Drabbles: Wet Cats and Locked Cars
Title: Of Wet Cats and Singing & Locked Cars and Bad Weather
Pairing(s);Character(s): Karofsky/Kurt
Rating: PG; PG-13
Genre: Romance
Word Count: 1648 & 1656
Warnings: Cheesiness
Summary: Both are inspired by the prompt, "Dave and Kurt get stuck in the rain."
A/N: A very late birthday present for wickedwhiskey
Of Wet Cats and Singing
Dave nearly choked on his coffee when he saw the slim figure rush past him. That can’t be him, he thought. Not in Chicago. Unable to really control himself, Dave followed as best he could. He could feel the pressure of oncoming rain, but he knew he still had a bit of time before he’d have to seek shelter.
It was two blocks before the figure he was following disappeared into a building… one with security guards. Groaning quietly to himself, Dave hunkered down just outside, being sure to slowly sip on his coffee.
He told himself as the minutes past that he wasn’t being that creepy. He and Kurt were friends. Sort of. For some reason, Dave had never been able to get himself to answer the emails Kurt would send. They were coming less often now. But Dave wasn’t sure if it was because Kurt was giving up or if he was just busy. After all, in his last email, Kurt had said, a little cryptically, “It’s nice being able to work as a free man.”
It was that email when Dave discovered that Kurt was working at Vogue in New York. Which was why he was so confused.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been waiting, but Dave noticed he was almost out of coffee when Kurt walked back out, looking a lot less rushed. Taking a deep breath, Dave walked over, tossing his cup and hoping his smile looked sincere and didn’t reveal just how scared he was.
“Kurt?” he said, surprised that his voice came out much louder than the whisper he was expecting.
As soon as the boy turned Dave’s nerves dripped away. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Kurt look so happy.
“Dave! Oh my God, what are you doing here?” Then he threw his arms around Dave’s neck and gave him a strong hug.
“My Dad and I moved here a few months ago,” Dave said. “I’m going to college just outside the city and decided to take my day off to site see.” Where was Dave finding this ability to talk with Kurt? “I’m more curious as to why you’re here. Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?”
“My boss wanted me to give a presentation for her. I said yes before I found out I was coming to the Chicago office.” Kurt shrugged, his smile never really leaving his face. “If I had known you lived here now I would have let you know.”
Clearing his throat, Dave looked away, feeling his face warm with a blush. “Yeah. I’m sorry I never email you back. I still don’t know why I don’t. But I look forward to every email you send.”
“Well, I do enjoy being able to rant sometimes,” Kurt said, chuckling a little. “I think I’ve gotten used to you not answering. My emails to you are the most therapeutic I’ve ever sent. It’s like I’m talking to a cat.”
That got a laugh out of Dave. “I don’t know how to feel being compared to a cat.”
“Shush, it’s a good thing.”
They shared a smile before a slightly awkward silence fell over them. Kurt sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but Dave beat him to it.
“Are you doing anything else? Want to site see with me?”
Dave wasn’t sure if the look on Kurt’s face was thankful or surprised. Maybe both.
“I’d love to.”
They had just walked one block towards the shore when Dave felt the first signs of a heavy rain. Cursing silently, he looked around frantically for someplace they could take shelter. Seeing a department store he grabbed Kurt’s hand and pulled him in just as the clouds opened up.
“Holy shit!” Kurt exclaimed, standing at the door and staring out. “Does it always rain like that?” he asked, looking back at Dave.
Dave shrugged. “Not really. It’s just bad in the city because of the wind it gets from the lake. Without wind I don’t think it would be this bad.” He saw Kurt’s umbrella and pointed to it, “That’s going to do shit in this rain.”
“Well duh,” said Kurt laughing. Finally, they turned around and Kurt’s eyes went wide in surprise.
So did Dave’s, but for a slightly different reason.
“Oh my God! This is perfect!”
Dave twisted his head around to stare at Kurt in surprise and horror. “Please tell me you aren’t wearing a wedding dress to marry Blaine.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “Please, I’m done with Blaine.”
“That’s the part of my statement you’re having a problem with?” Dave tried not to get his hopes up about Kurt not dating Blaine. He was brought out of his thoughts by a rather strong punch to his arm.
“I’m not ever going to wear a wedding dress for my wedding,” he said. “But I’ve been trying to think of some new ideas to pitch to my boss. What better place to find inspiration than a dress shop?”
“Uh…”
“Okay, so maybe it’s not the most original,” said Kurt, walking a little further in and looking at the closest dress to him. “But I’ve never really looked too closely at any wedding dresses. This could be fun.”
And it was fun… for Kurt. Dave stood off to the side, explaining to every single person why they were there and what Kurt was doing. When he wasn’t doing that, he was thinking about Kurt and his possible single status. Almost an hour later, the rain was still coming down and Kurt seemed to be loosing his excitement.
It was while they were both staring out the door when Dave could no longer control his thoughts from escaping. “Why did you and Blaine break up?”
He regretted asking as soon as the words were out in the open because all the happiness on Kurt’s face disappeared.
“Simply put,” Kurt took a deep breath, “He cheated on me. He slept with someone else.”
“Must be the hair gel,” Dave mumbled.
“What?” asked Kurt, turning towards Dave. “What the hell does hair gel have to do with anything?”
Dave shrugged. “I mean, something must have gotten to him that made him think you weren’t enough or whatever.”
Sighing, Kurt shook his head. “Apparently it was the long distance. But it doesn’t matter why. He did it. And I can’t forgive him for that, no matter what his reasons.”
Dave nodded. He should have known better than to try and lift Kurt’s spirits with a joke about his ex. They stood in another awkward silence before Dave tried again. “Okay, so I’m hating that I practically ruined your mood. What can we do to fix that? You were really happy ten minutes ago.”
“It’s not your fault that my mood dropped a little,” Kurt said, giving a half smile. “You don’t have to do anything.”
“But you’re not fun to be around when you look all depressed,” said Dave. “There has to be something we can do to make you happy again, even if it’s just for the rest of today.”
Kurt bit his lip, looking out the door for another minute before turning to Dave, a mischievous smile growing on his lips. “There is one thing that I’ve never done. And now would be the perfect time.”
“What is it?” Dave asked, feeling only a little bit apprehensive.
“Do you mind getting wet?”
“Uh…”
The pout Kurt displayed would have convinced a saint to sin. “It would make me really happy.”
“Fine,” Dave said, smiling, letting Kurt pull him out into the rain. At least it was dying down a little, though not by much. “Why are we getting wet?”
Kurt handed Dave his umbrella and smiled wide. “I’ve always wanted to sing Singin’ in the Rain… in the rain. I know we did a mash-up in glee, but real rain is a very different feel. You are going to be my audience.”
He barely waited for Dave to nod before starting to sing.
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo...
Just singin' in the rain
I'm singin' in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again.
I'm laughing at clouds.
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love.
He’d only been skipping around before, doing a few dance moves. Keeping it simple. But now he started splashing around, humming what sounded like an instrumental part. Then he pulled Dave closer, making him help by supporting some of his crazier moves.
He slipped, falling into Dave’s arms and finished the song in a much less theatrical way. Dave couldn’t bring himself to pull his hands away from Kurt’s hips.
Let the stormy clouds chase.
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
just singin'
singin' in the rain
dancin' in the rain...
im happy again...
I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain...
Without warning, Kurt closed the distance between them, his lips crashing into Dave’s. They kissed for only a few seconds before Kurt pulled away.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
Dave chuckled, opening his eyes that he didn’t remember closing. “That’s okay. Consider us even.”
Kurt bit his lip, but couldn’t stop himself from laughing anyways. “Okay,” he said, nodding, “We’re even. Thank you. That was fun.”
Now, Dave could have made a comment on whether Kurt was talking about the singing or the kiss, but didn’t want to make things awkward again. Instead he suggested they head towards where ever Kurt was staying so he could get dry. Then Dave would start heading home.
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
It was only two days later when Dave got another email from Kurt. It was a short one.
I’m sick, but happy. Thank you for that. -Kurt
Smiling, Dave sent a quick reply.
Meow
The End
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Locked Cars and Bad Weather
Kurt groaned as he felt the first droplets of water. This was not good. After three years, he’d finally managed to save enough money to buy a crappy car, knowing he was talented enough to fix it himself. Unfortunately, he wanted to surprise his dad and do it at home. Which meant traveling in a crappy car for a long distance. And of course that lead to it breaking down less than ten miles outside of Lima.
At least he knew exactly what the problem was. But he didn’t have the tools to fix it. He’d already called a tow truck, but had been unable to pull himself away from the engine. Hoping a last minute idea would come to him for a temporary fix. Nothing ever came.
Except the rain. And now he couldn’t get into his car. He still had cloth seats, which meant if they got too wet then the car would smell funny for the rest of its life. He refused to let that happen. So he closed the hood and huddled on the passenger side, away from the road. This trip was not turning out very well.
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Dave was happy to be going back home. After a taking a year at the community college he’d finally gotten into Cornell on a partial scholarship. So after two years of working constantly, he finally got a week off to visit his dad.
He was so close to home, cursing the rain for slowing him down, when he saw the figure and the car by the side of the road. He’d pass by, except he was pretty sure he knew who it was. He’d spent too much time obsessing over that man in the past to not know.
Letting out a sigh, he pulled over, wondering if he could help. They may not have talked since graduation, but there wasn’t really bad blood between them any more.
“Kurt?” he called through the rain, the slam of his door catching the man’s attention.
Kurt turned, clearly surprised. “David! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” said Dave. “Why aren’t you waiting in your car?”
“Wet seats do not a good smell make,” said Kurt. “I just got this car, I’m not going to make it smell.”
Dave shook his head, letting a small grin take over his features. Leave it to Kurt to stand in the rain for a reason like that. “Well, at least come wait in my car. I have leather seats.”
Kurt didn’t even think about it. He was already walking towards Dave’s car before the offer was completely out of his mouth. He tugged on the passenger side handle and looked at Dave. “Locked?”
“Habit,” Dave shrugged.
Then he tried his own door. Which was also locked. He moved to grab his keys from his pocket when his eyes caught something shining in his cup holder. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he mumbled… staring at his keys inside his car. Looking up at Kurt he gave the man an apologetic look. “Think your tow truck would be able to open my car?”
Kurt sighed. “Probably.”
Dave walked around, leaning next to Kurt on the safer side of the car. “Sorry. It’s just habit. I never leave my keys in my car in New York. But I do at home. I guess I’m close enough to Lima to get back to that.”
“It’s a terrible habit,” Kurt mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “At least I’m already soaked.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes before Kurt spoke again. “You live in New York?”
That sparked a ten-minute conversation that revealed to Kurt the kind of friendship they could have had if he’d tried harder to act on his promise. Random texts, while apparently appreciated, do not a friendship make.
“The truck shouldn’t be too much longer now,” said Kurt, immediately following the comment with a sneeze.
“You okay?” asked Dave. “How long were you in the rain before I got here?”
Kurt shrugged, suddenly noticing that his shivers were getting stronger. “I didn’t think it was that long.”
Without thinking about it, Dave pulled Kurt into a hug. “Well, you look freezing,” Dave said, rubbing his arms up and down Kurt’s back in an attempt to warm him up. Then he froze, realizing what he was doing. “God, Kurt, I’m sorry,” he said, starting to pull away, only to be stopped by Kurt’s hands fisting in his shirt.
“You’re warm,” Kurt mumbled, returning to his spot in Dave’s arms.
Letting out a surprised huff, Dave relaxed again, both of them falling into a comfortable silence.
Barely five minutes later the truck pulled up. Five minutes and a twenty-dollar bill later, Dave and Kurt were sitting in the warmth of Dave’s car as the mechanic connected Kurt’s vehicle to the truck.
They’d already decided that the car would be taken to Hummel’s Tire and Lube and Kurt would go there in a few hours after he’d gotten dried off and warmed up. But Kurt refused to leave until he saw that his car was safely on the road.
As they drove into town, Dave made sure his heat was up all the way and blasting on Kurt who was already sniffling.
“Who’s house should we go to first?” Dave asked.
“I really wanted to surprise Dad and Carole,” Kurt said. “Mind if we go over to yours? Maybe I can dry my clothes there, go pick up my car and then go home.”
“Sounds good to me.”
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
“I can’t believe you didn’t think to get a change of clothes from your car?” said Dave, standing outside his bathroom door. Kurt was inside, changing into some clothes of Dave’s.
“Shut up,” said Kurt. “Any clothes I pulled out would have gotten wet in the transfer anyways.”
He emerged a moment later wearing one of Dave’s oversized sweatshirts and a pair of his mom’s old yoga pants that got left behind when she moved out.
“What?” asked Kurt, running his hands self-consciously through his hair, he’d been horrified to discover that neither Dave nor his Dad had a hairdryer.
Dave hadn’t even realized he was staring and didn’t think before blurting out what was apparently on his mind. “Only you could make an oversized sweatshirt look hot.”
Red immediately flooded Kurt’s face. “Thank you… I think.”
Clearing his throat, Dave turned and led the way to the laundry room, watching in only a little bit of surprise as Kurt tossed his clothes into the dryer and not place them on the available hangers.
“Just because you have a boyfriend doesn’t mean you can’t accept compliments from other guys,” Dave said, watching as Kurt worked.
The slim man paused, glancing over his shoulder before continuing. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” he said.
Dave wanted to ask what happened to Blaine but decided against it. “Wanna watch a movie?”
Kurt grinned, nodding his head a little. “That’d be nice.”
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Two years later, Dave groaned inwardly as he felt the first droplet hit his face.
“Come on, Dave,” whined Kurt, “It’s starting to rain.”
“I know, I know,” nodded Dave, patting his pockets and hoping he heard the jingle of his keys. Panicking a little, he thought through exactly what he’d done when they got to the restaurant. He’d turned off the car, set the keys down to pick it up and then put them in his right jacket pocket…
Dave froze when he felt the little box in his coat. He’d been so worried of screwing up at dinner that he’d decided to wait until they were in a more private place. He couldn’t decide if this was all a good thing or a bad thing. The combination of Kurt’s quiet sigh and the sudden down pouring of rain told him he’d sort of lucked out.
“I’ll call Bob,” said Kurt.
Apparently Dave hadn’t told the whole truth about never leaving his keys in the car while in New York, because he seemed to do it every time he was with Kurt. They’d become pretty good friends with the local tire shop owner.
A few moments later they leaned against the car to wait for Bob, Dave fingering the box nervously. Finally, he decided that he wanted to ask before Bob got there and pulled out the velveteen box.
Not wanting to give Kurt any chance at jumping to conclusions or mock him, he fell gracefully to one knee and revealed the now open box to his boyfriend. “Kurt, will you marry me?”
Kurt stared in surprise. A look that was matched by Dave when he heard the initial reply.
“I don’t know if I should be mad about my suite getting ruined or if I should commend you for the nearly impossible planning.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Dave, slowly getting back to his feet.
“You proposed on our second anniversary? In the rain? Next to the very car that brought us back together?”
Dave glanced at the car, the newly and completely refurbished one that Kurt had let him drive as an anniversary gift. “Okay, so I didn’t plan all of it. I kinda lucked out on the last parts.”
“Well good,” said Kurt, plucking the ring from Dave’s hand. “And yes, David,” he said, “I will marry you.”
They were still in the celebratory lip lock when Bob pulled up. He just got out of his car and smiled at them. When Kurt pulled away, blushing, Bob made quick work of the locks and turned back to them. “You read the inscription yet?” he asked.
Kurt raised an eyebrow, surprised that their “car-unlocker” knew more about all this than he did. Carefully, only a little afraid of dropping the ring in the rain, he took the loop of metal from its box and squinted his eyes to read the inscription.
Yours, Rain Or Shine
The End
Pairing(s);Character(s): Karofsky/Kurt
Rating: PG; PG-13
Genre: Romance
Word Count: 1648 & 1656
Warnings: Cheesiness
Summary: Both are inspired by the prompt, "Dave and Kurt get stuck in the rain."
A/N: A very late birthday present for wickedwhiskey
Of Wet Cats and Singing
Dave nearly choked on his coffee when he saw the slim figure rush past him. That can’t be him, he thought. Not in Chicago. Unable to really control himself, Dave followed as best he could. He could feel the pressure of oncoming rain, but he knew he still had a bit of time before he’d have to seek shelter.
It was two blocks before the figure he was following disappeared into a building… one with security guards. Groaning quietly to himself, Dave hunkered down just outside, being sure to slowly sip on his coffee.
He told himself as the minutes past that he wasn’t being that creepy. He and Kurt were friends. Sort of. For some reason, Dave had never been able to get himself to answer the emails Kurt would send. They were coming less often now. But Dave wasn’t sure if it was because Kurt was giving up or if he was just busy. After all, in his last email, Kurt had said, a little cryptically, “It’s nice being able to work as a free man.”
It was that email when Dave discovered that Kurt was working at Vogue in New York. Which was why he was so confused.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been waiting, but Dave noticed he was almost out of coffee when Kurt walked back out, looking a lot less rushed. Taking a deep breath, Dave walked over, tossing his cup and hoping his smile looked sincere and didn’t reveal just how scared he was.
“Kurt?” he said, surprised that his voice came out much louder than the whisper he was expecting.
As soon as the boy turned Dave’s nerves dripped away. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Kurt look so happy.
“Dave! Oh my God, what are you doing here?” Then he threw his arms around Dave’s neck and gave him a strong hug.
“My Dad and I moved here a few months ago,” Dave said. “I’m going to college just outside the city and decided to take my day off to site see.” Where was Dave finding this ability to talk with Kurt? “I’m more curious as to why you’re here. Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?”
“My boss wanted me to give a presentation for her. I said yes before I found out I was coming to the Chicago office.” Kurt shrugged, his smile never really leaving his face. “If I had known you lived here now I would have let you know.”
Clearing his throat, Dave looked away, feeling his face warm with a blush. “Yeah. I’m sorry I never email you back. I still don’t know why I don’t. But I look forward to every email you send.”
“Well, I do enjoy being able to rant sometimes,” Kurt said, chuckling a little. “I think I’ve gotten used to you not answering. My emails to you are the most therapeutic I’ve ever sent. It’s like I’m talking to a cat.”
That got a laugh out of Dave. “I don’t know how to feel being compared to a cat.”
“Shush, it’s a good thing.”
They shared a smile before a slightly awkward silence fell over them. Kurt sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but Dave beat him to it.
“Are you doing anything else? Want to site see with me?”
Dave wasn’t sure if the look on Kurt’s face was thankful or surprised. Maybe both.
“I’d love to.”
They had just walked one block towards the shore when Dave felt the first signs of a heavy rain. Cursing silently, he looked around frantically for someplace they could take shelter. Seeing a department store he grabbed Kurt’s hand and pulled him in just as the clouds opened up.
“Holy shit!” Kurt exclaimed, standing at the door and staring out. “Does it always rain like that?” he asked, looking back at Dave.
Dave shrugged. “Not really. It’s just bad in the city because of the wind it gets from the lake. Without wind I don’t think it would be this bad.” He saw Kurt’s umbrella and pointed to it, “That’s going to do shit in this rain.”
“Well duh,” said Kurt laughing. Finally, they turned around and Kurt’s eyes went wide in surprise.
So did Dave’s, but for a slightly different reason.
“Oh my God! This is perfect!”
Dave twisted his head around to stare at Kurt in surprise and horror. “Please tell me you aren’t wearing a wedding dress to marry Blaine.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “Please, I’m done with Blaine.”
“That’s the part of my statement you’re having a problem with?” Dave tried not to get his hopes up about Kurt not dating Blaine. He was brought out of his thoughts by a rather strong punch to his arm.
“I’m not ever going to wear a wedding dress for my wedding,” he said. “But I’ve been trying to think of some new ideas to pitch to my boss. What better place to find inspiration than a dress shop?”
“Uh…”
“Okay, so maybe it’s not the most original,” said Kurt, walking a little further in and looking at the closest dress to him. “But I’ve never really looked too closely at any wedding dresses. This could be fun.”
And it was fun… for Kurt. Dave stood off to the side, explaining to every single person why they were there and what Kurt was doing. When he wasn’t doing that, he was thinking about Kurt and his possible single status. Almost an hour later, the rain was still coming down and Kurt seemed to be loosing his excitement.
It was while they were both staring out the door when Dave could no longer control his thoughts from escaping. “Why did you and Blaine break up?”
He regretted asking as soon as the words were out in the open because all the happiness on Kurt’s face disappeared.
“Simply put,” Kurt took a deep breath, “He cheated on me. He slept with someone else.”
“Must be the hair gel,” Dave mumbled.
“What?” asked Kurt, turning towards Dave. “What the hell does hair gel have to do with anything?”
Dave shrugged. “I mean, something must have gotten to him that made him think you weren’t enough or whatever.”
Sighing, Kurt shook his head. “Apparently it was the long distance. But it doesn’t matter why. He did it. And I can’t forgive him for that, no matter what his reasons.”
Dave nodded. He should have known better than to try and lift Kurt’s spirits with a joke about his ex. They stood in another awkward silence before Dave tried again. “Okay, so I’m hating that I practically ruined your mood. What can we do to fix that? You were really happy ten minutes ago.”
“It’s not your fault that my mood dropped a little,” Kurt said, giving a half smile. “You don’t have to do anything.”
“But you’re not fun to be around when you look all depressed,” said Dave. “There has to be something we can do to make you happy again, even if it’s just for the rest of today.”
Kurt bit his lip, looking out the door for another minute before turning to Dave, a mischievous smile growing on his lips. “There is one thing that I’ve never done. And now would be the perfect time.”
“What is it?” Dave asked, feeling only a little bit apprehensive.
“Do you mind getting wet?”
“Uh…”
The pout Kurt displayed would have convinced a saint to sin. “It would make me really happy.”
“Fine,” Dave said, smiling, letting Kurt pull him out into the rain. At least it was dying down a little, though not by much. “Why are we getting wet?”
Kurt handed Dave his umbrella and smiled wide. “I’ve always wanted to sing Singin’ in the Rain… in the rain. I know we did a mash-up in glee, but real rain is a very different feel. You are going to be my audience.”
He barely waited for Dave to nod before starting to sing.
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo-doo...
Just singin' in the rain
I'm singin' in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again.
I'm laughing at clouds.
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love.
He’d only been skipping around before, doing a few dance moves. Keeping it simple. But now he started splashing around, humming what sounded like an instrumental part. Then he pulled Dave closer, making him help by supporting some of his crazier moves.
He slipped, falling into Dave’s arms and finished the song in a much less theatrical way. Dave couldn’t bring himself to pull his hands away from Kurt’s hips.
Let the stormy clouds chase.
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
just singin'
singin' in the rain
dancin' in the rain...
im happy again...
I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain...
Without warning, Kurt closed the distance between them, his lips crashing into Dave’s. They kissed for only a few seconds before Kurt pulled away.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
Dave chuckled, opening his eyes that he didn’t remember closing. “That’s okay. Consider us even.”
Kurt bit his lip, but couldn’t stop himself from laughing anyways. “Okay,” he said, nodding, “We’re even. Thank you. That was fun.”
Now, Dave could have made a comment on whether Kurt was talking about the singing or the kiss, but didn’t want to make things awkward again. Instead he suggested they head towards where ever Kurt was staying so he could get dry. Then Dave would start heading home.
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
It was only two days later when Dave got another email from Kurt. It was a short one.
I’m sick, but happy. Thank you for that. -Kurt
Smiling, Dave sent a quick reply.
Meow
The End
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Locked Cars and Bad Weather
Kurt groaned as he felt the first droplets of water. This was not good. After three years, he’d finally managed to save enough money to buy a crappy car, knowing he was talented enough to fix it himself. Unfortunately, he wanted to surprise his dad and do it at home. Which meant traveling in a crappy car for a long distance. And of course that lead to it breaking down less than ten miles outside of Lima.
At least he knew exactly what the problem was. But he didn’t have the tools to fix it. He’d already called a tow truck, but had been unable to pull himself away from the engine. Hoping a last minute idea would come to him for a temporary fix. Nothing ever came.
Except the rain. And now he couldn’t get into his car. He still had cloth seats, which meant if they got too wet then the car would smell funny for the rest of its life. He refused to let that happen. So he closed the hood and huddled on the passenger side, away from the road. This trip was not turning out very well.
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Dave was happy to be going back home. After a taking a year at the community college he’d finally gotten into Cornell on a partial scholarship. So after two years of working constantly, he finally got a week off to visit his dad.
He was so close to home, cursing the rain for slowing him down, when he saw the figure and the car by the side of the road. He’d pass by, except he was pretty sure he knew who it was. He’d spent too much time obsessing over that man in the past to not know.
Letting out a sigh, he pulled over, wondering if he could help. They may not have talked since graduation, but there wasn’t really bad blood between them any more.
“Kurt?” he called through the rain, the slam of his door catching the man’s attention.
Kurt turned, clearly surprised. “David! What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” said Dave. “Why aren’t you waiting in your car?”
“Wet seats do not a good smell make,” said Kurt. “I just got this car, I’m not going to make it smell.”
Dave shook his head, letting a small grin take over his features. Leave it to Kurt to stand in the rain for a reason like that. “Well, at least come wait in my car. I have leather seats.”
Kurt didn’t even think about it. He was already walking towards Dave’s car before the offer was completely out of his mouth. He tugged on the passenger side handle and looked at Dave. “Locked?”
“Habit,” Dave shrugged.
Then he tried his own door. Which was also locked. He moved to grab his keys from his pocket when his eyes caught something shining in his cup holder. “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he mumbled… staring at his keys inside his car. Looking up at Kurt he gave the man an apologetic look. “Think your tow truck would be able to open my car?”
Kurt sighed. “Probably.”
Dave walked around, leaning next to Kurt on the safer side of the car. “Sorry. It’s just habit. I never leave my keys in my car in New York. But I do at home. I guess I’m close enough to Lima to get back to that.”
“It’s a terrible habit,” Kurt mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “At least I’m already soaked.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes before Kurt spoke again. “You live in New York?”
That sparked a ten-minute conversation that revealed to Kurt the kind of friendship they could have had if he’d tried harder to act on his promise. Random texts, while apparently appreciated, do not a friendship make.
“The truck shouldn’t be too much longer now,” said Kurt, immediately following the comment with a sneeze.
“You okay?” asked Dave. “How long were you in the rain before I got here?”
Kurt shrugged, suddenly noticing that his shivers were getting stronger. “I didn’t think it was that long.”
Without thinking about it, Dave pulled Kurt into a hug. “Well, you look freezing,” Dave said, rubbing his arms up and down Kurt’s back in an attempt to warm him up. Then he froze, realizing what he was doing. “God, Kurt, I’m sorry,” he said, starting to pull away, only to be stopped by Kurt’s hands fisting in his shirt.
“You’re warm,” Kurt mumbled, returning to his spot in Dave’s arms.
Letting out a surprised huff, Dave relaxed again, both of them falling into a comfortable silence.
Barely five minutes later the truck pulled up. Five minutes and a twenty-dollar bill later, Dave and Kurt were sitting in the warmth of Dave’s car as the mechanic connected Kurt’s vehicle to the truck.
They’d already decided that the car would be taken to Hummel’s Tire and Lube and Kurt would go there in a few hours after he’d gotten dried off and warmed up. But Kurt refused to leave until he saw that his car was safely on the road.
As they drove into town, Dave made sure his heat was up all the way and blasting on Kurt who was already sniffling.
“Who’s house should we go to first?” Dave asked.
“I really wanted to surprise Dad and Carole,” Kurt said. “Mind if we go over to yours? Maybe I can dry my clothes there, go pick up my car and then go home.”
“Sounds good to me.”
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
“I can’t believe you didn’t think to get a change of clothes from your car?” said Dave, standing outside his bathroom door. Kurt was inside, changing into some clothes of Dave’s.
“Shut up,” said Kurt. “Any clothes I pulled out would have gotten wet in the transfer anyways.”
He emerged a moment later wearing one of Dave’s oversized sweatshirts and a pair of his mom’s old yoga pants that got left behind when she moved out.
“What?” asked Kurt, running his hands self-consciously through his hair, he’d been horrified to discover that neither Dave nor his Dad had a hairdryer.
Dave hadn’t even realized he was staring and didn’t think before blurting out what was apparently on his mind. “Only you could make an oversized sweatshirt look hot.”
Red immediately flooded Kurt’s face. “Thank you… I think.”
Clearing his throat, Dave turned and led the way to the laundry room, watching in only a little bit of surprise as Kurt tossed his clothes into the dryer and not place them on the available hangers.
“Just because you have a boyfriend doesn’t mean you can’t accept compliments from other guys,” Dave said, watching as Kurt worked.
The slim man paused, glancing over his shoulder before continuing. “I don’t have a boyfriend,” he said.
Dave wanted to ask what happened to Blaine but decided against it. “Wanna watch a movie?”
Kurt grinned, nodding his head a little. “That’d be nice.”
☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂☁ ☂
Two years later, Dave groaned inwardly as he felt the first droplet hit his face.
“Come on, Dave,” whined Kurt, “It’s starting to rain.”
“I know, I know,” nodded Dave, patting his pockets and hoping he heard the jingle of his keys. Panicking a little, he thought through exactly what he’d done when they got to the restaurant. He’d turned off the car, set the keys down to pick it up and then put them in his right jacket pocket…
Dave froze when he felt the little box in his coat. He’d been so worried of screwing up at dinner that he’d decided to wait until they were in a more private place. He couldn’t decide if this was all a good thing or a bad thing. The combination of Kurt’s quiet sigh and the sudden down pouring of rain told him he’d sort of lucked out.
“I’ll call Bob,” said Kurt.
Apparently Dave hadn’t told the whole truth about never leaving his keys in the car while in New York, because he seemed to do it every time he was with Kurt. They’d become pretty good friends with the local tire shop owner.
A few moments later they leaned against the car to wait for Bob, Dave fingering the box nervously. Finally, he decided that he wanted to ask before Bob got there and pulled out the velveteen box.
Not wanting to give Kurt any chance at jumping to conclusions or mock him, he fell gracefully to one knee and revealed the now open box to his boyfriend. “Kurt, will you marry me?”
Kurt stared in surprise. A look that was matched by Dave when he heard the initial reply.
“I don’t know if I should be mad about my suite getting ruined or if I should commend you for the nearly impossible planning.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Dave, slowly getting back to his feet.
“You proposed on our second anniversary? In the rain? Next to the very car that brought us back together?”
Dave glanced at the car, the newly and completely refurbished one that Kurt had let him drive as an anniversary gift. “Okay, so I didn’t plan all of it. I kinda lucked out on the last parts.”
“Well good,” said Kurt, plucking the ring from Dave’s hand. “And yes, David,” he said, “I will marry you.”
They were still in the celebratory lip lock when Bob pulled up. He just got out of his car and smiled at them. When Kurt pulled away, blushing, Bob made quick work of the locks and turned back to them. “You read the inscription yet?” he asked.
Kurt raised an eyebrow, surprised that their “car-unlocker” knew more about all this than he did. Carefully, only a little afraid of dropping the ring in the rain, he took the loop of metal from its box and squinted his eyes to read the inscription.
Yours, Rain Or Shine
The End