A/N: Hope you all enjoy this! It mostly spilled out of me in one go so... I have no idea how good it is.
Dinner has been going well. Blaine learns early on that Kurt's family is the type to talk and laugh during their meals. It's nothing compared to the family dinners back home. There's no formality here, no unspoken rules. While the elder Andersons are all about decorum and using the salad fork or dessert fork correctly, Burt and Carole (as they insist he should call them after a few mishaps with "Mr. Hummel" and "Mrs. Hummel") joke and tease their sons, listening intently to every anecdote of not only Kurt's and Finn's but Rachel's as well. She's as good as part of their family with the comfort everyone at the small table shares. A short food fight occurs in which Finn throw a fry at Kurt's head; in retaliation Kurt whips a dollop of spicy honey mustard. They continue on for a few minutes before Carole eventually calls a stop to the whole thing, her eyes showing mirth and the tone in her voice implying this happens fairly often. Just a second later it's as if nothing had disrupted the ambiance at all, something fairly impressive seeing as the table has splatters of food across its table-clothed surface. Everything is so idyllic and comfortable.
Blaine envies that. He knows it's stupid and also a little shallow, but he wishes his parents were as encouraging as Carole or as interested and engaging as Burt. He never had that with his mom or dad, not even with Cooper really. They loved him, he was sure of that, but sometimes knowing someone loves you and feeling someone loves you are two completely different stories. No one had been there in his darker hours, or at least not anyone he felt he could count on... not until after everything had happened, and even then there was still a palpable distance between them...
His focus is pulled back to those around him when he hears Burt mention the fashion show Kurt had recently put together. The one Blaine had attended with Santana. The night he and Kurt had almost kissed.
"I still can't believe you got all your friends together on such short notice," he remarks after polishing off the last few baked potato fries left on his plate. "How did you do it, kiddo?"
All eyes turn to Kurt for his response, all except for Finn's. The former McKinley quarterback (a fact which Blaine had learned from Rachel's interminable stories during their elongated introductions earlier) is looking pointedly instead at his empty plate, dusted with crumbs from the bun of his second turkey burger. Maybe he's considering a third helping? Blaine may not know Finn well, but from what he's seen tonight and heard from Kurt, the guy can eat.
"They owed me one," Kurt replies cryptically.
Blaine ponders for just a second before giving in to his curiosity. "What about Finn?" he inquires in what he hopes is a casual manner. There has to be a story there.
"Oh, Finn?" Kurt shrugs, eyes his step-brother innocently. A little too innocently, Blaine thinks. "He just likes to help out."
"We all did it for charity," Finn explains with a quick glare at Kurt. "Kurt just enjoys torturing us. This isn't the first time he's done something like this." He frowns and shudders a bit at whatever memory pops into his mind.
"Oh please, you all enjoy it." Kurt then shrugs his shoulders dismissively. "If anyone suffers, it'd be me. I'm the one who has to design something that would fit your giant-esque frame."
Finn scoffs, "As if you don't crave more work."
"Thin ice, Finnegan," Kurt warns with narrow eyes. Blaine feels torn between laughing aloud because really what kind of name is Finnegan yet at the same time he feels a shiver run down his spine at the low tone of Kurt's voice when he's agitated. Is there anything the man does that wouldn't turn Blaine on somehow?
"Boys," Rachel interjects with a dramatic wave of her hand. Blaine had never seen someone wave their hand dramatically before, not even Cooper who takes his acting 'skills' to the max with all the pointing and yelling for emphasis. "Let's all just agree that Kurt is a workaholic and Finn is of great stature and then leave things be. Sound fair?" No one says a word but Kurt's eyes soften and Finn gives a small smile. "Great!" Rachel claps her hands together and stands. "Finn and I will take care of the dishes tonight."
Finn coughs on a fry he had stolen form the plate lying in the middle of the table and nearly chokes by the time Burt has helpfully slapped his back.
"I'll do it," Kurt counters. "It's your day off."
"No." Burt's voice brings everyone in the room to a standstill, as if his words alone could stop time. Rachel's open mouth, probably prepared with a long argument, slowly closes despite her better judgment. All turn to the patriarch expectantly. "Blaine and I will handle it."
"But Dad - " Kurt protests instantly, knowing exactly where this is going.
"But nothing. Now the rest of you get outta here."
Carole gives her husband a warning glance before dragging her reluctant stepson from the room. Finn and Rachel follow, one glad to be relieved of kitchen duties and the other determined to overhear at least one sentence of the conversation going on without them. As Kurt's best friend and manager she has every right to know of Blaine's intentions where Kurt is concerned, which is surely what Burt himself intends to question.
Blaine stares dejectedly at the doorway where Kurt disappeared. He really wishes the designer could be here with him for what is bound to be a tense, slightly scary interrogation.
Burt stacks the plates left behind on the dining table and takes them to the sink, filling one side with hot water and soap bubbles while waiting for this new friend of Kurt's to finish looking longingly after his only son. Not just a friend, Burt reminds himself. He sighs. This is one of those moments in which he wonders what would happen if his Lizzie was still around.
"You gonna help out or what?"
The sound of Burt's voice, gruff and somehow light, reminds Blaine exactly where he is and what he's supposed to be doing. His mother would be disappointed in his lack of decorum, he thinks bitterly, and his father would scowl at him for staying in the kitchen to do something as matronly as washing dishes. But when he turns around Burt isn't frowning or glaring. He's smiling. An amused smile at Blaine's expense no doubt, but a smile nonetheless. That in itself helps Blaine relax a bit.
He walks over to the table with only a slight hesitation and collects the silverware and glassware still remaining at each place setting. He then deposits the utensils in the still steaming soapy water. He moves to do the same with the glasses he had set down on the counter to avoid any messy accidents but Burt shakes his head and points to the dishwasher. Blaine complies wordlessly.
"It's not that I don't like you," Burt comments without pretense after a few minutes of silent scrubbing. "Kurt's my only son, forever my baby boy. The largest slice of my world." Burt sighs and glances at Blaine. "He has his mother's eyes. And her compassion."
"I want nothing less than the best for your son," Blaine assures. He can do this. He can say everything that he truly feels without worry because he knows Burt will see the sincerity in his eyes.
"I'm sure you do, son." Burt places the soapy plate in his hands carefully down in the empty drying rack beside the sink before continuing. "But as his father I have certain responsibilities I feel obligated to fulfill. One of them being to check on the men my boy brings into his life."
"I understand completely, sir."
"Burt."
"Huh?" Burt raises an eyebrow, eerily similar to Kurt's mannerism of the same kind, and Blaine realizes his mistake. "Right. Burt. Sorry."
"Just don't do it again." Burt sets the last plate in the drying rack and moves to begin work on the silverware. Blaine, desperate to do something other than fidget off to the side, offers to do it instead and mentally sighs in relief when Burt hands him the soapy, soaking wet sponge. At least now he can do something with his hands other than wringing his wrists. "The second being to inform you I have a shotgun which I'm not afraid to use if need for it arises." Blaine nearly drops the fork in his hands in a disastrous clatter but regains his grasp at the last second. Burt smiles, that same amused smile from before, and stares Blaine down for a few seconds before speaking some more.
"You seem like a good guy, Blake -"
"Blaine," he corrects politely. He's too used to this happening after handfuls of social dinners with his parents and other members of their social circle.
"Right." Burt smiles just a bit, quickly morphing his face back to a serious expression. "Blaine, how old are you exactly?"
Blaine swallows, his throat suddenly dry. There's nothing to be nervous about, he tells himself firmly. Here goes nothing. "Twenty."
"And do you work?"
"I attend college full-time and I pull hours at my grandparent's coffee place when I can."
"Yeah, I remember Kurt mentioning that." Burt sighs. This is where it gets touchy. "And I can safely assume you're a fan of his?"
"Kurt's designs are ingenious and I find him to be a kind, intelligent, and down-to-earth human being," Blaine responds honestly. He wipes his hands on a kitchen towel to dry them, not exactly happy that the forks and spoons and knives gleam mockingly at him from their place in the drying rack. Blaine notices absentmindedly that there are only five knives instead of six. "Your son is a spectacular person, Burt, and I'm so glad I get to know him."
"And you'd like to pursue a relationship with him, romantically speaking?" Burt holds up a hand before Blaine can speak. "You have my blessings, son. Just don't make either of us regret this."
Blaine stands speechless as Burt leaves the room. He remains stock-still there in the middle of the kitchen, mouth agape, for a good five minutes before coherent thoughts pass through his mind again.
Did he just - did I say - but what - how did he - and other similar thoughts run amok through the student's mind. Burt had given his blessing... for Blaine to ask Kurt out... on a date... like, a real date with flowers and kissing and such. But Blaine hadn't asked for it? Not outright, but maybe Burt saw something that Blaine himself had yet to see. It all feels like so much to take in at one time: Truly recognizing his feelings for Kurt (not just acknowledging them and pushing them back), the vivid memory of almost kissing him, meeting his family aka the most important people in his world, and now Burt insinuating he ought to take Kurt out on a date. That he and Kurt could be something more and Burt would approve. Burt felt Blaine would make his son happy and just that simple fact left Blaine reeling while bolstering his confidence at the same time. His own parents would never had done something like that, taken such an interest in who he's seeing.
He sighs and shakes the stray thoughts away. Too much thinking is never a good thing. Besides, he's been missing from the group for a while now. It's time to get back to Kurt and push all these thoughts aside, if only just for the moment. If there's one thing Blaine is determined to do, it's to enjoy Kurt's company for as long as it lasts.
He follows the sound of voices into the living room to see that everyone has reclaimed their previous seats, meaning the spot beside Kurt is delightfully vacant. Burt looks at him pointedly when he enters the room and Blaine returns his gaze as determinedly as he can muster. Burt nods, approvingly maybe or is he just imagining things?, and returns his attention to his wife's son who is talking enthusiastically about some hockey game. Blaine slides into the seat next to Kurt on the plush cushions, gaining a warm and appreciative smile from the designer. Kurt leans close and a wonderful floral scent fills Blaine's senses.
"Save me," Kurt whispers with a fleeting glance in Finn's direction. The former jock is still speaking to Burt, his eyes alight with passion for the subject and his hands always on the move. Blaine chuckles despite himself.
"You're ridiculous," he jokes in Kurt's ear.
"But you love me anyway," Kurt returns just as easily.
Their private conversation on its own has seemed so intimate but up until that moment the word love hasn't crossed Blaine's mind. Sure he says he loves Kurt, but in the way a preteen girl says she loves Harry Styles or a little boy says he loves Spiderman. And now Kurt throws out the word so casually. Maybe Blaine's just making a bigger deal out of this than necessary, a mountain out of a molehill. But something about hearing the words from Kurt's lips sends a sudden realization to the back of his mind, one he barely suppresses long enough to respond, "Yeah."
A/N: A quick reply to an anon from a couple chapters back: Yes, I do realize there is an unexplained location jump near the beginning of the story and it's all my fault. I'm not the most observant of writers... anyway, just try to ignore that blunder and I'll fix it when I eventually edit this fic as a whole.
My fic recs for today: "Tumbled Upon" by MuseInMe3 which is a great AU which involves Klaine and Tumblr long distance and fluff among other things. And also "Wanted" by Annabelle Graceton which is a Western AU of sorts which I never thought I'd like but was pleasantly surprised by.