His Perfect Partner (42/42 + Epilogue)
Title: His Perfect Partner (42/42 + Epilogue)
Rating: NC-17 overall (PG-13 this chapter)
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, with appearances by Burt/Carole, Tina/Mike, Mercedes/Sam, Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Finn
Spoilers: None, but assume that anything through Season Three is fair game for inspiration.
Word Count: 1990
Summary: After five disappointing seasons on the show, professional dancer Kurt Hummel finally has his chance at ballroom glory. With actress and fan favorite Kim Schrodinger as his partner, Kurt vows to channel all his focus into winning that mirrorball trophy - distractions, including men, be damned. Enter Blaine Anderson, a gorgeous, confusing pop star who may turn out to be the biggest distraction of them all
In This Chapter: The results are finally in.
Author's Note: This is a Dancing with the Stars/Glee crossover AU, in which Kurt grew up dancing and became a professional on the show in his mid-twenties, and Blaine is a pop star with a very private private life. I have a master glee pos here, or follow me on tumblr! Once I'm done with the main story, I'll welcome prompts and the like. Thanks t
samzgurl
wintercreek, an
gypsyangel25 or the beta as well as for general cheer-leading and fun times. We still have an epilogue left to go, which I'll start work on soon. Let me know if there are particular questions you'd like to see answered!
The first ax of the night fell with surprising speed. One minute, the six of them were standing together on the stage, the girls holding hands while their partners stood behind them, their arms propped on one another’s shoulders. In the next moment, they were only two couples, while the other pair made their way down to the floor.
Santana and Maks were entirely gracious in their defeat, perhaps shockingly so. Santana said lovely and amusing things about her competitors, causing Kim to sniff back tears and Bitsy to wipe her eyes. Kurt and Blaine weren’t in much better shape, so when Kim handed tissues around, they were all grateful. Santana even started crying a moment later when Maks took over the mic and called her the most talented dancer he’d ever had the privilege of partnering. As they shared their final dance together, a montage of their most memorable moments played behind them. Even from the stage, Kurt could see that the antics Santana and Maks had gotten up to were making her laugh through her tears.
Kim was the first one to Santana when they were allowed down on the floor, but Blaine wasn’t far behind. They shared a long hug, and then Santana whispered something in his ear that made Blaine tilt his head back and laugh. When it was Kurt’s turn, he quirked an eyebrow at her in question.
“Do I want to know?” He asked her as they hugged.
“Nope,” she affirmed, grinning as she pulled back. “Good luck tonight. You know I love the hobbit best, but you’re not so bad.”
“Thanks, Santana,” Kurt said, feeling strangely touched. He didn’t need Santana to love him best; he was glad Blaine had her.
The rest of the cast came charging onto the floor then, Brit in the lead. True to form, she wrapped herself around Santana and Maks, smacking kisses against their cheeks and making the audience titter and smile. Everything quickly devolved into a massive group hug as the show went to commercial, Santana and Maks and Brit in the center. It felt more celebratory than Kurt would have expected, but it was Santana. He should have known better by now than to try to predict her actions.
Finally, Santana and Maks were ushered backstage, while the four remaining competitors were sent up to the Celebraquarium to await their fates. The normally crowded space felt weirdly empty, since all the other couples were sitting in the front two rows on the ballroom floor. The eliminated couples would be performing for the bulk of the next hour, which meant that Kurt had nothing to do but pace and watch the clock. He hated the excruciatingly slow pace of results shows on a good day, but this one was bound to be particularly painful.
***
For forty-five minutes, Kurt stood on the balcony with Kim on one side and Blaine and Bitsy on the other, applauding and smiling and not taking in a bit of the show happening just below him. He thought he might have stopped remembering to breathe altogether if Kim hadn’t been pinching his side periodically and reminding him.
His mind wandered far afield, taking him back over memories he’d thought long-since buried. Those early classes and partners - never good enough for a child as determined to succeed as he had been. Dancing in the living room with his mother after he came in second at his first competition, her ridiculous antics making up for the tiny trophy and the tear streaks on his face. The months after they lost her, when dancing didn’t feel like something he’d ever do again. His dad sitting in the waiting room at the studio, arms crossed, waiting stubbornly until Kurt put on his dance shoes and went back to class. The sheer joy and accomplishment he’d felt after his first win, and his second, and his fifth. He didn’t remember each of them anymore, but he remembered how they’d felt. He wanted to feel that - the vindication, that approbation - again. He knew he was good, but knowing that would never be as powerful as having others affirm his talent as well.
He wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged for his talent. He wanted to hold that trophy aloft, showing the dance world that he was respected as both a performer and a teacher. And he wanted it for Kim, who had worked harder than he ever could have asked. For Kim, the friend he hadn’t known he’d needed, the partner he’d never known he could have. They had done the work, together. Now it was time to reap their rewards.
When the call finally came for them to take the floor, Kurt walked calmly down the stairs with his head held high. Beside him, Kim was smiling softly and humming a little under her breath. Her fingers tucked into his elbow like they always did, anchoring them both.
The mirrorball trophy had pride of place in the center of the dance floor, a spotlight shining down on it. Tom stood just behind it, microphone in hand.
Before the two couples could be shepherded into place on either side of Tom, Kim insisted on hugs all around. She went for Blaine first, squeezing him tight and kissing his cheek, and Kurt and Bitsy shared a companionable embrace. Then while Kim hugged and chatted with Bitsy, Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine. They’d already said everything they needed to, so they were silent, taking in the moment together.
Kurt stepped back and caught Blaine’s gaze before they could be pulled away by their partners. He tried to express all the love and support he could in a glance. Blaine’s little smile and lift of one shoulder told him that the message had been received. Kurt grinned back at him before they both turned to find their designated spots.
The stage was set now for the final announcement: the lights were low, the audience was hushed, and all eyes were on the shining trophy that stood between the finalists. Kurt’s entire world narrowed to the feeling of his fingers slotted into Kim’s and held tight at her waist and the sound of Tom’s voice as he slowly intoned the final words of the season. After so many weeks and so many votes, hours of rehearsal and interviews and performance, it all came down to this.
In the silence before the winners’ names were called, Kurt braced himself as all his doubts came rushing back at once. What he had accomplished over the past few months would never be enough, would never be perfect. They could have worked harder, done more, tried different things. Choreography, training, teaching - it could have gone so many other ways. But it hadn’t, and what was done was done. Kurt took a breath and let it out slowly, willing his mind to quiet. He pressed his cheek against Kim’s hair and felt her squeeze his hand in response.
The waiting seemed to go on and on, the quiet thick and heavy all around them. And then it broke - with a shout, with a roar, with lights and sound and confetti falling from the sky. Kurt watched as Tom’s mouth formed the smile required to say Kim’s name, but before he could fully comprehend what was happening, before Tom could even complete his sentence, Kurt’s arms were full of Kim.
“Oh my god,” she said as she squeezed the life out of him. “Ohmygod ohmygodohmygod.”
Kurt started laughing, wiping his eyes as his vision went watery. And then he squeezed her back, lifting her clear off her feet.
“Oh my god,” he echoed her. “We did it. We won.”
The next few minutes were a happy maelstrom, which Tom and his microphone tried valiantly to corral. Kurt and Kim were enveloped by the other competitors, Maks and Mark wrestling Kurt up onto their shoulders while Mike and Brit hoisted Kim in the air. Somehow, Kim had gotten her hands on the trophy, and she passed it to Kurt over the dancers’ heads. Kurt stared at it, grinning, and then held it aloft to a surge of applause. He could see his dad in the audience, clapping and whooping and wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Beside him, Carole was beaming, his dad’s handkerchief clutched tight in her clasped hands.
At some point, the show must have gone off the air, because right after Maks and Mark put Kurt down, Finn charged toward him from his spot on stage with the band. He swung Kurt around a few times in a bear hug, only letting him go when Kurt whacked him on the shoulder and told him he couldn’t breathe. Then Rachel was there, somehow enveloping Kurt in her arms though she was half his size, and shrieking her excitement in his ear.
From there, Kurt was passed from hug to hug, until he didn’t know how much time had passed or where on earth his partner was. Or Blaine. Blaine, who was the only person he really needed to see. But then Blaine was there, slipping right into Kurt’s arms like he’d never been anywhere else. He was smiling in that happy way that meant everything was all right. The sight of him made Kurt want to sink into his embrace and stay there for the rest of the night.
The chaos around them receded in Kurt’s awareness, allowing him to begin to process a bit of what had just happened.
“I won,” he said stupidly.
“I know, sweetheart,” Blaine replied, still holding him. “I’m so proud of you.”
They stared at one another as talk and celebration continued to swirl around them. And then Blaine took a deep breath, smiled reassuringly at Kurt, and leaned in. Kurt met him halfway for the sweetest kiss he had ever known. Blaine hummed against his mouth and took the kiss deeper, his hands warm and reassuring against Kurt’s back. Kurt didn’t think or worry; he just let himself be held. And when they pulled back far enough for him to look into Blaine’s eyes, Kurt smiled wryly.
“That…wasn’t a press release,” Kurt said.
“Doesn’t look that way,” Blaine agreed with a slight shrug. “But it’s going out first thing in the morning. Is that ok?”
“So you’re just giving your fans a head start?” Kurt asked.
“I guess so?” Blaine said, his bravado fading into worry. He took a step back and clasped his hands together. “I kind of couldn’t help myself. You were just standing here, all handsome and victorious, and I didn’t think.”
“Sometimes thinking is overrated. I can live with it if you can,” Kurt said, reaching out for one of Blaine’s hands. “Are you ready for this?”
“Anything with you,” Blaine said fervently. “Are you sure you want to go through this with me?”
“Always,” Kurt said, squeezing Blaine’s hand.
He knew coming out wasn’t an exact science, and if this was how Blaine’s affectionate subconscious wanted things to go, he wasn’t about to argue. They would get through it together, just like they’d survived the show. Which was now over. Which he’d won.
“So I won,” he said to Blaine again.
“I noticed,” Blaine said, grinning when Kurt tugged on his hand to bring him closer again.
“And I seem to recall this saying,” Kurt said, leaning close to whisper into Blaine’s ear. “To the victor go the spoils.”
“I think I’ve heard that before, yes. But…” Blaine trailed off, and then turned his head to whisper back to Kurt. “I was already yours.”
Kurt beamed at Blaine, happier than he could ever remember being. Victory and accomplishment. A supportive family and good friends. All of it made better, sweeter, because he could share it with the man he loved.
“I love you,” Kurt said, because he could and it was true.
“I love you too,” Blaine replied. “Now let’s go celebrate.”
Rating: NC-17 overall (PG-13 this chapter)
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, with appearances by Burt/Carole, Tina/Mike, Mercedes/Sam, Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Finn
Spoilers: None, but assume that anything through Season Three is fair game for inspiration.
Word Count: 1990
Summary: After five disappointing seasons on the show, professional dancer Kurt Hummel finally has his chance at ballroom glory. With actress and fan favorite Kim Schrodinger as his partner, Kurt vows to channel all his focus into winning that mirrorball trophy - distractions, including men, be damned. Enter Blaine Anderson, a gorgeous, confusing pop star who may turn out to be the biggest distraction of them all
In This Chapter: The results are finally in.
Author's Note: This is a Dancing with the Stars/Glee crossover AU, in which Kurt grew up dancing and became a professional on the show in his mid-twenties, and Blaine is a pop star with a very private private life. I have a master glee pos here, or follow me on tumblr! Once I'm done with the main story, I'll welcome prompts and the like. Thanks t
samzgurl
wintercreek, an
gypsyangel25 or the beta as well as for general cheer-leading and fun times. We still have an epilogue left to go, which I'll start work on soon. Let me know if there are particular questions you'd like to see answered!
The first ax of the night fell with surprising speed. One minute, the six of them were standing together on the stage, the girls holding hands while their partners stood behind them, their arms propped on one another’s shoulders. In the next moment, they were only two couples, while the other pair made their way down to the floor.
Santana and Maks were entirely gracious in their defeat, perhaps shockingly so. Santana said lovely and amusing things about her competitors, causing Kim to sniff back tears and Bitsy to wipe her eyes. Kurt and Blaine weren’t in much better shape, so when Kim handed tissues around, they were all grateful. Santana even started crying a moment later when Maks took over the mic and called her the most talented dancer he’d ever had the privilege of partnering. As they shared their final dance together, a montage of their most memorable moments played behind them. Even from the stage, Kurt could see that the antics Santana and Maks had gotten up to were making her laugh through her tears.
Kim was the first one to Santana when they were allowed down on the floor, but Blaine wasn’t far behind. They shared a long hug, and then Santana whispered something in his ear that made Blaine tilt his head back and laugh. When it was Kurt’s turn, he quirked an eyebrow at her in question.
“Do I want to know?” He asked her as they hugged.
“Nope,” she affirmed, grinning as she pulled back. “Good luck tonight. You know I love the hobbit best, but you’re not so bad.”
“Thanks, Santana,” Kurt said, feeling strangely touched. He didn’t need Santana to love him best; he was glad Blaine had her.
The rest of the cast came charging onto the floor then, Brit in the lead. True to form, she wrapped herself around Santana and Maks, smacking kisses against their cheeks and making the audience titter and smile. Everything quickly devolved into a massive group hug as the show went to commercial, Santana and Maks and Brit in the center. It felt more celebratory than Kurt would have expected, but it was Santana. He should have known better by now than to try to predict her actions.
Finally, Santana and Maks were ushered backstage, while the four remaining competitors were sent up to the Celebraquarium to await their fates. The normally crowded space felt weirdly empty, since all the other couples were sitting in the front two rows on the ballroom floor. The eliminated couples would be performing for the bulk of the next hour, which meant that Kurt had nothing to do but pace and watch the clock. He hated the excruciatingly slow pace of results shows on a good day, but this one was bound to be particularly painful.
***
For forty-five minutes, Kurt stood on the balcony with Kim on one side and Blaine and Bitsy on the other, applauding and smiling and not taking in a bit of the show happening just below him. He thought he might have stopped remembering to breathe altogether if Kim hadn’t been pinching his side periodically and reminding him.
His mind wandered far afield, taking him back over memories he’d thought long-since buried. Those early classes and partners - never good enough for a child as determined to succeed as he had been. Dancing in the living room with his mother after he came in second at his first competition, her ridiculous antics making up for the tiny trophy and the tear streaks on his face. The months after they lost her, when dancing didn’t feel like something he’d ever do again. His dad sitting in the waiting room at the studio, arms crossed, waiting stubbornly until Kurt put on his dance shoes and went back to class. The sheer joy and accomplishment he’d felt after his first win, and his second, and his fifth. He didn’t remember each of them anymore, but he remembered how they’d felt. He wanted to feel that - the vindication, that approbation - again. He knew he was good, but knowing that would never be as powerful as having others affirm his talent as well.
He wanted to be seen, to be acknowledged for his talent. He wanted to hold that trophy aloft, showing the dance world that he was respected as both a performer and a teacher. And he wanted it for Kim, who had worked harder than he ever could have asked. For Kim, the friend he hadn’t known he’d needed, the partner he’d never known he could have. They had done the work, together. Now it was time to reap their rewards.
When the call finally came for them to take the floor, Kurt walked calmly down the stairs with his head held high. Beside him, Kim was smiling softly and humming a little under her breath. Her fingers tucked into his elbow like they always did, anchoring them both.
The mirrorball trophy had pride of place in the center of the dance floor, a spotlight shining down on it. Tom stood just behind it, microphone in hand.
Before the two couples could be shepherded into place on either side of Tom, Kim insisted on hugs all around. She went for Blaine first, squeezing him tight and kissing his cheek, and Kurt and Bitsy shared a companionable embrace. Then while Kim hugged and chatted with Bitsy, Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine. They’d already said everything they needed to, so they were silent, taking in the moment together.
Kurt stepped back and caught Blaine’s gaze before they could be pulled away by their partners. He tried to express all the love and support he could in a glance. Blaine’s little smile and lift of one shoulder told him that the message had been received. Kurt grinned back at him before they both turned to find their designated spots.
The stage was set now for the final announcement: the lights were low, the audience was hushed, and all eyes were on the shining trophy that stood between the finalists. Kurt’s entire world narrowed to the feeling of his fingers slotted into Kim’s and held tight at her waist and the sound of Tom’s voice as he slowly intoned the final words of the season. After so many weeks and so many votes, hours of rehearsal and interviews and performance, it all came down to this.
In the silence before the winners’ names were called, Kurt braced himself as all his doubts came rushing back at once. What he had accomplished over the past few months would never be enough, would never be perfect. They could have worked harder, done more, tried different things. Choreography, training, teaching - it could have gone so many other ways. But it hadn’t, and what was done was done. Kurt took a breath and let it out slowly, willing his mind to quiet. He pressed his cheek against Kim’s hair and felt her squeeze his hand in response.
The waiting seemed to go on and on, the quiet thick and heavy all around them. And then it broke - with a shout, with a roar, with lights and sound and confetti falling from the sky. Kurt watched as Tom’s mouth formed the smile required to say Kim’s name, but before he could fully comprehend what was happening, before Tom could even complete his sentence, Kurt’s arms were full of Kim.
“Oh my god,” she said as she squeezed the life out of him. “Ohmygod ohmygodohmygod.”
Kurt started laughing, wiping his eyes as his vision went watery. And then he squeezed her back, lifting her clear off her feet.
“Oh my god,” he echoed her. “We did it. We won.”
The next few minutes were a happy maelstrom, which Tom and his microphone tried valiantly to corral. Kurt and Kim were enveloped by the other competitors, Maks and Mark wrestling Kurt up onto their shoulders while Mike and Brit hoisted Kim in the air. Somehow, Kim had gotten her hands on the trophy, and she passed it to Kurt over the dancers’ heads. Kurt stared at it, grinning, and then held it aloft to a surge of applause. He could see his dad in the audience, clapping and whooping and wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Beside him, Carole was beaming, his dad’s handkerchief clutched tight in her clasped hands.
At some point, the show must have gone off the air, because right after Maks and Mark put Kurt down, Finn charged toward him from his spot on stage with the band. He swung Kurt around a few times in a bear hug, only letting him go when Kurt whacked him on the shoulder and told him he couldn’t breathe. Then Rachel was there, somehow enveloping Kurt in her arms though she was half his size, and shrieking her excitement in his ear.
From there, Kurt was passed from hug to hug, until he didn’t know how much time had passed or where on earth his partner was. Or Blaine. Blaine, who was the only person he really needed to see. But then Blaine was there, slipping right into Kurt’s arms like he’d never been anywhere else. He was smiling in that happy way that meant everything was all right. The sight of him made Kurt want to sink into his embrace and stay there for the rest of the night.
The chaos around them receded in Kurt’s awareness, allowing him to begin to process a bit of what had just happened.
“I won,” he said stupidly.
“I know, sweetheart,” Blaine replied, still holding him. “I’m so proud of you.”
They stared at one another as talk and celebration continued to swirl around them. And then Blaine took a deep breath, smiled reassuringly at Kurt, and leaned in. Kurt met him halfway for the sweetest kiss he had ever known. Blaine hummed against his mouth and took the kiss deeper, his hands warm and reassuring against Kurt’s back. Kurt didn’t think or worry; he just let himself be held. And when they pulled back far enough for him to look into Blaine’s eyes, Kurt smiled wryly.
“That…wasn’t a press release,” Kurt said.
“Doesn’t look that way,” Blaine agreed with a slight shrug. “But it’s going out first thing in the morning. Is that ok?”
“So you’re just giving your fans a head start?” Kurt asked.
“I guess so?” Blaine said, his bravado fading into worry. He took a step back and clasped his hands together. “I kind of couldn’t help myself. You were just standing here, all handsome and victorious, and I didn’t think.”
“Sometimes thinking is overrated. I can live with it if you can,” Kurt said, reaching out for one of Blaine’s hands. “Are you ready for this?”
“Anything with you,” Blaine said fervently. “Are you sure you want to go through this with me?”
“Always,” Kurt said, squeezing Blaine’s hand.
He knew coming out wasn’t an exact science, and if this was how Blaine’s affectionate subconscious wanted things to go, he wasn’t about to argue. They would get through it together, just like they’d survived the show. Which was now over. Which he’d won.
“So I won,” he said to Blaine again.
“I noticed,” Blaine said, grinning when Kurt tugged on his hand to bring him closer again.
“And I seem to recall this saying,” Kurt said, leaning close to whisper into Blaine’s ear. “To the victor go the spoils.”
“I think I’ve heard that before, yes. But…” Blaine trailed off, and then turned his head to whisper back to Kurt. “I was already yours.”
Kurt beamed at Blaine, happier than he could ever remember being. Victory and accomplishment. A supportive family and good friends. All of it made better, sweeter, because he could share it with the man he loved.
“I love you,” Kurt said, because he could and it was true.
“I love you too,” Blaine replied. “Now let’s go celebrate.”