Terminal Velocity - Part Two
By the time the hostess got to them there were only a few tables left in the place. She seated them at a booth in the corner and left them to consider their menus while she went back to the growing line at the door. They both studied the menu in silence, and after a few minutes a girl in her early twenties with curly blonde hair and a bright smile appeared at their table.
"Hi guys," she chirped, and Blaine couldn't help but grin back at her. "My name is Stacey and I'll be your server today. Can I get you some drinks to get you started?"
Blaine glanced at the menu again. "Can I get a beer?"
Stacey nodded and scribbled it on her pad, and then looked up at Kurt. "Just an iced tea for me, please."
"Sure." Noting that down, she looked back over at Blaine and shrugged apologetically. "I'm just gonna need to see some ID real quick, if that's okay."
"Of course." Blaine reached down into his bag, knowing he had his passport somewhere near the top. While he looked for it, Stacey turned her attention back to Kurt.
"And then are you ready to order, or do you need a little more time?"
"Um," Kurt replied. "I'm ready, but do you...?" he trailed off as Blaine straightened back up and handed Stacey his passport.
"No, no, I'm good. We can order."
Kurt smiled. "Okay - I'll have the sliced steak sandwich, please. Medium rare."
"Of course. And for you?"
Blaine glanced down the menu one last time, making sure there was no sneaky last minute item jumping out at him that he'd missed. "Sliced steak sandwich for me, too. But can I get mine well done?"
"No problem." Stacey made a note of everything and then took back their menus, tucking them under her arm as she slipped her pad back into her apron. "Let me know if you need anything else."
Suddenly finding himself starting to get hot in the packed restaurant, Blaine hooked his forefinger under the collar of his shirt, loosening it a little to try and let some cool air in. He was extra glad he'd decided to forego a bow-tie for travelling, but even his smart slacks and cotton shirt weren't thin enough to stop him from heating right up.
He and Kurt hadn't exchanged words since Stacey headed back into the kitchen, and the silence was starting to slide from comfortable into not-so-comfortable. Kurt was staring at something over Blaine's head and drumming the fingers of one hand on the table, and Blaine wasn't faring much better.
Eventually Kurt cleared his throat. "Is it me, or is this suddenly really awkward?"
Blaine breathed through a relieved laugh. "It really is."
"We should probably find something to talk about and power through it."
"Yeah." Blaine's mind was completely blank. "Any suggestions?"
Kurt wrinkled his nose in thought. "Um."
Blaine's phone chose that moment to light up on the table beside his hand, and he was suddenly glad he'd forgotten to put it back in his bag with his passport after showing Stacey his ID. "Sorry, this is probably Cooper finally gett-" he cut himself off as he realised it was a text message from a number he didn't recognise, and it certainly wasn't Cooper. "Oh!"
"Well?" Kurt teased. "Don't keep me hanging. Is it a selection of appropriate question topics for dinner with a guy you just met at the airport, coincidentally sent at exactly the right time by some cracked out spam sender?"
"No," Blaine replied, swiping to open the message fully and twisting to show the screen to Kurt. "It's from Matt. It's Jessica with the snowman I told him to help her build." As Kurt took the phone with a delighted smile, Blaine added. "But please do let me know where your spam comes from; it sounds super helpful compared to the stuff I get."
Kurt chuckled and passed the phone back to Blaine. Jessica looked absolutely delighted with her snowman - or possibly even snowlady - that was at least twice as big as her. It was wearing a little coat and scarf that Blaine recognised as the ones Matt was wearing earlier. "I just have this image of Matt shivering because Jessica made the snowman wear his jacket while he took this picture."
"The things parents do for their children!"
Blaine couldn't remember the last time his parents had played in the snow with him, but he did have a clear memory of Cooper showing him how they could make their own toffee by warming up maple syrup and letting it set on fresh snow. And he definitely remembers his mom yelling at Cooper for about twenty minutes because Blaine had been completely hopped up on sugar, but Cooper was cool as a cucumber. It was one of his favourite childhood memories, from before Cooper went completely Hollywood. "Yeah."
Kurt frowned as if he realised he'd hit a nerve, but didn't push the matter. "It looks like she's raided the hotel kitchen for carrots, too."
Blaine squinted at his phone. "And I think it has spoons for ears."
They were interrupted by Stacey bringing their drinks over, and Blaine slipped his phone back into his pocket.
"So," Kurt started, taking a sip of his iced tea. "Are you from California originally? I'd love to have warm Christmases."
"Oh, no," Blaine shook his head. "Cooper lives there now, but we're actually both born and raised in Ohio. I'm completely used to having actual seasons. The first year Coop moved out there, he couldn't make it home for the holidays and on Christmas day he emailed me a photo of himself. He'd gone and bought a stupid inflatable snowman and he was standing there in his shorts with his sunglasses on, with the Hollywood sign in the background, holding this snowman. He looked ridiculous."
"You're kidding," Kurt breathed.
"No, he really did that. I told you he's crazy."
"No, no," Kurt laughed, his breath catching a little. "I'm from Ohio too."
Blaine blinked in surprise. "No way."
"Way." Kurt prodded at the ice cubes in his drink with the straw. "And he doesn't sound that crazy to me."
"Next you'll be telling me you were in Vocal Adrenaline."
Kurt coughed, trying to stop himself from either choking on the iced tea or spitting it back out. "How do you know about Vocal Adrenaline?"
Blaine's eyes widened. "You weren't, were you?!"
"No - I - no. I'm from Lima, but Vocal Adrenaline were our rivals my entire time in high school."
"Pretty sure they were the rivals to all glee clubs across Ohio - at least until Miss Corcoran left. Their performance of Bohemian Rhapsody is legendary."
"I was there that day."
"No way."
"Yeah. Regionals of my sophomore year. We won at Sectionals and our glee director Mr Schuester had us all so hyped up, we were convinced we were going to kick Vocal Adrenaline right out of the competition. I mean I guess we'd have been even worse if he hadn't done that, but still, it was a ridiculous suggestion. We were clearly nowhere near their standard."
"I can't believe you're from Lima. I went to Dalton Academy in Westerville." Blaine thought hard, dredging up memories of things he hadn't thought about in years. "We made it to Regionals a couple of times, but we never got any further. I never had the honour of competing against Vocal Adrenaline, though. Or you, I don't think. I'm sure I would have remembered you."
Kurt blushed a little and swizzled his straw in his drink again. "I definitely don't remember ever competing against a school from Westerville," Kurt confirmed. "We did finally manage to out-do Vocal Adrenaline, by the way. My senior year, we won Nationals."
"New Directions!" Blaine exclaimed, his eyes bright. "You said before you went to McKinley High, I knew I recognised the name! You were in New Directions!"
"How-"
"I remember getting a text from my friend Wes about you guys. He'd been the head of the Warblers since before I started at Dalton and he left at the end of my sophomore year. My junior year he couldn't stop himself from stopping by every couple of weeks to see how we were doing and he was convinced this was going to be our year to win. Alas, we didn't even make it past Sectionals, but I got this text from him the day after you guys won saying Vocal Adrenaline have fallen, another from Ohio have taken the crown. That should have been you, Anderson. I could just feel the disappointment oozing from my phone."
"That seems harsh! Surely it wasn't all down to you."
"There was a little... shall we say... pressure on my shoulders. I got most of the solos."
"Oh my god," Kurt laughed, a grin spreading across his face. "You were your Rachel Berry!"
"I was not!" Blaine exclaimed defiantly. He didn't even know this Rachel girl but from the little he'd heard from Kurt, he didn't like the idea of being compared to her. "I didn't want them all, I was forever trying to get other people to take at least one of the competition songs but they just kept telling me that we wouldn't win if I didn't." He took another swig of his beer with another laugh. "Turns out we didn't win even when I did!"
"That's a lot of pressure on such tiny shoulders."
Blaine raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. "Is that a short joke? Did you just make a short joke about me?"
Kurt shrugged, smiling sweetly back at Blaine. "Well... I mean... good things come in small packages?"
Blaine snorted. "Right, because I've never heard that one before!"
Before Kurt could reply, Stacey returned to their table with two plates. "Steak sandwich medium rare," she placed one plate down in front of Kurt. "And one well done. Can I get you guys anything else? Any sauces or more drinks?"
"I'm good, thanks," Kurt glanced at Blaine. "You?"
"How about a weather update?"
Stacey laughed. "Still snowing. I'll keep you in the loop."
As she headed back into the kitchen, Kurt looked down at his plate with a happy sigh. "This looks so good."
"Smells great too. I love steak."
Kurt nodded, picking up his knife and fork. "Me too, but do me a favour and never tell my dad. I always feel guilty when I eat excessive amounts of red meat because after he had a health scare when I was still at high school, I spent my entire time forcing him to order chicken or other healthy alternatives."
"It's good that you took such an interest!"
Kurt shrugged slightly. "Yeah. My mom died when I was really young so for a long time it was just the two of us and I wanted to look after him almost as much as he wanted to look after me. But then when I was in tenth grade I introduced him to the mom of a guy I had a crush on-"
"The obvious move."
"-I know, right?" Kurt laughed. "It's mortifying to think of it now, but at the time I think I thought I was a genius by getting Carole and Finn to move in with us so that I could see him whenever I wanted."
"And this Finn.... was he, you know?"
"Gay?" Kurt queried, and Blaine nodded. "Not even a little. It was all very dramatic for a while, but eventually we all figured out that we would work really well as a family, and Dad and Carole got married. She helps me restrict his diet these days, although I'm pretty sure she doesn't stick to the list I gave her." He dug his fork into the salad on his plate. "She's probably pretty sick of the monthly menus I email to her. I moved out four years ago..."
Blaine guffawed, pausing to laugh for a minute before holding down his sandwich with his thumb and forefinger and using his other hand to cut it in half. As he picked up one half, he grinned at Kurt. "I'm sure your dad appreciates the thought."
"Debatable," Kurt laughed, spearing a couple of fries. "I'm just glad he has Carole. I probably never would have left home if he didn't."
"And that would have been New York's loss," Blaine nodded decisively. "And on the bright side, you at least seem to have graduated to hitting on guys who are actually gay!"
Kurt had been taking a sip of iced tea and found himself fighting a coughing fit as he swallowed too much at Blaine's words. "Um."
"Oh god, I mean - that is, if that's what's been happening here. I shouldn't have said that. Pretend I didn't. I'll just go back to my steak."
Once Kurt had his coughing under control, he stared at Blaine, amused at his rambling. "That's what's happening, Blaine. Calm down."
Blushing, Blaine ducked his head and smiled down at his sandwich before looking back up at Kurt. "Okay. Cool." Kurt turned his attention back to his sandwich, carefully cutting it into squares and using his fork to eat it. Blaine felt a little self-conscious as he went back to his own meal, using both hands to pick up the remaining half of his sandwich and bite into it.
They ate in a comfortable silence until Blaine had finished his sandwich. Just as he was wiping his hands clean on his napkin, his phone started to ring. Sighing, he fished around in his bag for it and when he saw it was Cooper he cancelled the call, tossing the phone onto the seat next to him. "Just my brother," he explained. "He can wait." He still had a pile of fries on his plate, he wasn't going to let Cooper interrupt his dinner.
Kurt drained the last of his iced tea from his glass, making a loud gargling noise through the straw as he did so. "I'm going to get another drink, do you want something?" As he spoke he spotted Stacey approaching behind Blaine's shoulder, and waved her over.
"Is everything okay for you guys? Still snowing, by the way," Stacey grinned, pulling out her pad.
"Everything's great, thank you," Blaine replied, munching on one of his fries.
"Can I get a white wine, please? Just whatever's the house special would be fine," Kurt smiled, handing her his ID before she could ask to see it.
"Sure. Glass or bottle?"
"Oh god, glass. I'll be asleep within the hour if you bring me a bottle."
Blaine cleared his throat a little. "Actually, wine sounds good to me. If you want to get a bottle, we could split it?" He grinned. "Then it might take you two hours to fall asleep."
"Sounds perfect."
"Awesome. I'll be right back with a bottle and two glasses."
Kurt pinned down another square of his steak sandwich with his fork, twisting it around on the plate before eating it. "I didn't realise how starving I was until this amazing smell was put in front of me."
Blaine checked his watch. "Well, we would have landed by now if the flight had taken off on time - so I guess you probably would have been getting something to eat with Rachel."
"Yeah. And I don't like to fly on a full stomach - no real reason, just a weird habit I picked up - so apart from that cookie earlier, I hadn't had anything since breakfast." He watched as Stacey set down two glasses in front of them and started to pour. "Hence ordering the iced tea until I'd eaten something."
"Ah," Blaine laughed. "I thought I probably came across as an alcoholic, or something. So what's drunk Kurt like? What have you robbed me of?"
"I would have probably been super chatty for about twenty minutes and then thrown up on your shoes."
"So not a huge loss to me, then? It's not like you would have been dancing on the tables or something?"
"No."
"And my shoes are safe now, right? Because I'm probably going to be wearing them for at least another twenty-four hours, so I really don't want to have to wash them."
Kurt rolled his eyes fondly. "Your shoes are safe, smart-ass. Like I said, I can't guarantee I won't fall asleep on you at some point, but I'm not anticipating throwing up."
"Excellent news." Blaine's phone started to buzz again on the seat beside him and he picked it up, sighing as soon as he saw Cooper's face filling the screen.
"You can get that, you know. I won't be offended."
Blaine shook his head, cancelling the call again. "No - I'll call him back after dinner. Everything always has to be on his schedule. He can wait just this once, now that he's apparently actually interested in my plans."
"Sounds fair." Kurt finished the last piece of his sandwich, setting his fork down on the plate and leaning back in his seat.
"Top up?" Blaine asked, reaching for the wine bottle and holding it near Kurt's glass until Kurt nodded. Blaine topped up his own glass after Kurt's, and then sat back in his own seat, mirroring Kurt's pose.
"This is actually the most relaxed I've been in months," Kurt sighed happily. "Maybe I should book cancelled flights more often."
"Me too. It's the first time I can remember that I haven't had my mind on some assignment or another. Cooper actually told me that if I brought any school work with me, he would recycle it."
Kurt gaped at Blaine. "No! Seriously?"
"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "The thing about Cooper is that it's hard to get a read on him. Either he was deadly serious and he will go through all of my things while I'm sleeping just to be sure I'm not hiding my laptop under the bed, or he'll have completely forgotten he ever said anything. I just thought it wasn't worth the risk, and I'm actually kind of glad." He took another sip of his wine and smiled at Kurt. "I made sure I finished all of my assignments before I left, and I do have a couple of tests when school starts back up again but I'll have enough time to study for those when I get home."
"I know what you mean. I was working right up until this morning, going through edits on my last article over the phone. I actually just hung up before my cab arrived. I even locked my Blackberry in Isabelle's desk at work so that I can't be tempted to check my emails. That one was her idea."
"It's a weird feeling."
"Hey guys," Stacey stopped by their table to take away their plates. "Sorry to interrupt. Was everything okay for you tonight?"
"Perfect, thank you," Blaine smiled, and Kurt nodded in agreement.
"Awesome. Can I get you guys anything else? A coffee, or the dessert menu?"
Kurt wrinkled up his nose in thought, and then leant forward across the table closer to Blaine. "I could really go for some cheesecake. We are on vacation, after all."
Blaine nodded, swallowing hard. This was starting to feel more and more like a date, but for some reason since their initial awkward silence, he didn't feel anywhere near as nervous as he normally did on a date. Maybe it was down to this having happened so naturally and he hadn't had time to get worked up about it. Or maybe it was just because Kurt was really great.
"Cheesecake sounds awesome."
Stacey nodded, balancing their empty plates on her arm like they were nothing. "One each, or to share?"
"Um," Blaine shrugged helplessly, turning to Kurt. "Whatever you think."
"We'll share," Kurt smiled at Blaine and then up at Stacey. "This may be a vacation but let's not go overboard."
Stacey laughed. "Sure. I'll be right back with that."
Kurt balled up his napkin and set it down on the seat beside him. "I'm just going to the bathroom while we're waiting," he explained.
Blaine smiled and nodded, picking up his phone from the seat beside him as Kurt made his way through the chairs and tables to the bathroom. Cooper had left a voicemail after one of his calls, so Blaine hit the dial button and listened to the message.
"Blainey! Why aren't you picking up? Are you on a flight yet? Call me as soon as you get this, I need to know what time you land so I can get the producers to make the arrangements. Call me."
Blaine sighed. Anything that involved the producers of Cooper's show always worried him, so he scrolled through his contacts until he found his brother and hit dial.
"Squirt!" Cooper exclaimed in answer. Blaine hated that nickname, but over the years he'd stopped complaining about it. He was hoping that if he stopped letting Cooper know it annoyed him, he'd stop using it, but deep down he knew it was pretty unlikely.
"Hey Coop. I'm still at the airport, it's still snowing."
"Damn, B, that sucks. So you won't be getting out here tonight?"
"Not tonight, no." Blaine took another gulp of wine. "Hopefully sometime tomorrow, but I'll just have to wait and see. I'm on standby."
"Haven't you told them who I am? I needed you here tonight, Blainey."
Blaine frowned. "Wait - why? Why specifically tonight? Is everything okay?" As Kurt slipped back into the booth, Blaine covered the speaker and whispered to him. "I'm sorry - I'll go take this outside. I'll be right back."
He made a move to get out of the booth but Kurt reached for his wrist, shaking his head. "No," he whispered. "It's fine, really." He pulled his own phone out and Blaine smiled gratefully, settling himself back in his seat and turning his attention back to his brother.
"Well," Cooper whined, making the word last as long as possible. "There's a big party tonight and I thought it would look really great if there was some footage of us together."
"Coop, no. I already told you no."
"Look, B - the producers think-"
"I don't care what the producers think, Coop!" Blaine hissed. "I don't want to be on camera. I told you that when I agreed to come."
"I know you did, but-"
"No, no buts. You said it would be okay."
"But you're young and hot and you'd be really great for ratings." Cooper paused. "And they got wind that you were coming and they said I can't stop them from filming in the apartment, something about my contract, and if I refuse then they can kick me out because they own it and I would be violating my terms or whatever."
Blaine groaned in frustration. "Cooper, I am not going to be part of your stupid show. I'm going to be a teacher, I can't be associated with reality television. No students would take me seriously if I was on your show." He sighed. "It's fine. I'll get a motel."
"But Squirt-"
"Will you stop calling me that!" Blaine yelled, and then ducked his head in embarrassment. "I'll call you when I know more. I'll get a motel when I land - you can pay for it."
He hung up without saying goodbye, and exhaled angrily. He should have known better than to call Cooper until after dinner, he could already feel all of his relaxation fading away. He looked up at Kurt, who was staring at him, his eyes wide. "Sorry, Kurt."
Kurt blinked again, clearly gathering his words. "Is... is your brother Cooper Anderson? From The Show Must Go On?"
Blaine had his head in his hands, pressing his fingers into his eyes in frustration. "Um."
Kurt hastily held his hands up in apology. "I mean - you don't have to tell me, obviously, it's your family stuff, it's fine. It's just that I only just made the connection that his name is Cooper and you said your name is Anderson, and I wasn't eavesdropping I just couldn't help but overhear-"
"It's fine," Blaine smiled. It was the first time he'd seen Kurt flustered and he couldn't help but find it too cute to be irritated at the question. "Yes. My brother is that Cooper Anderson. Please tell me you don't watch his show?"
Kurt tapped one finger against his lips, clearly trying to avoid meeting Blaine's eyes. "I..."
Blaine groaned. "Oh my god, you do."
"It's a guilty pleasure thing! When I have deadlines and I'm so stressed I think my head might explode, I watch an episode of that show." He cleared his throat. "And then a few more episodes. And then sometimes it turns into an entire night. Is he really sleeping with both of those girls? No, wait, don't tell me."
"He's not," Blaine sighed. "Or at least, not as far as I know. I think a lot of the relationship stuff is scripted. I try to avoid watching the show, but it's really hard to ignore it when you walk into the grocery store and your brother's face is all over the front of every copy of In Touch and Us Weekly."
Kurt nodded sympathetically but he was biting his lip and Blaine could tell he had more questions. And weirdly, he didn't mind Kurt asking them as much as he usually hated it when people tried to talk to him about Cooper's show.
"Go on," Blaine smiled, moving his wine glass to the side to make room on the table as Stacey deposited their cheesecake with a smile and then rushed off to another customer who was calling her over. "I can tell you have more to say."
Kurt picked up his fork and took a mouthful of cheesecake while he thought. "You really don't watch the show?"
Blaine shook his head. "Not if I can help it. I've seen clips, but no. Not an entire episode."
"He talks about you sometimes. He's super proud of you."
"He - really?"
Kurt nodded. "Not all the time, but now I know it's you... he tells people about his little brother who's at an Ivy League school and is going to be a teacher."
"Does he mention that I'm gay?"
Kurt was a little taken aback by the question and stopped to think. "I - yeah, I think he has mentioned it once or twice. Once he was at a Trevor Project gala, so it came up."
"Ratings."
"Oh Blaine," Kurt sighed. "He loves you, that's obvious. Maybe he's encouraged to talk about you, but - and please don't be offended by this - I don't think he's a good enough actor to say those things if he doesn't really mean them."
Blaine coughed, almost choking on his cheesecake with surprise as he started to laugh. "No, you're right. He's really not good."
Kurt grinned back at him, eating another forkful of cheesecake. "Let's change the subject. I have a stack of episodes waiting on my DVR and if we keep talking about Cooper you might drop a bunch of spoilers on me."
Blaine rolled his eyes, laughing. "Deal. No more talking about my brother." At that exact second, his phone started to ring again and he picked it up to see Cooper's face lighting up the screen once again. "I swear he's psychic or something."
"No, just annoying like big brothers are meant to be," Kurt smiled, holding out his hand. "Give me your phone."
"What? Why?" Without even waiting for an answer, Blaine dropped his phone into Kurt's outstretched palm and watched as Kurt answered the call.
"Cooper, hi, this is Kurt. Your brother's on a date right now so we'd appreciate if you'd just call back in the morning? Okay? Thanks." Kurt hung up and handed the phone back to Blaine with a cheeky grin.
Blaine stared down at the phone for a minute before looking back at Kurt. Kurt was staring at him expectantly. "We're on a date?"
Kurt nodded. "I'm pretty sure that somewhere along the way that's what it turned into, yeah."
"Huh." Blaine breathed out, trying to keep his voice steady when it felt like his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. "Then just so you know, at some point, I'm probably going to kiss you."
Kurt pressed his lips together happily and lowered his voice. "I'm really hoping you will."
"Not right now, though," Blaine caught Stacey's eye as she was passing with an armful of dishes and she nodded at him, indicting she'd be over as soon as she could. He turned back to Kurt. "Because there ought to be an element of surprise." Before Kurt could respond, Stacey stopped at the side of their booth. "Could we get the check, please?"
"Sure!" She took away their empty cheesecake plate and glasses, and by the time she returned Blaine had just about gotten his heart rate back under control. They split the bill and left Stacey a generous tip, and then they stood to leave.
"Now what?" Blaine murmured as they walked out of the restaurant side by side, close enough that their shoulders touched as they walked while they both pulled their carry-on bags with their outside hand. Blaine was glad he'd chosen one with wheels, because he was finding himself having to do a lot more walking around with it than he had anticipated. "More coffee? Um, what else do they even have at this terminal? I feel like I'm Tom Hanks."
Kurt turned around in a circle, as if he were looking for something. "Aha - over there," he pointed at a sports bar. "I overheard some people talking on my way back from the bathroom and apparently they're having a karaoke night in there - they're staying open later than usual, too. They've got some gear stashed away for nights like tonight when a lot of flights are grounded and passengers are stuck." He looked at Blaine for confirmation if this was a good idea or not. "We could get another bottle of wine and maybe sing a couple of songs? I'd love to hear you since I never got to see you perform with your glee club."
"Sounds perfect," Blaine beamed, and they headed towards the unit Kurt had pointed out. "As long as you promise the second bottle of wine won't make you fall asleep."
"Somehow I don't think either of us will be getting a lot of sleep tonight."
Blaine stopped and stared at Kurt, a smirk playing on his lips as he teased. "Is that what you say to all of the guys you go out on dates with?"
"Oh, ha ha," Kurt stuck his tongue out, pushing Blaine in the shoulder even while he was laughing. "You know what I meant. Those chairs back at the gate are not comfortable enough for sleeping."
Blaine hummed in agreement and unzipped the top of his bag, pulling it open enough that Kurt could see inside. "Good thing I've got precautions then, huh?"
"Blaine - is that a sleeping bag?" Kurt looked up at Blaine, his eyes wide with wonder as Blaine nodded. "Well at least one of us will be getting some sleep."
Blaine cleared his throat. "I, uh. I actually have two."
Kurt looked between Blaine and the bag a few times before speaking. "Answer me something honestly?" Blaine nodded, and his mouth dried up as he waited for the question. Whatever Kurt was about to ask, it seemed serious. "Were you ever a boy scout?"
Blaine burst out laughing and closed the zip on his bag, looping his arm through Kurt's and dragging him towards the sports bar. "Maybe."
Kurt cackled as he skipped a little to catch up. "Oh my god, you were."
"Fine, yes. For a couple of years."
"That's adorable. I can just imagine a tiny little Blaine out in the woods lighting fires and tying knots."
The bar was getting full, but as Blaine's eyes adjusted to the dimmer light he noticed a couple putting on their jackets in a corner booth. He tugged Kurt in that direction, standing just far enough away that it wouldn't look like he was hounding them to leave, but close enough that they'd be able to snag the table when the couple left.
As soon as they'd gone, Blaine slid into the booth and Kurt shoved both of their bags under the table before slipping in alongside Blaine. "Got to be able to see the stage if there's karaoke happening," Kurt explained, answering why he hadn't taken the seat opposite without Blaine having to ask. Not that Blaine would have asked, of course. He wasn't going to complain about having Kurt pressed up so close beside him. "Anyway, you haven't told me why you brought two sleeping bags to the airport."
Blaine shrugged. "I just had a feeling there might be a delay and thought it might be a good idea to have something more comfortable to lie on than a balled up sweater." He reached out to look at the list of speciality beers and cocktails while he was talking. "And I figured either I could use the second one to lie on to make the floor less hard, or there might be somebody else that had nothing."
Kurt smiled fondly. "Well aren't you just the kindest and most thoughtful person I've met since I moved to this city?"
Blaine smiled, resting his elbow on the edge of the table and leaning his cheek against his fist "I don't know. Am I?"
Kurt nudged him in the side with a roll of his eyes. "Stop fishing for compliments. I'll go get us some drinks - you want the wine, or would you prefer a beer?"
"Um," Blaine stalled, scanning the list again. "Beer, actually." He pointed one out. "This one says it's chocolate."
"That sounds disgusting," Kurt commented, taking note of the name. "I'll be right back."
Blaine watched as Kurt found a route between chairs and tables and made his way to the bar. Most of the screens were still showing various sports, but there were a couple around the room which were showing a load screen from a karaoke DVD, and a bartender was setting up screens and a microphone on the little stage off to the side. They had a perfect view of everything but more importantly, thanks to being right in the corner they would still be able to talk if they wanted to.
He was itching to get up and take a look at the book so that he could choose a song, but he couldn't abandon the table until Kurt got back and even then he didn't particularly want to be first. That would just reinforce Kurt's idea that he'd been the Warblers lead soloist through his own choice rather than by default and the sheer force of the other guys. He was, however, thrilled at the idea of getting to see Kurt sing. None of the guys he'd dated in the past had been able to - or willing to - sing. For some reason, Blaine just couldn't picture himself ending up with somebody who had no music in their soul. He hadn't thought it was important to him, but he was increasingly starting to believe that maybe it was. Which probably explained why none of those relationships had lasted more than a couple of months each.
Kurt, on the other hand, was turning out to be a pretty great guy. And as much as he had never really believed in fate before, everything about this night just seemed a little too perfect to be a coincidence - even right down to having to spend one less night with Cooper.
Kurt returned to the table with Blaine's beer and a glass of... something... for himself. "If you brought beer for me and iced tea for you just so you could amuse yourself by watching me get drunk, I'll..." Blaine trailed off.
"You'll what?" Kurt raised an eyebrow as he slid back into the booth. "What will you do?"
"Well it'd just be super unfair," Blaine finished, lamely.
"It's alcoholic iced tea. With peach schnapps and sweet tea vodka."
Blaine's eyes widened. "That sounds almost lethal!" He reached his hand out towards Kurt's glass. "Can I try it?"
Kurt nodded and pushed the glass in Blaine's direction, and Blaine swivelled the straw out of the way so that he could sip from the side of the glass instead. "Ack," he replied, scrunching up his nose and sticking his tongue out in disgust. "Well I definitely believe it has alcohol in it."
Kurt laughed, taking the glass back and taking a sip through the straw. "It's not even that strong."
"No, but I don't like iced tea."
"Then why did you want to try it, you big idiot?"
Blaine shrugged. "I like peach schnapps." He took a drink of his beer to take the taste away. "Wanna try my chocolate stout?"
Kurt pulled a face. "No thank you. That one's all yours." He cleared his throat. "See, I know how to say no if I don't like something."
"You're clearly smarter than me."
"'Smarter than I'," Kurt corrected, teasingly. "I thought you wanted to teach English?"
"I don't want to teach anybody anything after two beers and half a bottle of wine," Blaine moaned, dropping his head down onto the table in mock frustration, feeling too lazy to try to decide whether Kurt's correction was even right. When Kurt didn't say anything, he opened one eye and twisted his head to see Kurt looking down at him, shaking his head in amusement. "You can't judge me."
Blaine sat back up, leaning his elbow on the table again and resting his cheek on the palm of his hand. A girl had just taken the stage and started to murder My Heart Will Go On - if Blaine had a least favourite song to listen to other people do at karaoke, it would probably be this one.
"So," Kurt started, discretely plugging the ear nearest the stage with his finger. "What's your favourite- um. I mean, do you-" He winced just as the girl hit the chorus. "Man, she is terrible."
Blaine snorted. "She's kind of a conversation killer, that's for sure."
"I knew a girl like her once. All confidence, zero talent." He looked back to the stage and squinted, double checking. "Nope, that's definitely not Sugar." He sucked on his straw again and Blaine tried not to stare. "I mean don't get me wrong, she was crazy and a sweetheart and she was great at making up the numbers and dancing in the background, but everything went much smoother once she accepted we weren't going to let her sing. Karaoke nights though, she was allowed to sing as much as she wanted. As a compromise."
"So you guys were close? As a group, I mean? It sounds like you were."
Kurt nodded. "It was kind of us against the world." He swirled his straw around in his drink. "Glee club was the lowest of the low - at McKinley at least. Even though at any given time we could all be fighting with each other for different reasons, we would always stick together against the outside world. Especially if it involved a slushie to the face." He paused, thinking about the memory. "I haven't seen Sugar in a while, but I know if I ran in to her it would be like no time had passed. I see a lot of them whenever we're all back in Lima, and I live with Rachel and Santana so obviously I see them the most, but I'd definitely still consider them all my friends. It's like we survived a war together. What about you? Do you still see your fellow Warblers?"
Blaine nodded. "It's mostly texts and emails these days, but this will be the first year I'm going to miss the Warbler Christmas party."
"How will they cope without their leader?"
Blaine snorted. "Hey, I was the lead soloist, I wasn't the leader. We were a democratic body with three elected council leaders... and no matter how many times we had that drilled into us, we all knew that Wes was the one in charge. Even after he graduated he came back to make sure our performances were arranged to his standards. Couldn't let the school down."
"I think we were always expected to let the school down so any time we did anything good, we got around a week's grace before the slushies and insults started back up again. Those were always good times. So your glee club was actually something the cool kids did, huh? What was that like?"
"It was amazing. But don't get me wrong - I think some of the Warblers just assumed that's what things were always going to be like in life, but I had some experience of the kind of thing you're talking about. I actually went to a different high school before Dalton - there was no glee club there, but I was encouraged by the teachers to join all of the drama clubs and anything that involved any kind of performing. I started there right after Cooper landed his first TV gig - even though it was just a commercial, everybody knew I was 'Cooper's Brother' because he'd gone to that school too, and they were expecting me to be a mini version of him."
"But you weren't?"
Blaine just looked at Kurt, raising an eyebrow and laughing a little. "You've seen his show. Do I come across as Cooper lite to you?"
Kurt snorted. "Well, no. I don't think I'd be talking to you if you did." He paused. "So how come you changed schools?"
"I..." Blaine took a deep breath, trying to get the words right in his head. Usually he would do anything to avoid talking about his first high school and why he left, but for some reason he wanted to tell Kurt the whole story. Well. Edited highlights, maybe.
"I'm sorry - I'm prying. I shouldn't have asked that."
Blaine shook his head again. "No - it's fine." He swallowed, trying to figure out where in the story to start. He decided diving right in was the best course of action. "I decided to join the drama club as a compromise to keep people happy. I don't know whether it was actually down to my talent or just because they thought they should give 'Cooper's Brother' the good parts to make sure they kept my family on side, but they cast me as the lead in the fall play."
"I'm sure it was your talent," Kurt smiled encouragingly.
"Maybe. Of course, the play happened to be Romeo and Juliet. The girl playing Juliet was sweet - one of the nicer cheerleaders - and after a few rehearsals we ended up dating. At the time that seemed like an awesome idea."
"But?"
"But there was this boy."
Kurt nudged Blaine's knee with his own, a knowing smile on his lips. "Ah. A boy."
Blaine smiled. "Yeah. He was super quiet and I just found him... intriguing. He had signed up to work behind the scenes and one afternoon I'd stayed late for an extra Math class. I stopped by the auditorium to pick up my costume to take home and try it on, and he was there painting the sets. We started talking, and talking led to..."
"Kissing?"
"A little kissing," Blaine confirmed, smiling at the memory. "And then I started staying behind after school more often, claiming I was there to help him paint the sets. And I did help him with that, but there was also always the kissing, and of course one afternoon my Juliet walked in on us. There was no coming back from that - she walked out completely calmly and I naively thought she hadn't seen us, until I arrived at school the next day and from the way people were staring at me I just knew she'd told everybody. I'd gone from one half of the power couple to the villain overnight and I completely closed myself off to everybody. I pulled out of the play and rarely left my house except to go to school."
Blaine had one hand around his beer and the other, the hand nearest to Kurt, was resting on his leg, his fingers tapping restlessly. Kurt slid his hand on top of Blaine's, stilling his fingers. "What happened next?"
"That boy - Julian, ironically - came to my house one night and invited me to prom. And I just thought you know what - fuck them all. Let's do it. So we went, and..." Blaine sighed, putting his glass down and using the free hand to rub the bridge of his nose. Kurt squeezed the other hand, as if he sensed Blaine's anguish. "And once again I thought it was fine until some football players beat the crap out of us in the parking lot afterwards."
Kurt's hand flew off Blaine's and up to his mouth, his eyes wide. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. We were both sore but okay, but after I got checked over at the hospital and sent home I had to have a discussion with my parents. My dad avoided using the word 'gay' but my mom was calmer, and kinder, and they decided that I should go to a different school where nobody knew who I was. Somewhere with no Cooper connection and no bad memories."
"Blaine, that's..."
Blaine shook his head, finding Kurt's hand again and squeezing it back in thanks for his sympathy. "It's fine. I'm fine. We've all gone through stuff, right? It's not my favourite memory to relive and I don't talk about it much, but I truly believe it's made me stronger now. I'm a lot braver."
"Thank you for sharing, then."
"You're welcome. Now, tell me about these slushies."
Blaine hoped that Kurt would take the hint and let him change the subject, and there was understanding in Kurt's eyes when he smiled and replied. "Ugh, they were awful. The syrup would get right in your eyes - the grape was the worst, for some reason. I mean, even if it wasn't a colour that-"
Kurt suddenly stopped when he heard their names being called from the stage. Grinning, he grabbed Blaine's hand and Blaine followed him up to the karaoke machine, confused.
"When the hell did you sign us up?"
"When I was at the bar," Kurt grinned, still holding Blaine's hand as he tugged him towards the stage. "The book was just sitting there when I was waiting for our drinks while they finished setting up."
"What are we singing?" Blaine hissed, taking the microphone that the guy on stage was holding out to him and stepping beside Kurt, looking out at a sea of faces.
"You'll see," Kurt replied in a sing-song voice, and Blaine felt excitement rising in his chest. He had absolutely no doubt that Kurt would have picked a song he at least knew, but he wasn't even worried it would be something he hated. He was just going to go with it. Tonight was turning out to be the most fun he'd had in forever.
The lyrics popped up on the screen just before the song started and Blaine let out a delighted laugh as the Spice Girls' Stop began to play. Kurt nudged Blaine gently and pointed at the screen, and Blaine realised Kurt wanted him to take the first couple of lines. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, turning on his charm and launching into the song.
"You just walk in, I make you smile, it's cool but you don't even know me." He looked over at Kurt and Kurt nodded again, so Blaine carried on with the next line too. "You take an inch, I run a mile - can't win, you're always right behind me."
He saw Kurt lift his microphone and Blaine took a step back when he'd finished his line, letting Kurt take the next two lines. "And we know that you could go and find some other, take or leave it or just don't even bother," Kurt sang, and Blaine was mesmerized by his voice. "Caught in a craze, it's just a phase - or will this be around forever."
Blaine chimed in for the bridge, blending his voice with Kurt's as Kurt reached out to set his mic back in its stand. Just before they reached the chorus, Blaine suddenly realised what Kurt was doing and fumbled to get his microphone in the stand too. Kurt beamed and nodded in confirmation, and they burst into the chorus together with their hands free to do the dance moves. Blaine had danced in his bedroom to this song more times than he cared to admit, and Kurt was a genius for choosing it.
The rest of the song went by in a flash. They alternated lines and joined together for the choruses, Blaine happily boogying on the spot when Kurt was singing. By the time they reached the last couple of lines they were pressed back to back, each holding their microphone in one hand and throwing their free arm up to the sky for a finishing pose that would easily of outscored any finishing move Blaine had ever attempted on Just Dance.
As the last notes faded away they turned to face their audience and Blaine felt himself flushing at the applause they were getting. Kurt slipped his hand down to his side and laced his fingers through Blaine's, squeezing them gently as they both took a slightly embarrassed bow and handed their microphones back to the bored bartender who had been tasked with running the karaoke.
"Next up, we got...uh... Jeffrey," the guy announced in a monotone as Blaine followed Kurt down from the stage and back towards their booth, their fingers still joined and Blaine's adrenaline still pumping. He didn't turn around to look back at the stage, just sped up his steps so that he was pressed close to Kurt, only just leaving enough space between them so that they didn't trip over each other's feet. They reached the booth just as the opening notes to The Final Countdown filled the bar and a laugh caught in Blaine's throat that he couldn't stop from escaping. He tugged on Kurt's hand, making him spin around in surprise just as he was about to slide into the booth.
"Did you-" Kurt started, but Blaine stopped him before he could get any further. He pressed his lips to Kurt's, a combination of the post-performance excitement and alcohol giving him a burst of confidence that he couldn't be sure he'd have again. At least probably not tonight.
Blaine felt Kurt's lips part slightly and Kurt freed his fingers from where they were still laced with Blaine's, bringing his palm up to cup Blaine's cheek instead. Blaine's hands settled comfortably at Kurt's waist, just as Kurt pulled back from the kiss. His pale cheeks had the faintest blush of colour across them and he was smiling at Blaine, slightly breathless. "I was going to asked if you enjoyed that, but I think I got my answer."
Blaine laughed, nodding. Kurt pulled on Blaine's shirt sleeve and they tripped back into the booth, Kurt switching their glasses around now that they'd ended up sitting in opposite seats. Blaine watched as he rested his elbow against the back of the booth so that he could twist to face Blaine comfortably, the coy smile still playing on Kurt's lips as he started to speak. "So if someone had told me when I left for the airport that this was on the cards for tonight, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have believed them."
Blaine laughed. "I know. I never thought I'd be glad about a flight cancellation leaving me stranded in the airport, but here we are."
Kurt grinned. "And you're not just happy because you have to spend less time with your brother now either, right?"
Blaine reached for his bottle, taking a sip of his now lukewarm beer before turning back to Kurt, trying to keep his face straight even though he knew he would fail miserably. "Nope." After a short pause for dramatic effect, he added, "only like ninety percent because of that."
"Hey," Kurt laughed, flicking his thumb against his forefinger where his hand was resting near Blaine's ear.
Blaine grinned. "Eighty? Sixty?"
Blaine's breath caught in his throat as Kurt leant towards him again, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss. "How about now?"
"Um," Blaine breathed. "Cooper who?"
"You're such a charmer," Kurt teased as he took a sip of his drink, swirling what was left of the ice with the straw. "Rachel's been trying to set me up with guys recently and it's been a string of one horrible date after another. One or two of them weren't even gay and they hadn't realised they were meant to be dates. It was pretty awkward when they found out."
Blaine snorted, caught off guard and accidentally blowing into his beer which made it bubble up the neck. "I can only imagine!"
"A few weeks ago I told her to stop and that I wasn't going to meet up with anybody else she wanted me to date. I was just tired, and I figured someone would probably come along right when I've stopped looking. I'm not usually one to believe in fate, but..."
"You can't help but wonder, right?" Blaine finished, and then asked a question that had been on his mind since they went up to the stage to sing. "How did you know I would know that song?"
Kurt laughed a delighted chuckle that Blaine decided he absolutely had to make Kurt do again and again for the rest of their lives. Not that he was getting carried away in the moment, or anything. He just thought it was probably best if he didn't say the 'forever' part aloud just yet.
"When I first came over to talk to you earlier, you pulled out your headphones but you didn't stop the music right away. I caught the cover art on the screen and when I saw the incredibly nineties listings in the karaoke book I figured it would be the perfect thing. The fact you knew the dance moves too was just more than I could have hoped for."
"There's a lot of nineties stuff in the book?"
Kurt nodded, chewing on his straw. "I don't think they wanted to spend money on equipment or updated music when they only use it occasionally. The speakers were pretty dusty."
"Interesting."
"You're thinking about what you can sing next, aren't you?" Kurt queried and Blaine nodded bashfully. "I think you should do a solo so that I can appreciate your performance fully from out here."
Blaine laughed quietly and drained the last of the drink in his glass. "Maybe later. I don't want to be a stage hog." He reached down, fishing around in his bag for his wallet. "Same again?"
"Sure," Kurt smiled. "But can you get some water too?"
Blaine nodded and headed for the bar, his head swimming a little. It was partly the alcohol in his system, but he knew it was mostly that he was overwhelmed how far he'd gotten away from what he'd expected to be doing tonight. He hadn't been on a date in over a year, and when questioned by his friends or by Cooper he always claimed it was just because he wanted to concentrate on his school work. But in reality he knew it was mostly down to him just not having met anybody that he really felt like he clicked with. He might only be 21 but lately he'd been watching all of his friends pair up and move in with people and he was beginning to wonder if he was going to end up alone forever.
While the bartender was putting together their drinks, he wandered over to the side of the stage to have a look at the selections for the karaoke machine. Kurt wasn't kidding when he said they'd obviously bought this kit in the nineties - after deliberating for a few minutes, he finally chose some Backstreet Boys over 'N Sync or Britney, and headed back to the bar to collect the drinks and pay.
He returned to the table just as Kurt was slipping his phone back into his bag. He set the tray of drinks down on the table - one beer, one cocktail, two empty glasses and a pitcher of water and ice - and started to pour water into their glasses. It had been a good idea of Kurt's - it was getting hot in there and he definitely didn't want to let the booze get to his head any more than it already had.
"Listen," Kurt started as Blaine slipped back into the booth. "You can say no if you want, but I have a spare ticket for Rachel's off-Broadway debut in January. Would you like to be my date?"
Blaine smiled broadly as he gulped down some of the cold water, shaking off the slight brain freeze before he answered. "Why on earth would I say no to that?"
Kurt wrinkled his nose. "Because it's probably going to be terrible, and it might involve you meeting Rachel."
"Ah," Blaine laughed. "Well, I think I can cope. Are you reviewing it?"
Kurt shrugged slightly. "I'm not supposed to, since I live with her. Which would actually work out well for me because I wouldn't have to figure out how to tread the line between best friend bias and lying." Kurt suddenly tilted his head and stared at Blaine. "But..."
"What? You look like you're having a thought."
"Well, I did tell Isabelle I'd find a reviewer and if I couldn't I'd just have to do it myself with a fake name and try not to offend Rachel too much. Maybe you could help me form a non-biased opinion, Mr English Major."
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "You want to turn our first non-airport date into work? And make me do the work?"
"Well," Kurt smiled, moving his mouth close to Blaine's ear and lowering his voice. "I was thinking more that if you're going to help me write the review, we'd be forced to extend the date past the end of the show and work together late into the night to get it done. And by that point, what would be the point in you going home?"
Blaine's mouth was suddenly dry as a bone. "If you put it like that," he croaked, reaching for his water to quench his sudden thirst. "That sounds like a really good idea."
"I thought so," Kurt smirked, straightening himself back up. "Now tell me what song you picked. I saw you over by the sign-up sheet."
"Oh no," Blaine laughed. "I'm not telling. You'll just have to wait and see."
"Is it Britney? I bet it's Britney."
"I'm not telling!" Blaine grinned, secretly pleased he'd decided against his usual go-to karaoke choice of Stronger.
"It's so Britney."
"It's not Britney."
"Aha!" Kurt cackled. "I knew you'd crack."
"You still don't know what the song is," Blaine whined. Now he wished he'd picked Britney but told Kurt he hadn't. He wondered if it was too late to change the song without Kurt realising.
Kurt just laughed, and then reached out towards Blaine, settling his arms around his neck. He leaned in for another kiss and Blaine shifted in his seat, settling into a comfortable position and relaxing in Kurt's arms as they kissed.
They stayed like that for longer than Blaine realised, not really pulling apart until Blaine heard his name being called from the stage. He felt like a teenager again, losing track of time making out with a cute boy in the corner - although wasn't sure there'd ever been a time he felt this comfortable. He figured it was probably Julian, the last time he'd felt like kissing was something special in its own right, rather than just as part of what came before sex. Blaine's last two boyfriends had been sweet enough but unlike in the far too detailed relationship stories his friends always unloaded onto him, he'd never really been that into making out on the couch in front of a movie or spending lazy Sunday mornings just kissing in bed without it leading somewhere else.
On the plus side, it had stopped him feeling like he was missing anything much when those relationships inevitably ended.
"Blaine," Kurt whispered, nudging him slightly with his shoulder as he straightened himself up and reached for his drink, which was once again full of mostly melted ice. "They're calling you."
"Mm?" Blaine shook himself out of his thoughts and scrambled to get to his feet. Before he could get away, Kurt took a fistful of the back of his shirt and pulled him back for one more kiss. "Kick ass up there. And don't think you're getting out of telling me what you were thinking about when you get back."
Blaine checked his watch as he headed up for the stage. It was almost eleven - that meant it was just over six hours since Kurt first introduced himself, almost four since they went for dinner and not even two since they'd had their first kiss. Yet he felt completely comfortable in Kurt's company, save for that slightly awkward five minutes of silence when they first sat down at dinner.
He didn't want to be over dramatic, or get clingy or carried away, but he was wondering if this was what people were always talking about when they say that when you meet the one, you just know. Because right now, this felt pretty perfect.
Part Three