A/N: Hello everyone! First I'd like to say I hope you all had a great holiday season and I'll be wishing the best for us all in 2014.
I have to admit that as excited as I was for this chapter, it still took me forever to write it. I either couldn't think of a wording that I liked or I just couldn't write at all because I wasn't in the right mood. I'm sure some of you know what I mean. I am gorging on sugar cookies as I write this note in an effort to lift my mood.
I love how this story was originally going to be seven chapters and now we're at twice that with more to come.
There's going to be a bit of a bombshell in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! :]
Kurt had never before understood the phrase "on cloud nine." What does that even mean anyway? What's the actual difference between cloud eight and cloud nine? Ten feet, maybe a hundred? Or are the number more of a rating system?
But that doesn't matter anymore because Kurt Hummel, he is not only on cloud nine; he is floating on air. Is it too soon to be feeling on such a relationship high? Probably. Did he think it through at all before he say the dreaded "L" word moments ago? Not at all.
But that doesn't matter. Kurt E. Hummel is too happy to care. Not only did he just successfully meet his boyfriend's older brother, with a gratuitous amount of sass besides, but said boyfriend loves him. Love, an overused word perhaps but one that will always be appreciated.
Dad is going to go nuts when he hears about this, the designer thinks to himself as he walks down the slowly dwindling avenue in the direction of his office. He needs to get some work done, and what better time then when he's feeling on top of the world? Though it wouldn't surprise him if every single sketch ended up being Blaine at this point, inspiration like this doesn't come knocking all that regularly and he plans to take advantage.
"Mr. Hummel?" is the first thing he hears upon entering the building. Usually he sighs and asks what could possibly be the matter this time, but the assistant sounds surprised of all things. Then he realizes he wasn't scheduled to come in tonight.
"Hi, Paula. I know, I know," he chides while waving away her outstretched hand pointing at his coat,"I work too often and too hard, but tonight is different. If you need me I'll be in my workroom."
He hasn't been in the room for more than thirty minutes when the door slams open and a dramatic huff fills the following silence. Kurt doesn't even need to look up from his sketch to know who his uninvited visitor is.
"Hello, Rachel. So kind of you to drop by."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you view things, Kurt has a good amount of practice with Berry meltdowns. Rule number one: deny everything. "I don't know what you mean."
"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME, KURT ELIZABETH HUMMEL."
Rule number two: remain calm and collected for as long as possible. "Calm down."
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN."
Rule number three: try to reason with the beast. "Rach."
"Don't you Rach me! Do you know who I just received a call from?"
And when all else fails to resolve the situation, resort to dry humor. "No. I'm not psychic, unfortunately. And despite your beliefs, I can't read your mind."
"Santana Lopez. A friend of yours, she said."
"Oh." Santana? That's odd. And worrisome. "How did she get your number?"
"I don't know. She wouldn't say." Rachel huffs. "But what she did say is of more importance."
"Did she threaten to burn your wardrobe? Maybe have you killed so she could take on your job and get all the perks?"
"No. Wait... would she do something like that?"
Kurt chooses not to answer.
"Kurt! How could you be friends with someone so savage?"
Kurt shrugs. He doesn't really know the answer to that either. "She grows on you."
"I'm sure she does. Now, let me get straight to the point."
"Please do."
"Shush," Rachel retorts as she slides herself comfortably into a sitting position atop Kurt's workspace. She sits there and just looks at him for a full minute before speaking again. "Why didn't you tell me about the developments in your romantic relationship with one Blaine Anderson?"
Kurt's head falls so fast that it hits his desk with a thump before he can even think to catch it."Oh no," he moans.
"Oh yes," Rachel replies, the grin in her voice completely audible.
"Santana, I am going to murder you," he mumbles.
"She can't hear you, but I'll make sure you remember to pass the message along."
"Shut up Barbara." She is way too happy for a person who hates being left out of anything. Which means she must have something else up her sleeve... "I do not need this right now."
Blaine, after an hour of interrogation from this dear brother, feels on the verge of plunging himself into the deep end of an Olympic size swimming pool. Not only would it protect him from further questioning, since Cooper has always been a bit hydrophobic due to a near drowning incident that occurred in his youth, but it would also give him time and space to simply be. To sit and think of nothing for once. That sounds like a nice idea.
Unfortunately, the universe has other plans.
The two brothers sit against opposite corners of the couch, Cooper snacking on a bowl of chips while Blaine absentmindedly stares at the television screen. Football he can handle, but he will never understand what Cooper finds so fascinating about golf.
"Got any plans for tomorrow night?"
Blaine turns to look at him, but Cooper's eyes remain fixed on the screen. "No. Why?"
The elder shrugs. "Just curious."
Blaine shakes his head and turns away, this time trying to appreciate the effort put into a 100 foot putt. "If you say so, Coop."
They sit quietly, the only sounds coming from the whack of a golf club against the green. But, as Blaine knows all too well, Cooper Anderson never sits quietly for long.
"So," Cooper says for the fifth time that evening, "how much does good ole Kurt know about Mom and Dad?"
Instantaneously Blaine feels the hairs on the back of his neck rise in anticipation."Why do you ask?"
"Well, they're hoping to see you tomorrow at dinner and I figured you could bring your boy toy along. If he'd like that, of course."
"What?"
"Kurt, dinner," Cooper explains slowly. "Us, parents. Food, meet." Then he rubs his stomach, adding, "Yum."
"I'm not an imbecile, Coop. I didn't mean "what?" as in "will you please elaborate." I meant "what?" as in "what the hell are you talking about and why haven't you brought this up earlier and what the hell is wrong with you?" Blaine can hear his voice rising with every word and by the time he finishes his sentence, he feels a bit more than riled up. He feels like he might faint.
"Whoa," Cooper shouts as he places his hands on Blaine's shoulders and slowly pushes him back down into a sitting position. "Someone needs to take a chill pill."
"How am I supposed to chill? How?"
"It's just dinner, little bro. He doesn't even have to come if you'd rather not invite him."
"Of course I'd like to have Kurt come along but Cooper, it's so much more than just dinner. It's not like all the girls you brought along to functions. I actually like Kurt, a lot. Plus it's so early in our relationship and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize what we have going..."
"Are you insinuating that I have no feelings, Blainers?"
"Of course not. I'm just saying that you haven't found that special person yet. But I have. Or at least I feel like I have," Blaine murmurs to himself. He looks at his brother pleadingly. "Please, Coop. You have to understand."
Cooper's face breaks into a soft smile and Blaine knows he's about to receive some brotherly advice. "You've grown up. And this Kurt guy seems really good for you, from what I've heard and seen so far. But you're young, Blaine. You have so much of your life still left ahead of you. I know you feel like you're on top of the world, like nothing can bring you down as long as you have Kurt by your side. And I get that, I really do. Yet I wonder... Don't you think you two are taking this a bit fast? Is this guy really someone you can see yourself with in the next five months, the next five years?"
Blaine sits silently, really allowing the force of his brother's words to sink into his mind, into his soul. He has never heard his brother, the farcical actor above all else, sound so sincere. Does Cooper have a point? Is he really reading too much into this budding relationship? Can he see himself happily in five months at Kurt's side? The answer comes all too willingly.
"Yeah, I can," he answers quietly. Then he realizes the certainty of it all hitting him in that moment. He and Kurt could be it. Kurt could be the one.
Cooper, for his part, smiles knowingly while patting Blaine on the shoulder. "Then call him up, invite him to family dinner tomorrow night."
Kurt, still wallowing in his misery while Rachel looks on with a fond grin, feels his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and groans. Not something else. He simply is not in the mood to speak with anyone right now. Plus he doesn't have the strength to stick his hand into his stupidly tight pocket and wiggle his phone out of its confines. Just not in the mood at all.
"Call from: B."
All of a sudden Kurt springs up and shoves his hand in to retrieve his phone. Whose idea was it to make these pockets so damn tight? Yes, they're called skinny jeans for a reason. But still.
After the third ring he manages somehow to get the phone to his ear and mutter a breathless hello.
"Hey. Is this a bad time?"
"No," Kurt replies immediately. Then he takes a breath and relaxes enough to sound normal again. "Not at all. What's going on?"
"I wanted to know if you're doing anything tomorrow night. Are you doing anything tomorrow night? Around six."
Kurt glances at Rachel who shakes her head. He doesn't need to ask how she knows what he's talking about; she always knows.
"No, I'm free."
"That's great. How would you feel about going out to dinner with me and my brother... and my parents?"