he answered while cleaning his hands of the excess moisturiser.
"You're pretty" said Harry in a rough voice. "Boy pretty, not girl pretty, but you're pretty…"
Kurt's lip twitched. "Are you drunk Harry?"
"For realz" was his reply.
Kurt laughed. "Oh honey, I don't even want to imagine how much you had to drink to get there."
"Didn't drink tequila" said Harry proudly. "It won't taste good unless I lick you…"
"Right" said Kurt blushing furiously at the reminder.
"Shhhhh" said Harry. "They're looking for me" he whispered.
"Who is looking for you?" asked Kurt deciding to see how drunk-Harry behaved.
He had told him about the party he was attending with his friends and Kurt had absently wondered how it would go. Harry had told him the Gryffindor gatherings were on a complete different level than what he did in Ohio, mostly because the alcohol was more easily to access and people's tolerance were on par with his own. Also, since he didn't have to remain coherent enough to drive anywhere or take care of somebody, he was letting loose.
"Them" said Harry quietly. "I'm hiding… I don't wanna do body shots."
"Oh" said Kurt not sure how to feel. "Where are you hiding?"
"Closet" said Harry, seemingly unaware of why Kurt laughed.
"How drunk are you?" asked Kurt.
"Reaaaaally drunk" said Harry.
"Your voice sounds strange, rougher, but not slurred" pointed out Kurt.
"I have excellent diction" said Harry proudly. "Even drunk…"
"Of course you do" said Kurt patronizingly.
"I do" protested Harry. "Mamihlapinatapai" he said clearly. "See? Totally rocking my diction…"
"Mami what?" asked Kurt.
"Mamihlapinatapai, it's Yaghan language… it's kind of translated as 'a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves'" finished Harry. "Professor D told me about it a long time ago, and Professor D knows everything, he's like a person who knows it all and he lived in Tierra del Fuego for a few years learning Yaghan… he's an anthropologist, and he knows it all."
"You're a talkative drunk" said Kurt smiling fondly.
"And you're a licky drunk, you lick stuff" said Harry with a sulky tone. "But's ok, I like your tongue…"
"Gaga, Harry please don't go there" said Kurt blushing again.
"But I do, your tongue…"
"There you are!" said a new voice. "Bloody hell! Who gave you your phone? Harry give me your phone!"
"Nuh!" said Harry petulantly and Kurt could hear the sounds of a scuffle going on. "I need to tell Kurt what I like about his tongue!"
"Fuck, Harry did you call your boyfriend while drunk!" asked the voice closer than before.
"Yeah! Because he's pretty and has a nice tongue" said Harry loudly.
Kurt slowly sank on the bed, trying desperately to will himself to hang up, but unable to do it. Oh please let him never meet this particular friend of Harry.
"Harry" said the person awkwardly. "I think you're going to regret this in the morning, why don't you give me the phone and I'll give you more tequila?"
"I told you I don't want tequila! Because Kurt's not here and he taste like a superhero" said Harry and there were more sounds of a struggle for the phone.
"How about whiskey? I'll give you fire whiskey" said the guy finally. "Don't you miss it? I bet they don't have it in Ohio."
"Kurt's in Ohio" said Harry.
"Harry, honey" said Kurt. "Why don't you give the phone to your friend and we can talk later, when you're sober."
"Ok" said Harry. "But you're still in Ohio right?"
"Yes, I am still in Ohio" said Kurt.
"Ok, here Neville, Kurt says I should give you my phone. I'm going to go to sleep on your bed" there was an awkward silence for a second, before somebody started talking on the phone.
"So, I guess you're Kurt" said the guy with an amused tone.
"Neville?"
"Yeah, don't worry; I'll keep an eye on Harry. I've never seen him being a clingy drunk before and can't say I want to see it again" said Neville.
"Thanks I guess" said Kurt deciding not to answer Harry's drunk calls again.
"Eh… Harry just yelled at me to tell you that I am straight and wait a sec, I can't understand what he's saying… Potter! I am not saying that!... Why do you mean why? Because I am talking to a complete stranger!" Neville sighed. "I'll tell him to call you once he's sober. Bye…"
"Sure" said Kurt and stared at his phone.
Well, that was interesting.
- End Chapter 12 -
So, as I say poll for the pairing on my profile. It will be open until the 19/06 and I'll get in touch with the winner then.
The Big Purple Book of Untold Stories will be published tomorrow at . However you can find it on my tumblr account today.
thebigpurplebook dot tumblr dot com
I am accepting prompts and request. Go as wild as you want to go! I am thinking of doing a chapter with magic, since I am feeling nostalgic.
All the best,
SweetCaroline91