After having gone nearly a month without seeing Kurt, Blaine tiptoed into Kurt's house after quietly unlocking the door. Although he had flown into Ohio with Wes and was supposed to drive to Lima the following morning, he had managed to talk Wes into driving him home in the middle of the night. Of course he knew Kurt would be asleep, but that would make the surprise that much better.
He very quietly pushed open Kurt's bedroom door and smiled, seeing Kurt fast asleep wearing one of Blaine's Harvard t-shirts and clutching a body pillow to his chest. Kurt's chest rose and fell as he breathed and he rubbed at his nose before letting out a little sigh.
"You are the most adorable person ever." Blaine whispered before tiptoeing to the bed and climbing onto it. How would he do this? Just lie down and see how long it took Kurt to wake up on his own? But what if Kurt didn't wake up? It would be pretty disappointing to lay there for five or six hours without any reaction from Kurt. No. He was definitely going to have to wake Kurt up.
Blaine took hold of Kurt's blanket and shook it a bit, making sure to shake the blanket that was wedged between Kurt's side and arm so his boyfriend would feel it. Luckily, it worked.
"Mmmmh, stop it." Kurt moaned, pulling the covers over his face.
Blaine grinned and shook the blanket again, this time a little harder.
"No." Kurt whined, rolling onto his side.
"Yes." Blaine whispered, smile growing. Kurt was going to flip out when he saw that Blaine was home several hours early. He'd been eagerly awaiting this moment for over an hour. And it was finally here.
"No." Kurt responded, stretching out and then curling into a ball, body pillow falling off of the other side of the bed.
"Surprise." Blaine whispered in his ear, pulling the covers down.
"Blaine!" Kurt's eyes opened and he threw his arms around Blaine's neck, pulling the older boy down on top of him. "What are you doing here? Oh my God!"
"I know I flew out with Wes and was going to spend the night at his house but I couldn't be away from the man I love for another hour longer. I made him bring me home." Blaine responded before kissing Kurt hard on the mouth.
Kurt moaned, his hand going to stroke Blaine's cheek as he eagerly kissed back. He was too sleepy to fully register what was happening, but he didn't need to be fully awake to know that Blaine was here, and much sooner than he was supposed to be. God, he loved Blaine Anderson.
Blaine pulled away several long moments later and smiled adorably. "Hi."
"Hey, babe." Kurt smiled, hand still on Blaine's cheek. "I missed you."
"And I missed you more." Blaine leaned down, kissing his forehead.
Kurt's smile grew and he stroked his fingers up and down Blaine's cheek again, staring into his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Two in the morning."
"Oh man, I bet Wes was pissed." Kurt laughed sleepily. Was he dreaming? No, he wasn't. Right?
"He didn't mind. I think he was surprised I didn't ask sooner." Blaine grinned. "Want to do something?"
"Do something? It's two in the morning." Kurt yawned, running his fingers through Blaine's curly hair.
"I know." Blaine pressed his nose against Kurt's.
"Your nose is cold." Kurt shivered before reaching up and rubbing Blaine's nose.
"That's because it's cold outside." Blaine said, scrunching his nose up.
Kurt mock gasped. "Really? It's December in Ohio and cold?"
"I know! I was shocked too!"
Kurt lowered his hand and then hugged Blaine. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want to do?"
"Let's go for a walk." Blaine rolled off of Kurt and climbed out of the bed. "It's so pretty out right now because it just started to snow."
"Really? You want to go for a walk?" Kurt pushed himself into a sitting position.
"Really." Blaine smiled.
Kurt got out of bed and went to his closet, sliding into some boots and pulling on a jacket. "Only for you, Blaine Anderson."
Blaine's smile turned into a grin. "You love me so much."
"That's what you think." Kurt pulled on his gloves and draped a scarf over his neck. "C'mon. Don't forget your keys."
Blaine waved his keys a bit before dropping them into his coat pocket and pulling it back on.
"I'm glad you came early… even if you did decide that early had to mean the middle of the night." Kurt said once they made it outside, linking hands with Blaine.
"I missed you." Blaine said, squeezing his hand. "I always miss you, but knowing you were an hour and a half away… that was torture."
"I know. I went to sleep early just so time would go by faster." Kurt admitted a little bashfully.
"Aww, you're so cute." Blaine kissed his cheek and then looked up at the sky. "Isn't it pretty out?"
"It's beautiful." Kurt nodded in agreement.
Blaine walked around the yard. "So my finals went really well. I'm pretty sure I've retaken my spot as the number one student."
"I didn't know you'd lost it?" Kurt asked, eyebrow arching.
"Well I kind of botched a mock trial at the beginning of the semester and I slipped up on a quiz, but it worked out." Blaine shrugged. "You're short boyfriend may make something of himself after all, Kurt."
"You already have." Kurt said very seriously.
"That's very sweet." Blaine said, approaching him.
"I can be sweet occasionally, you know?" Kurt asked, before letting out a loud shriek as Blaine pushed a snowball in his face. "BLAINE ANDERSON!"
Blaine stepped back a few feet while Kurt wiped his face off, doubling over in laughter. He wanted to store the shocked look on Kurt's face in his mind forever.
"BLAINE! THAT WASN'T FUNNY!"
"Wasn't. You're right. 'Cause it still is!" Blaine laughed.
Kurt gathered snow in his hands but didn't even roll it into a ball, attempting to throw it at Blaine.
"Go-Good job." Blaine snorted, standing up straight. "I think a flake or two hit m—my nose!"
"Now what was that?" Kurt questioned, head tilting up as he dusted his snowy hands off. "What were you saying?"
"Where did you learn to throw like that?" Blaine gaped.
"My dad was a football player. I learned a thing or two." Kurt said before throwing another snowball at Blaine and hitting him square in the chest. "Didn't I tell you about my stint on the football team in high school?"
"You're going down, Hummel!" Blaine said, stretching his arms out and then—
"NO!" Kurt yelped as Blaine chased him into the back yard.
"What the hell is going on out—here?" Burt, who had rushed out while half asleep, trailed off. "Oh. It's just Kurt and Blaine, Carole."
Blaine, who had Kurt pinned to the ground and was about to gather more snowballs while Kurt was stuck, looked up and grinned sheepishly. "Snowball fight."
"At three in the morning?" Burt asked.
"Want to joi—ow, Kurt!" Blaine whined, rubbing his side. "That hurt. If you didn't want guests, you could have been a little more subt—Ow!"
"Sorry, Dad." Kurt said, smiling sweetly. "We'll keep it down."
"When both of you freeze to death, don't complain to me." Was all Burt said before disappearing inside the house.
"Now my dad thinks we're like annoying12 year old couples." Kurt huffed, attempting to sit up without any luck.
"We are. You'll have to just accept that." Blaine straddled him. "Are you cold?"
"I'm laying outside on the ground and it's snowing. What do you think?"
"I think you'd rather be laying out here with me than in your warm bed without me." Blaine grinned.
"You're awfully full of yourself." Kurt said, putting his hands on Blaine's waist. "But you're right."
Blaine stood and pulled Kurt up. "Do you still want to go for a walk?"
"As long as you don't pin me to the cold ground again, yes."
"At least the snow isn't sticking too much." Blaine took his hand and began walking down the street with him. "So what's the plan for the trip?"
"Eventually we're going to have to tell Dad and Carole that we're going to New York for the last part of our break." Kurt said, squeezing Blaine's hand and falling into step with Blaine. "I told Rachel we'll be visiting and—oh, stop with the face. She's my best friend. Apart from you, of course."
"I didn't make a face. I think I'm above making a face when you mention her name."
"Rachel." Kurt said, just to make a point. "Point proven."
"Damnit." Blaine huffed a bit. "It's force of habit. Don't judge me."
"I'll never understand it." Kurt shook his head. "Considering you two went on a date and had 'lots of fun.'"
"Yes, well…" Blaine shrugged. "I'm going to go with 'personality clash.'"
"My butt." Kurt said.
"What was that about your butt?" Blaine asked, tilting his head back and looking down.
"My God, Blaine." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"What? I haven't seen it in three whole weeks."
"Well I'm sure it looks amazing in these pajama pants." Kurt scoffed.
"We could always go home and get you into something that looks a little better. Or into nothing. That's when it looks best."
Kurt dropped Blaine's hand and slid his arm around Blaine's waist, turning them around so they were walking back to the house. "No, I'm not doing that because of what you said. It's really cold and your jacket is too thin."
Blaine shivered and scooted closer to Kurt. "I love you."
"I love you too." Kurt kissed his cheek before turning into their driveway. "We didn't make it very far."
"I didn't think we would." Blaine snorted. "Whoops, I think we dropped the keys."
"What?" Kurt asked sharply.
"Just kidding." Blaine grinned again and pulled them out of his pocket.
"You." Kurt sighed, playfully smacking his back as he unlocked the front door.
"Are precious and wonderful?" Blaine prompted.
"Get in there." Kurt laughed. "If you get pneumonia, you have nobody to complain to. Got that?"
"All the times I've taken care of you when you were sick? That's how I get repaid?"
Kurt nudged Blaine into the house and quickly shut the door behind him before pushing him into the closed door and crashing his lips against Blaine's.
"Interesting turn of even—Okay, okay!" Blaine yelped and slid his arms around Kurt's waist, pressing close to him.
Coming home early and in the middle of the night was definitely a good idea.
***LTC***
Kurt really needed to get in the habit of locking his bedroom door. This was something he hadn't had to worry about when living alone with Blaine. Though he'd been living back at home with his dad and Carole since August, he still hadn't quite remembered the importance of locking that door. Especially considering the fact that half of the time Blaine was over… Well, half of the time they didn't exactly sleep fully or even partially clothed.
Fortunately it was winter and cold, so pajamas had been put on milliseconds before Kurt and Blaine fell asleep the previous night. Very fortunately considering Burt and Melody made their way into Kurt's bedroom the next morning without even thinking to knock.
"Get 'em!"
Kurt pulled the covers up over his head upon hearing his father's voice. "Dad!"
"TICKLE TICKLE!" Little Melody shouted soon after, swatting Kurt's shoulders. Clearly she didn't quite grasp the idea of what tickling was. "TICKLE!"
"I don't think it's working, Mel. Try Blaine." Burt said, leaning down and turning Melody's body to the other direction. "Quick! Before he wakes up!"
"Oh my God." Kurt grunted as Melody pounced onto Blaine's chest. "Dad, you're killing me here."
"Oh God." Blaine gasped, having been startled out of his sleep. He attempted to sit up but it didn't work too well for him seeing as there was a child sitting on his chest.
"It's not God. Just a demon child." Kurt responded, rolling onto his side facing Blaine and Melody. He then looked up in the direction of Burt, who looked rather proud of himself. Kurt had never been more thankful for putting his clothes back on after sex. Never. "Dad, really?"
"We're going Christmas shopping. Would you two like to go with us?" Burt chuckled as Melody climbed off of Blaine (eliciting more than a few grunts from Blaine who was still half asleep).
"SANTA!" Melody shrieked, beginning to jump up and down on the foot of the bed. "SANTA! SANTA, KURT AND BLAINE!"
"My ears." Blaine moaned, pulling his pillow over his head.
"I forgot someone in the house wasn't used to mornings being so loud." Burt laughed.
"Burt, why would you start this two hours before we're leaving?" Carole asked coming into the room. "Melody, honey, Kurt and Blaine were trying to sleep. Burt, you're horrible. Look at the poor boys."
"Kurt and Blaine see Santa." Melody protested, sitting on Blaine's knee. She then proceeded to pat his leg until he lowered the pillow and waved at her.
"I don't want to g-o." Kurt said, giving his father a pointed look.
"Why not?" Blaine asked.
"Have you seen the lines to see Santa?" Kurt questioned, turning to look at Blaine as though he was insane. Why would he want to spend half of his whole first day with Blaine in line to see a mall Santa? He would have much rather stay in bed with Blaine, fooling around or just being lazy. Definitely not standing in line with several annoying children.
"Actually, I haven't." Blaine admitted.
Carole and Kurt stared at Blaine in shock. Burt, however, muttered, "Lucky kid."
"Do you want to go, Blaine?" Kurt asked after several seconds, against his better judgment. He already knew the answer though. Blaine wanted to go. Whether or not to actually see Santa or to just spend time with Kurt and his family, Kurt wasn't sure. But he knew Blaine wanted to go.
Blaine shrugged. "It's whatever. We don't have to go."
"Alright, alright. I'll go." Kurt crawled out of bed, having to maneuver around Melody who had begun flailing excitedly in the middle of the bed. "Dad, did you give her sugar?"
"I didn't give it to her. She took it upon herself to find some." Burt said, scooping Melody up before she could accidentally could kick Blaine in the nose. "C'mon, squirt. We're going to give the boys a chance to get ready so we can go see Santa."
"SANTA!" Melody shrieked as Burt carried her out of the room.
"Yes, Santa, Santa!" They heard Burt saying, although he sounded much less enthusiastic.
"Why does he always give her sugar so early?" Carole asked, exasperated. "It's like he wants to live in a madhouse."
"Because he's a pushover." Kurt responded as she left the room.
"I think she's cute." Blaine said before yawning.
"Well we'll see how cute she is after sitting in a car with her like that for half an hour on the way to the mall." Kurt gave him a sweet smile.
Blaine's eyes widened in horror. "We're not driving separately?"
"Good luck trying to explain that to my father." Kurt leaned down and patted Blaine's head. "I'll make sure to prepare a lovely funeral for you."
Blaine fell back into a laying position, groaning. "This is entirely my fault."
"Entirely. We could have pulled the 'we want to spend time together' card but you blew it." Kurt smiled sweetly again and kissed the top of his head. "Maybe you can get a picture with Santa too!"
"Go away." Blaine swatted at him. "You've just ruined my life."
"You're going to have tons of fun being a daddy, Blaine." Kurt laughed before making his way out of the room.
"Hey, where are you going?" Blaine whined.
"You told me to go away so I'm going to take a shower." Kurt poked his head back in. "You could join me."
Burt cleared his throat from the hallway.
"God it's like I'm banned from s-e-x." Kurt whined before leaving the room. "This sucks."
…
"Eric!" Kurt exclaimed a few hours later that same day, tilting his head to the side. He was pretty sure it was Eric but Alec was nowhere to be seen and Kurt had never seen Eric with his hair unfixed.
The Eric in question jumped, quickly hiding a shopping bag behind his back.
"It is Eric! What are you doing here?" Kurt questioned, going up to Eric and dragging Blaine behind him. "Hey, what's behind you? Is Alec here?"
"Oh! It's you two. You shouldn't run up on people like that." Eric laughed, waving his other hand. "Alec is somewhere. I had to get his Christmas present."
"What is it?" Kurt asked curiously, trying to look behind Eric at the bag.
"I think you're the one that should be a lawyer." Eric laughed. "Hey, Blaine. How are you?"
"I'm doing really good. How are you?" Blaine asked, feeling like his entire life in Ohio was now never ending questions about how school and life was. Maybe he could remedy that by acting so happy that they wouldn't even ask, but that felt like too much work.
"Great." Eric slipped the small bag into a bigger bag nonchalantly as Alec ran up.
"What are you all doing here? Blaine, I love your sweater. Where did you get it?" Alec said quickly.
"Don't make him answer that. Please." Kurt moaned. "At least not in public."
"Old Navy." Blaine responded, making his voice louder for emphasis. "It was—say it with me, Kurt. No? Oh, okay. I'll say it.— On sale."
"You guys are funny." Alec laughed, lacing hands with Eric.
"He tries." Blaine giggled, nudging Kurt.
"I would be asleep but Blaine wanted to see Santa. My parents are in line with my sister." Kurt explained, pointing in the direction of the waiting line that wrapped around the hall and into a Dillard's.
"Sister?" Alec gasped. "Your sister is here?"
"Oh my God." Eric groaned. "Lie and say no."
"Can I meet her?" Alec asked eagerly, looking excited. "I love kids!"
"Sure. Just don't mention anything to do with Bed Time Baby." Kurt said very seriously.
"Bed Time Baby?" Alec raised his eyebrow. "What's that?"
"The new big baby doll." Kurt sighed. "She's getting it from Santa but she goes insane if she hears about it."
"Bed time for baby and me." Eric mimicked the commercial, cringing as they began to walk.
"You'll love it as much as baby!" Blaine added. "I highly doubt that."
"I would like to murder the person who thought up that jingle. How have you not seen that commercial, Alec?" Eric looked at Alec.
"Shit. You think I have time to sit and watch TV?" Alec scoffed. "I barely have time to get homework done, sleep, eat, and breathe. I have to catch up on my shows on winter, spring, and summer break."
"KURT AND BLAINE!" Melody shrieked as they got closer.
"Two guesses which one is Kurt's sister." Eric laughed. "Bet you I only need one."
Kurt ran up to Melody, scooping Melody out of Burt's arms. "Dad, Carole, this is Alec and Eric."
"Hello." Alec and Eric said together.
"HELLO!" Melody said, reaching for Alec.
"Oh, don't let him hold her. He'll never give her back." Eric teased as Alec took Melody.
"Don't worry. Melody will want someone else to hold her in a few minutes. She likes to spread the love." Blaine said, tickling Melody's tummy.
"How long have you all been in the line?" Alec asked Burt and Carole.
"Two hours." Burt sighed.
"You're the one who wanted to come." Carole pointed out, waving at Melody and booping her nose.
"Is that your mommy?" Alec asked, smiling brightly at Melody.
"That's my momma." Melody told Alec. "Who is you?"
"My name is Alec. I go to school with Kurt." Alec explained. "What's your name?"
"Melody." Melody responded before nuzzling his shoulder. She then sat up and pointed at Eric. "Who is that?"
"I don't know. He's been following me around for eight years. I think he's lost." Alec grinned. "Do you want him?"
"Noooo!" Melody giggled, shaking her head and looking around for her daddy.
Eric laughed. "He's not going to make me come home with you, sweetheart."
"Blaine comes home with me sometimes." Melody rambled. "But sometimes he goes to dog school."
"Law school." Carole corrected, laughing.
"He goes to dog school 'cause he wants to be a dogger." Melody continued, ignoring her mother. "And Kurt draws."
"I draw too." Alec said. "But Kurt draws better."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "We're both battling for the top spot."
"So you're the one he spent an entire year trying to beat out." Burt grinned.
"Oh my God." Kurt covered his face. "Dad, please."
"Yep. He used to hate me and now I'm around him more than my boyfriend. Go figure." Alec laughed.
"Do you live on campus?" Carole asked him, pushing down one of Blaine's unruly curls.
"Pretty close to it. If I'm feeling adventurous, I could walk to class." Alec said, laughing as Blaine swatted her hand away and then ran his own hand through his hair.
"He never feels adventurous, FYI." Eric cut in.
"Doesn't he remind you of Blaine?" Kurt asked Burt, pointing to Eric.
"I'm telling you. Lock them in a room alone for ten minutes and they'll become best friends. I've been saying this to you since the first time I saw Blaine when you were sick." Alec exclaimed. "Nobody ever listens to me. Stop miming with your hands, Eric. I swear. One of these days I'm going to leave you on the side of the road."
"Yeah until you get hungry and you've spent all of your money on vests. Then you'll call me."
"Yes. And after you give me your credit card, I'll send you off again."
"They sound married." Burt chuckled.
"Marriage. What a wonderful concept." Alec pointed at Eric, who merely stuck his tongue out. He then looked at Burt and Carole. "By the way, he is the older one. By four years. Who would've known, right?"
"It's like a reality show." Blaine snorted. "Is this what we're like, Kurt?"
"Probably." Kurt laughed.
"I hate to say it, but we should probably go. We have a lot of frozen cookies to buy." Alec laughed as Eric passed Melody to Blaine.
"Okay. Call me and we'll all four get together after Blaine and I get back from our trip to New York." Kurt said, waving a bit.
"Will do." Alec smiled and then looked at Burt and Carole. "It was very nice to meet you all."
"You two too, hon." Carole smiled at them as Burt nodded.
"See you guys." Blaine said before blowing a raspberry on Melody's cheek, prompting loud giggles from her. "Say bye, pumpkin!"
"Bye bye." Melody waved before smacking her head against Blaine's and attempting to blow a raspberry on his cheek too.
"Ewwwww." Blaine whined. "Cooties!"
"What's a cootie?" Melody asked, looking confused.
"You'll understand when you're a little older." Blaine responded before wiping his cheek with his jacket sleeve.
"You did not just do that." Kurt gasped, eyes wide in horror. "That jacket is more expensive than mine."
Blaine held his sleeve out, putting it right by Kurt's face. "Want some cooties?"
"I do!" Melody chirped.
"If you insist!" Blaine exclaimed before blowing another loud raspberry on her cheek and prompting even more loud giggles.
"At least it's more interesting than listening to that little brat up there talk about Tonka trucks." Burt chuckled as he watched them. "Aren't you glad you came to the mall now, Kurt?"
"Ha."
***LTC***
Didn't I tell myself I wouldn't study when we were in New York? Blaine had asked himself this question at least once every five minutes over the last two hours. However, he couldn't seem to put his book down even though he was in a comfortable hotel room bed with his boyfriend five feet away. What had happened to his priorities? This time last year, Kurt would have been half naked before Blaine had properly locked the door.
"Blaaaaine."
Blaine looked up from his book, right into Kurt's eyes.
If he asks for sex… you're going to close the damn book and say yes. Right, Anderson? Right?
"I don't think I can hold it in any longer." Kurt said simply, throwing himself dramatically onto their hotel room bed.
"Your lust for me?"
"Sorry to disappoint, but no." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"What then?" Blaine laughed, closing his textbook. While it wasn't a sex offer, he was getting a little tired of schoolwork.
"I can't believe we're in New York!" Kurt exclaimed for the hundredth time since they made it into their hotel room. "And this view and New York and this view and this hotel and this is the most perfect place on Earth. I can't even think straight. There is so much that I want to do. I want to see everything and go everywhere and—."
Blaine laughed again and opened his arms. "C'mere, my love."
Kurt practically bounced over, leaning down and kissing the top of Blaine's head repeatedly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"You know that you don't have to thank me." Blaine tugged Kurt into his arms and nuzzled his shoulder. "I wanted to bring you."
"You don't really like big cities, though."
"It's not that bad." Blaine shrugged. "I don't know if I could live here but I like the city. It's pretty amazing."
"Like you." Kurt snuggled up to Blaine's side.
"And like you." Blaine leaned closer to him. "You're going to do amazing things here at Parsons, Kurt. This is going to be a life changing experience for you."
"I hope I do amazing things. It's a lot of pressure." Kurt admitted.
"You're stuff is amazing and you're perfect. I know you'll do everything you want to do. You deserve everything."
"So do you." Kurt said, tilting his head away from Blaine and looking into his bright hazel eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course you can."
"The only reason I'm bringing this up is because we agreed to have open communication and something has been bothering me…" Kurt sighed a bit and turned so they were sitting across from each other. "You didn't even tell me that you botched those assignments. Why?"
"It's not something I wanted to boast about." Blaine kind of shrugged.
"But there were times that you were really withdrawn and that's probably why. But we didn't talk about what was wrong, so I… I didn't say anything, but it worried me and then it kind of pissed me off because you're the one who was so adamant about open communication being so important. If we can't have open communication, then what do we have? What will we have two and a half years from now? Will we even make it that long?"
"Wait, wait, wait. What?" Blaine asked, completely thrown off. This wasn't what he'd expected to hear. Especially not the first night of their stay in New York. That meant it must have been something that was really bothering Kurt.
"Do you want complete honesty?" Kurt asked, looking directly into Blaine's eyes.
"Of course I do." Blaine nodded, sitting up straight and not breaking eye contact.
"I feel like we're trying to go in two separate directions. We've known our dreams don't line up for ages but the plan was that with opening up to each other about things, that we'd be fine. But there were times we wouldn't talk for five whole days or times that you would be very… short. I never knew if it was something that I'd said or done, if you were just sad about being apart, if your roommate had said something, if you and Wes were arguing. There were times that I had no idea what was going on with you. I didn't like that." Kurt said, very slowly and thinking things through carefully as he said them. He had been holding this in for so long and he was afraid to say something the wrong way and offend his boyfriend.
"I'm sorry, but this is giving me a bad vibe. First you hold all this stuff in and then you throw it at me all at once. How is that fair? Especially when we're supposed to be having a stress free and fun vacation." Blaine looked down, feeling guilty and kind of annoyed. Sometimes he felt like a really crappy boyfriend, and now was one of those times. Despite that, though, he didn't feel as though he deserved this… intervention, or whatever it was. "I'm not used to not doing things perfect. I always had to get straight A's in school or I would get into a lot of trouble. UK was so easy for me because I was used to that kind of work. Harvard is… a lot harder."
"Of course it is." Kurt said gently. "It's law school."
"You don't understand. B's are unacceptable at Harvard. If you get a B, you may as well… have not made it in." Blaine looked down. "I expected it to be hard, but school usually comes so easily for me and something I struggle to get stuff done the right way."
"Did you get any B's?"
"No. I got A minuses on three things." Blaine took a deep breath. "Every time that happened I felt like I should just withdraw."
"If it had such a serious effect on you and you were thinking about things like that, then why didn't you just talk to me about it?" Kurt asked, feeling his stomach knot up. He should have talked about this at the beginning of the break instead of waiting a week.
"I want to make you proud. I want to make everyone proud and to prove to people that I—that I can do it. I guess. I don't know." Blaine shrugged, trying to come up with something that sounded a little more… intelligent. He couldn't find any more words, though, so he just clamped his mouth shut and stared down at his knees.
"Everyone is already so proud of you, Blaine." Kurt said gently, putting his hand under Blaine's chin and making him look up. "People know you can do it. People would have still been proud if you'd gone to any other law school too. And you're allowed to make mistakes. You don't have to be perfect."
"That's not how I was raised. I was taught to be and act perfect."
"Yeah well you weren't raised by good people." Kurt said, eyes darkening. "I don't care how you were raised. I would still be proud of you if you got an F on an assignment at Harvard. I would still be proud if you decided to drop out tomorrow and get a job at a gas station."
Blaine looked back down and sighed. "I didn't mean to make you worried or frustrated…I wish that you'd told me it was bothering you. That's not what I wanted to happen."
"That's why I'm talking to you now. I don't want it to get any worse." Kurt put his hand on Blaine's back and rubbed it up and down slowly. "Look, we have got to talk about this stuff. We have got to. We can say we'll talk about it all we want but that doesn't do anything if we don't actually sit and talk things through. I'm afraid that if we don't start talking about all of this stuff—when we're stressed or scared or sad or whatever— I'm afraid we'll not make it as a couple. A-And I don't know where I would be without you."
Blaine raised his head up, staring out the window and not saying anything.
"I don't want to worry about u-us. We're supposed to be the one thing that we can both count on. And it's—it's really hard sometimes." Kurt took a deep breath, feeling his eyes tear up. "I try to not talk about it or think about it because I want us to both be able to do these things. But it's so hard to not be with you… and on top of that to sometimes have no idea what you're even doing or going through…"
Blaine refused to look up because he didn't want to see tears in Kurt's eyes. He really was the worst boyfriend ever. How had he not known Kurt had been so bothered by this? "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"And when I can't get in touch with you," Kurt continued, wiping his eyes. "It's like… Why don't you even want to know how I am? Because I'm terrified right now of everything that's happening and about to happen… but I can't talk to the one person who would m-make me feel better."
"Kurt…"
"You're sorry. I know." Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
Blaine buried his face in his hands and let out a frustrated groan. "I'm under a lot of pressure and I just… thought you were fine because you're still at home and nothing's changed that much for you. I'm an asshole for not asking."
"You're not an asshole." Kurt reached over and grabbed Blaine's hand, lacing their fingers together. "We're both under a lot of pressure right now. We just both handle pressure in different ways."
"Sorry." Blaine leaned his head on Kurt's shoulder.
"It's alright. We just need to work on us a little more. We can start now."
Blaine's lips tugged upward in a small smile and he sat up. "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Hummel."
Kurt smiled as well. "Good, Mr. Anderson."
Blaine leaned against him again.
"You don't have to be perfect. You're perfect to me." Kurt nuzzled him. "Don't put pressure on yourself because you're going to be just fine."
"You're going to be fine too." Blaine whispered, pressing a kiss to Kurt's cheek after rising up.
"It's a big change. I've never lived on my own before." Kurt bit his lip. "The only time I lived away from my dad was when I lived with you."
"Why don't you live with Rachel?" Blaine asked.
"Mercedes is living with her next year." Kurt answered, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them.
"I thought Mercedes lived with Quinn. You liked her, right? Why don't you try to move in with her?" Blaine asked, nudging him. "She was really nice."
"She is really nice." Kurt nodded. "I don't know, though. We're friends but we don't talk very much anymore. Sometimes we text each other, but I don't know if we're close enough to live together."
"I don't even like one of my roommates. You're already better off than me." Blaine laughed a bit.
"How is that going?"
"Ugh." Blaine frowned.
"Are you still going to room with him next year?"
"If he stays in the apartment, Wes and I are leaving." Blaine answered, holding his thumb and index finger apart. "I am this far from killing that guy."
"Is it worse?" Kurt asked.
"Not worse. It's just getting to me more. And these new guys moved in across the hall and one of them keeps smirking at me." Blaine shuddered a bit.
"Someone's got a crush?" Kurt giggled a bit. "It's not surprising. You're very attractive. And you're a Harvard boy. You're quite the catch, Blaine."
"Meh." Blaine shrugged and then looked at Kurt. "Are we okay, Kurt?"
"Of course we're okay." Kurt gave him a small smile.
"You were really upset. You almost cried… I almost made you cry."
"It's not that hard to achieve really." Kurt joked. "I think it's just a combination of a lot of stressful things happening at once. Sometimes it's just hard to grow up."
"We'll get through it. I promise." Blaine kissed his cheek again.
"Pinky promise?" Kurt said, smile growing as he held out his pinky.
"Pinky promise." Blaine laughed, linking their pinkies together.
***LTC***
Winter break had gone by way too fast, Kurt decided as he finally finished getting ready to go out on their double date with Alec and Eric. It was his and Blaine's last full day alone because Blaine would be leaving the next afternoon for Boston with Wes. Kurt wasn't even sure when he would physically see Blaine again past tomorrow, but he was trying to not think too hard on that fact. Instead, the tried to focus on making their last full day together fun. After all, their new start with open communication and working harder at their relationship began the next day. A smoother and happier transition would probably make this easy on everybody involved.
Now if only he could pull Blaine away from Wes and David who were visiting.
Kurt hurried into the living room where Blaine was sitting and chatting with Wes and David. "Hey, Blaine, we have to leave to meet Alec and Eric soon or we'll be late."
"Yes, dear." Blaine rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance.
"Are you wearing that?" Kurt asked, looking exasperated. His exasperation was real, though. Honestly, sometimes Kurt nearly cringed when he saw some of Blaine's clothes. Not as often as he used to, but still.
"What?" Blaine asked, looking down at his cardigan. "I thought you liked this one."
"With those pants?"
Blaine sighed and pushed himself into a standing position. "This is what I live with, guys."
Kurt rolled his eyes this time. "The wash of those pants clashes with that color. You need to wear a lighter shade."
"Yeah, Blaine." Wes scoffed. "How could you ever not know that?"
"Don't even get me started on you. I'm willing to bet you've been in the same sweatpants since Blaine and I got back from New York." Kurt pointed at Wes.
"Is it always like this?" David asked Blaine, clearly amused.
Blaine nodded his head and headed off towards his bedroom.
"You better keep him in check, Kurt." David said, expression serious.
"I feel sorry for your kids." Wes laughed. "If you would actually hang out with the three of us, Kurt, you would probably steal David's role as mother hen."
"I couldn't handle the three of you." Kurt responded quite honestly.
"There's a reason it's a trio and not a…. more-o." Wes grinned, wiggling his fingers as Blaine came back in wearing new jeans. "You are whipped."
"I've never denied it, have I?" Blaine questioned, pulling his jacket out of their closet.
"You two do know you can come, right?" Kurt asked, looking at Wes and David.
"I don't think we'd fit in too well." David said. "Besides, Wes would keep asking everyone about their favorite sex positions."
"Let's go!" Wes cheered, standing. "I already know Blaine's!"
"You think you know Blaine's." Blaine muttered under his breath, nudging Kurt and winking.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "If you go, you cannot bring up sex."
Wes sank back onto the couch. "Well never mind then."
"Why are you sitting down? If Blaine's here, we've got to go home." David remarked, standing.
"I volunteered us to stay with Carole. We're making cookies and gossiping about Kurt and Blaine." Wes pulled David back into a sitting position.
"Bye, guys." Blaine said, dragging Kurt out. He locked the door behind them and whispered, "I am so sorry."
"It's fine." Kurt reassured him for the millionth time since Wes and David had shown up the night before.
"I thought they were staying in Westerville. They were supposed to." Blaine opened the passenger door of his car for Kurt, waiting for him to be completely inside before closing the door and moving to get in the driver side door.
"Blaine, I like them." Kurt smiled at Blaine as he started the car.
"You don't think Carole would give them stuff on us, do you?" Blaine asked warily.
"She'd probably do anything to hear funny or cute stories about you. She may very well do just that, Blaine." Kurt responded. "We may be screwed."
…
"I wonder if they forgot we were all meeting." Blaine said nearly twenty minutes after Alec and Eric were supposed to have made it to the Olive Garden nearest to CCAD. He glanced out the window, shrugging when he didn't see any new cars in the parking lot.
"I doubt it. Alec always runs late when we meet for stuff after classes. I don't think he knows how to be on time." Kurt answered, glancing down at his phone. "I bet that car pulling in now is them. I'm pretty sure Eric has a red one. I've seen it outside of Alec's apartment complex a few times."
"I think you're right." Blaine said, watching two guys get out of the car. "Good, 'cause I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry, Blaine." Kurt laughed as Alec and Eric walked in.
"I have a ring!" Alec exclaimed dramatically when they were halfway to the table.
"You got engaged?" Kurt asked, blue eyes widening. "That's what you were hiding at the mall! When did you do it? You didn't do it before you had dinner with us!"
"Well I-."
"He did it late that night! When we got home we did some x-rated things—."
"Oh my God." Eric's eyes widened in horror. "PG version, Alec!"
"And after we were having this sweet moment and drinking hot chocolate—."
Kurt watched Alec with big eyes, looking excited.
"And then he proposed. He's been going on about how he doesn't want to get married for ages, but he proposed to me. It was so sweet. It was everything I've ever imagined. No. I'm lying. I never could have imagined it as good as it was."
Kurt , who now had his chin rested in the palm of his hand, let out a dreamy sort of sigh.
"But he'd been driving me crazy before that." Alec continued. "So crazy that I momentarily considered saying no."
"Oh, shut up." Eric rolled his eyes.
"I really didn't." Alec laughed. "But he had hid the ring in the bathroom. He legitimately would not leave me alone because he wanted to make sure I didn't stumble upon it and ruin the surprise." Alec explained. "The whole time I would use the bathroom, he would talk to me through the door. Let's not even discuss how awkward and distracting that is, by the way."
"Why the bathroom?" Blaine tilted his head, looking confused. He tried to not consider how Kurt always got moody and jealous when friends got engaged. He really didn't need to deal with all of that on top of everything else going on.
"I don't know. He hates cleaning them. It felt like the best option… until I realized it was the one room I couldn't follow him into all of the time." Eric shrugged.
"Oh my God. You two are engaged though." Kurt said, pouting a bit. "What's going to happen next year?"
"Just… Just listen to this." Alec said, gesturing for Eric to speak.
"I'm following him to New York. I'm going to find a job in New York when he goes to Parsons." Eric laughed.
"Correction. He's a sneaky little brat and already has a job." Alec cut in. "I'm pretty sure he's had this whole thing planned for months."
"The hardest part was the ring. Good luck with that for Kurt, Blaine. I was afraid he'd take one look at it and turn me down. Once or twice I almost broke down and asked him to come with me to pick it out."
"And you better be glad that you didn't." Alec said, very seriously. "I would have killed you. Well, conflicted injury. If I murdered you, I wouldn't have gotten a ring out of this."
Kurt glanced at Blaine and smiled. Maybe Kurt wasn't jealous. Good.
"How's Harvard going?" Eric asked Blaine after rolling his eyes at Alec.
"It's going well. I like it a lot." Blaine answered.
"You're done with medical school now, aren't you?"
"Almost. I'll be done in May." Eric said. "I'm very, very close to done."
"Just in time for us to go to New York together." Alec cheered, looking positively giddy. "Eight years part is so much better than the twelve years we thought we'd have to have apart."
Eric looked at Blaine, miming a talking mouth with his hand when Alec wasn't looking. Blaine snorted before quickly taking a drink.
"It's not stopped." Eric laughed. "Not. Stopped."
"That's such a nice ring." Kurt was saying, looking at Alec's hand.
"That hasn't stopped either. Ow, Alec. Don't kick me."
"The whole point of an engagement is to show off the ring." Alec said, rolling his eyes.
"And not to get married?"
"Well that too." Alec waved his hand. He then suddenly exclaimed, "Derek!"
Eric raised his hand, nearly covering Alec's mouth, but he was too late.
Blaine tensed up, resisting the urge to look behind him.
"Hey, guys."
If there was ever a voice that made Blaine want to punch someone that was it.
"Hey." Alec said cheerfully, waving.
"Hey, Kurt. Hi, Alec… Eric."
Blaine turned to see the person, feeling Kurt's hand on his leg.
Eric looked at Derek and then looked down at his phone.
"You must be Blaine. Derek." The guy, Derek, said as he thrust his hand forward. Too forward.
"Hi." Blaine said, taking a drink from his soda. If that guy thought Blaine was shaking his hand, he was sorely mistaken.
"Blaine." Kurt hissed, elbowing him.
"Sorry. I've been kind of sick to my stomach." Blaine said, forcing a smile. "Wouldn't want to get any more germs."
Eric let out a laugh which he quickly turned into a cough. "Sorry. Youtube videos. The one with the bird."
"How was your Christmas, Derek?" Kurt asked after sending Blaine a pointed look.
"It was great." Derek took a seat. "How was everyone else's?"
"It was great." Eric chirped, smiling too brightly. "I proposed to Alec on Christmas morning."
"…Congratulations." Derek said slowly.
"Thanks." Eric chirped. "That's very appreciated."
"Cool it." Alec muttered.
Blaine watched them curiously. At least he wasn't the only one that thought Derek sucked. He had been wrong about Alec and he was glad for that. However, he was pretty sure he wasn't wrong about Derek.
"Right. I'm going to go and get a refill." Eric stood.
"You don't even have a cup." Derek stated.
"Then I'll get one." Eric made his way up to the counter of the restaurant.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Derek said, laughing in a way that made Blaine want to kick his face in.
Kurt met Blaine's eyes and squeezed his leg, silently pleading for Blaine to be nice. Blaine just took another drink of his soda and pulled out his phone. He hadn't signed up for this being his last full night with Kurt. He had wanted to see Alec and Eric, to have a fun night before heading to the airport tomorrow afternoon.
I want to go, Blaine texted Kurt before going onto his Facebook.
I don't want to be rude. We'll leave soon, Kurt texted back.
He then sent another one three seconds later that said, I promise.
Eric came back over a few minutes later, sitting next to Blaine instead of by Alec and Derek. "So, Blaine, are you excited to go back to Boston?"
"I'm definitely ready to leave." Blaine said pointedly, not even reacting when Kurt punched his leg under the table.
"Am I intruding or something?" Derek asked. "Because I can leave."
"No." Kurt and Alec said together.
"Let me up, Blaine. I need to use the bathroom." Kurt said, standing.
"Yeah. Me too." Blaine stood also and followed Kurt to the empty bathroom.
"Stop it." Kurt snapped before the door was even shut.
"I want to go home."
"He's not said one mean thing to you." Kurt snapped. "You're acting like an asshole."
"Clearly Eric doesn't want him here either." Blaine argued. "He is the asshole. If he thinks I'm going to make friendly with him after what he did to you, then he's got another think coming. I am not going to sit and be nice to him. I have nothing to say to him."
"Well maybe you could just be nice for me."
"Don't even turn this into something like that." Blaine said, frowning. "You can't expect me to be nice to him after what he said to you about me and especially after what he did to you. You're way too forgiving."
"I work with him. I don't want to make trouble for myself. This internship will set me up with the right people." Kurt argued right back. "I can't go having negative things paired with my name."
"There is a difference in being cordial and being friends, Kurt. You're acting like his friend."
The bathroom door opened and Alec stepped in, looking almost as annoyed as Kurt did. "Do you all want to just go? We can say we have tickets to something."
"Whatever, Kurt. This is going to come back and bite you in the ass and I don't want to hear it when it does." Was all that Blaine said before leaving the bathroom.
"What in the hell?" Kurt fumed when the door shut.
"Eric's acting worse than him." Alec sighed. "I don't know why Eric hates him so much. At least Blaine has half a reason."
"No. Blaine just gets jealous and turns into an asshole. It's getting really old." Kurt glared at the wall. "I guess we should go before someone ends up killing each other. Although I haven't ruled out killing Blaine quite yet."
Alec rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't kill him."
"You're right. That'd be too messy." Kurt joked and opened the door. They made their way back to the table, but only Derek was there.
"Where'd they go?" Alec asked impatiently.
"Outside. I think something's wrong with Blaine. He seemed very upset." Derek said, biting his lip. "I'm going to go, guys. Sorry if I caused any tension."
"See you later." Kurt said before heading out of the restaurant.
"Just calm down. He's an asshole, okay?" he heard Eric's voice say. "It's not worth it to get this worked up over someone like him. It's exactly what he wanted."
"It's bullshit. It's complete bullshit!" Blaine exclaimed, kicking the tire of Kurt's Navigator.
"What are you doing?" Kurt asked, rushing over.
"You may want to give him a few minutes." Eric said quietly, eyes on Blaine who looked so angry that he was about to cry.
"What happened, Blaine?" Kurt asked, moving closer to him.
"I want to go home, Kurt!"
"He left. You can quit acting like this."
"Right." Blaine sneered. "I'll quit acting like this."
Kurt sighed and turned to Eric. "What happened when I was in the bathroom?"
"Give me the car keys, Kurt." Blaine, who had been leaning against the car, stood up straight and held out his hand.
"No. Not until someone tells me what's going on." Kurt protested.
"I'm fucking pissed off and I want to go home. If you won't let me in the car, then I'll just call David to pick me up!" Blaine's voice grew louder.
"Don't talk to me like that! What is your problem?" Kurt's eyes narrowed as he stood his ground. "Blaine, this has got to stop."
"SEE? See! It's always me!" Blaine shouted to Eric as Alec stepped out, looking extremely confused. "I didn't say anything to him to deserve—."
"Is he okay?" Alec whispered to Eric.
"Derek… Derek basically just verbally attacked Blaine." Eric said calmly, moving to Blaine.
Kurt eyed Blaine, not saying anything. Blaine stared right back, not even blinking.
"As soon as Alec left, he started in on Blaine. He started saying that…" Eric glanced at Blaine and then trailed off. "Stuff. He started saying stuff."
"Are we going or not?" Blaine snapped. When he didn't get an answer soon enough for his liking, he turned and walked off.
"Blaine! Where are you going?" Kurt exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it!" Blaine called back, fiddling with his phone.
"What happened?" Kurt asked Eric, looking pissed.
"Derek started saying that it must have been horrible to have to be taken in by your parents and that you… must have only felt bad for him, so that's why you two are still together… and then he said…" Eric glanced at Blaine and then lowered his voice to where Blaine couldn't hear. "Something about how it was pitiful that he stayed with you all and that he should just go home to his rich parents… but 'I sense daddy issues.' Blaine kind of lost it there. He stood, almost knocked the chair over, and came outside. I was worried, so I followed him out here."
Kurt stared at him, trying to decide how much of it was an exaggeration.
"Look. That guy is an asshole. When he first met Alec he would try to pull the same stuff with me but he never took it that far."
"No. You just blew things he said out of proportion." Alec cut in.
"Exactly." Eric scoffed. "Blaine is that upset because of something else that happened."
"Blaine gets angry very quickly and sometimes he builds stuff up in his head." Kurt looked at Eric. "Are you sure that's what happened?"
"I was right there. That's what happened." Eric nodded.
Blaine walked back up, taking a deep breath. He then spoke slowly and in a calm voice. "I would like to go home."
"Just calm down. You're not thinking straight. You're ruining our last night together." Kurt pleaded. "Just calm down."
"Kurt, I want to go home." Blaine repeated.
"Well I don't. We were supposed to all four have dinner and see a movie. We were supposed to have fun." Kurt stepped closer to him. "Blaine…"
"If you don't leave with me, David is going to pick me up."
"But you leave tomorrow!" Kurt said, feeling tears fill his eyes. "Blaine, come on!"
"I am really upset right now and you are so convinced it's my fault or that it's in my head!" Blaine exclaimed. "I don't want to be out right now!" He then turned to Alec and Eric. "No offense."
"Why won't you just calm down and talk to me about this? It doesn't have to turn into a big thing." Kurt kept his voice low and gentle.
"Why won't you just accept that that creep is a douchefuck?" Blaine asked.
"Blaine, I'm sorry if he said anything to you…"
"Why did you tell him that I had to move in with you?"
Kurt looked at him, completely taken back. "What?"
"As if it isn't hard enough for me to deal with the fact that the closest people to me aren't even my family, you have to go and tell people I don't even know? That's my personal life!"
"Blaine, I never said anything about your parents to him." Kurt said quickly, trying to step up as Blaine backed away.
"Well he knew I lived with you."
"I told him that you took c-care of me after the… after the attack. I never—I never said—." Kurt swallowed hard, trying to stop himself from starting to cry. What in the world was even going on? How was this escalating so damn fast? And how did Blaine think he would really tell people about Blaine's family issues? Kurt would never do that. "Anything about t-that. T-To anyone."
"I'm sorry. I can't be around you right now. I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave." Blaine said.
"Blaine, I didn't say anything." Kurt grabbed his hand. "I promise you. I didn't say anything."
"Okay." Blaine looked in his eyes. "But I still want to stay somewhere else."
"We can't do this every time we fight. We can't just run away all the time!" Tears spilled over. "Don't leave. We'll go home, okay? We'll go home and we'll talk about it. Or we won't. But don't leave."
"I need to be alone."
"No. With David. You always have to go off to David or Wes when something happens! Why can't you talk to me?" Kurt was now close to full on crying. He couldn't help it. This was their last night together. It was supposed to be nice… not… this.
"Just give me a few hours." Blaine said. "And I'll come home."
"Fine. Fine! Go and tell them everything! God, maybe you should just date them!" Kurt burst into tears as Blaine walked off.
Alec and Eric were standing farther off now, looking down and trying not to hear as much as possible.
"T-This is w-why I was worried. Nobody ever sta-stays and works stuff out." Kurt cried, coming up. "One of us always runs o-off. L-Last t-time it was m-me. Th-The time before th-that, it was h-him."
Alec put a hand on Kurt's back and rubbed it up and down once, frowning.
"Who k-knows if w-we'll even be on good terms w-when he goes back t-tomorrow." Kurt continued, wiping his eyes. "S-Sometimes when w-we fight, i-it lasts w-weeks."
"Just try to talk to him when he comes home in a few hours?" Alec asked, looking anxious.
"I-If he does. The last time he left, I didn't see him for three weeks." Kurt let out a harsh laugh and wiped his eyes again. "G-Guys, I'm sorry but I j-just want to go h-home."
"No. Let's go see the movie." Alec said, putting his hand on Kurt's back again and rubbing up and down once more. "You'll feel better. Just take your mind off of it. It'll blow over. He's just upset. If… If Derek really said those things, he's got a reason to be if there really are… family issues. It's understandable."
"H-He never comes to m-me. It's a-always h-his friends. I c-can't compete w-with the-them and e-everything they did for him." Kurt watery hiccoughed, wiping his eyes.
"You're really upset." Eric said gently, meeting Kurt's eyes. "You shouldn't be driving this upset. We'll go see the movie or do something else. You'll feel better."
"Fine." Kurt sniffed loudly and wiped his eyes once again. "O-Okay."
Alec dropped his hand from Kurt's back and led both Kurt and Eric back to their car, opening the back door for Kurt. "It'll be okay. I promise."
"We made each other cry so many times." Eric said as he hopped into the front seat. "I could have killed Alec a few times. It's all a part of being in a long distance relationship."
"Well being in a long distance relationship sucks." Kurt said, closing the back door as Alec got in the backseat on the other side. "I'm ready for this to be o-over."
Alec met Eric's eyes through the rear view mirror and frowned. Kurt looked down, pretending he hadn't noticed. Maybe he was getting a little too upset, maybe he was overreacting, but how much was he supposed to take before cracking?
One question that came up in reviews: When Kurt goes to Parsons, the boys will be roughly 4-5 hours apart if I remember correctly. It's been a few months since I mapped that all out and checked on those facts. They will be too far apart to live together, but they will be close enough that they could visit each other much, much more than they get to visit now. Theoretically, it would be easier on them once they live closer together but I won't make any promises on that.