Fic: By The Side Of The Tin Man [1/1]
Title: By The Side Of The Tin Man
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kurt hasn't seen Rachel's brother for years and it's fate, divine intervention (or something like it) and a not so unrequited teenage crush that brings him to Kurt on New Year's Eve. [terrible summary is terrible. Sorry.]
Word Count: 1,680
Disclaimer: I own nada.
A/N: A little Anderberry with some Klaine schmoopiness, fluff and the like for my darling Jammy who got her wonderful A Level results today. Well done, gorgeous! <3
- - -
“Well, hello.”
Kurt huffs at the words because he knows these jeans make his ass look amazing (it’s a New Years Eve party - it was necessary) but there’s only so many times you can smile or wink in return to a compliment. And at least three old men (all Rachel’s great uncles or something) have given him the eye already so he’s a little tired, wishing he’d picked different pants and has come outside for a little peace. All angers lost though when he turns around and is met with the sight of a boy an inch or so shorter than himself, black curls falling over his forehead above hazel eyes that he hasn’t seen in years.
Kurt grins and says, “Blaine!” and blames the small amount of alcohol in his system for the ungraceful way he throws himself at the boy and hugs him probably too tightly around the neck. But he hasn’t seen Rachel’s older brother (only by a year) since they were about twelve or thirteen and Kurt had a hopeless crush on him.
A hopeless crush which he can feel settling back in as he pulls back and takes Blaine in. He’s grown a bit (not much - he’s still about the same height as Rachel), has broadened out in the shoulders and chest, has tanned a little more and is more gorgeous than ever. He’s smiling at Kurt with something akin to fondness and Kurt thinks he might be swooning. Or simply swaying from being tipsy. Either way, he feels like a pre-teen again, heart pounding and cheeks reddening, trying to hide his crush from Rachel and not let her know that Blaine, her brother and sometimes sworn enemy, was always the best friend he ever had - the only one who understood the true problems of being gay in small town Ohio - and Kurt couldn’t help but like him more than he probably should have. More than he does in fact because right now Kurt thinks he never stopped having a thing for Blaine, no matter the long gap (years) between them seeing each other. And it doesn’t help that Blaine’s only got more attractive. And probably less annoying - he and Rachel are relatives after all. There’s competitive streak in al of them.
“Hi,” Blaine says when they’ve been silent for a little too long and Kurt’s just petting over Blaine’s arms (such nice arms). “I, uh, wouldn’t have said that if I knew it was you.”
Kurt blushes and damns his fair skin. He’d forgotten what Blaine had said, evidently taking a liking to his ass, but it thrills Kurt a little to think Blaine saw him and wanted. “It’s fine,” Kurt says because it really is. Not a problem at all, never. “It’s been happening all night.”
Blaine raises an eyebrow and Kurt hates himself. What a way to make yourself sound egotistical, he chides in his head and Blaine says, “So I’ve got some competition?”
And now Kurt hates Blaine. Blaine’s always been quick with the lines and the flirting. Kurt didn’t understand flirting when he was younger, just thought they were talking and having fun, not getting why his stomach was twisting and his heart humming but now he knows flirting and that was definitely it. His hands suddenly feel clammy and his breath short.
“I, um- I don’t-“
“Relax,” Blaine chuckles, coming to stand next to Kurt and bump him with an elbow as they both lean against the house. “I’m messing with you.”
Kurt swallows and clears his throat, says, “Oh,” and hopes it doesn’t sound so disappointed to Blaine as it does to his own ears - he hates how easily Rachel usually picks up on his moods and it better not run in the family. He’s eighteen now, off to New York in the fall - he shouldn’t still be crushing like this: hard and overwhelming. Some of it may be down to alcohol buzzing through him, making him a little lightheaded and making the world fuzzy and bright (Blaine’s eyes look luminescent under a moonlit sky) but most of it’s probably unrequited like (maybe love - Kurt was an overdramatic kid… still is) bubbling back up and a New Year’s Eve wish on the tip on his tongue - kiss me at midnight, be my first, be my all.
Blaine is quiet beside him, staring out into the garden lit with a trail of fairy lights through the trees. It’s simple but beautiful and Kurt’s distracted by it, following Blaine’s gaze, until Blaine says, “Except, I could not be messing.”
It sounds like Blaine’s contemplating the idea, brow drawn and lips pressed out in not quite a pout as he thinks. Kurt is watching him now with his head rolled to the side against the house and fingers tangling together in nervous hope. He thinks Blaine’s nervous, frightened of Rachel maybe. Kurt is a little, because all those years ago she didn’t want Blaine stealing Kurt’s heart and probably him along with it. Kurt’s not sure she ever realized Blaine already had.
Kurt starts, “As in…”
Blaine rolls his shoulders and licks his lips. Kurt can’t help but stare as he talks. “I could be jealous? Of the competition?”
It’s definitely a question - the high , nervous lilt at the end says so - and Kurt hears Rachel grab a microphone inside and shout about five minutes until midnight (and she’s always had a way of interrupting Kurt and Blaine alone). Kurt doesn’t know when he’ll see Blaine after tonight, it could be years again, so he rushes to say, “Are you jealous?” hoping shamelessly for a yes and a first kiss at midnight, under the stars with literal fireworks.
Blaine sniffs, says, “Yes.”
Kurt almost chokes on a squeal, trying to hold it down. Blaine’s expressionless beside him, only a faint blush high on his cheekbones betraying his stoic confidence, and Kurt shuffles an inch closer. He hopes it’s inconspicuous, but the way Blaine’s eyes dart to him briefly and the step closer Blaine takes tells him it wasn’t. Though he can’t care about subtlety or hiding his smile anymore when Blaine starts to laugh and shake his head, slipping a cold, winter-chilled hand into Kurt’s.
“I’ve been jealous for years,” Blaine says, thumb rubbing over Kurt’s knuckles and his other hand scratching at his jawline (a little stubbled, Kurt notes. Also sexy). “Of any boy who ever got close to you, even if I had no idea if there were any because I was away.” He looks at Kurt then, smiles wryly. “Of Rachel.”
Kurt snorts, then coughs to try and cover it up. He loves and hates how Blaine makes him feel so comfortable, yet he wants to impress all the same too. “Why Rachel?”
“She’s your best friend,” Blaine says. “I know we were friends when we were younger, before I went, but… she’s had you all this time and when I was gone, I missed you.” Kurt blinks, eyes blurring with tears (mostly happy), no matter that he promised himself he’d never cry over a boy (and he pointedly ignores the memory that he cried for at least a week when Blaine moved away). Blaine shrugs. “And I missed getting to see you grow into… this.”
He gestures at Kurt with their joined hands, looking Kurt up and down as he bites his lip. Kurt feels hot all over and dips his head, feels like he’s on a precipice. “You’ve always been my best friend, Blaine.” He jumps over the edge. “And more.”
“Kurt Hummel’s big crush of 2008, right?”
Kurt blanches and goes wide-eyed. He knew Rachel had taken his diary all those years. And apparently it got into Blaine’s hands, or Rachel couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. The latter seems likely as Rachel was terrible at secret keeping back then, especially from her family.
“Hey,” Blaine grins, bumping their shoulders. “You’ve been the crush of my life so-“
“Ten!”
Kurt glances over his shoulder and through the patio doors to where the rest of the party is huddled together, swaying and counting, all eyes on the TV and facing away from the two outside. Blaine’s close when he turns back, suddenly there and bright-eyed and breath tickling over Kurt’s face.
“Nine!”
“I’ll do this right, I promise,” Blaine says, eyes in a constant dart of up, down, up, down between Kurt’s eyes and his lips.
“Eight!”
“I want you, Kurt.”
“Seven!”
”And I’ll take you on dates and spoil you and show you the sights of New York when we both head back in a couple of weeks.”
“Six!”
“I’ll bring you coffee before lectures.”
“Five!”
“I’ll buy you random gifts just because you’re beautiful when you smile.”
“Four!”
“I’ll roll my eyes with you and throw pillows at Rachel when she tells me I’ve stolen you or we’re too cute.”
“Three!”
“I’ll-“
“Blaine?”
“Two!”
Blaine stops, says, “Mm?” and stares at Kurt’s mouth.
“One!”
“Kiss me.”
Blaine does so, doesn’t hesitant a moment, and Kurt clutches at him and gives as good as he’s getting. He doesn’t know if he’s doing right, if he’s off center or if he’s too sloppy, but Blaine doesn’t seem to care as he grips tight to the back of Kurt’s jacket and gasps, “Happy New Year,” between kisses, Kurt barely making the words out over fireworks and raucous cheers. He tries to say it back, but Blaine’s nipping his bottom lip, his mouth a warm, inviting pressure over Kurt’s, and all that comes out is a hiss of pain when he bites too hard as the patio door slams open and Rachel groans, “Blaine, can’t you let me have one friend who likes me more than you.”
And then all Kurt can do is giggle and hide his face in Blaine’s shoulder, not even sorry that Rachel will find reason to pester them for weeks, because he just had his first kiss on New Years with his first crush and best friend and suddenly the Big Apple seems so much sweeter with Blaine by his side.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Kurt hasn't seen Rachel's brother for years and it's fate, divine intervention (or something like it) and a not so unrequited teenage crush that brings him to Kurt on New Year's Eve. [terrible summary is terrible. Sorry.]
Word Count: 1,680
Disclaimer: I own nada.
A/N: A little Anderberry with some Klaine schmoopiness, fluff and the like for my darling Jammy who got her wonderful A Level results today. Well done, gorgeous! <3
- - -
“Well, hello.”
Kurt huffs at the words because he knows these jeans make his ass look amazing (it’s a New Years Eve party - it was necessary) but there’s only so many times you can smile or wink in return to a compliment. And at least three old men (all Rachel’s great uncles or something) have given him the eye already so he’s a little tired, wishing he’d picked different pants and has come outside for a little peace. All angers lost though when he turns around and is met with the sight of a boy an inch or so shorter than himself, black curls falling over his forehead above hazel eyes that he hasn’t seen in years.
Kurt grins and says, “Blaine!” and blames the small amount of alcohol in his system for the ungraceful way he throws himself at the boy and hugs him probably too tightly around the neck. But he hasn’t seen Rachel’s older brother (only by a year) since they were about twelve or thirteen and Kurt had a hopeless crush on him.
A hopeless crush which he can feel settling back in as he pulls back and takes Blaine in. He’s grown a bit (not much - he’s still about the same height as Rachel), has broadened out in the shoulders and chest, has tanned a little more and is more gorgeous than ever. He’s smiling at Kurt with something akin to fondness and Kurt thinks he might be swooning. Or simply swaying from being tipsy. Either way, he feels like a pre-teen again, heart pounding and cheeks reddening, trying to hide his crush from Rachel and not let her know that Blaine, her brother and sometimes sworn enemy, was always the best friend he ever had - the only one who understood the true problems of being gay in small town Ohio - and Kurt couldn’t help but like him more than he probably should have. More than he does in fact because right now Kurt thinks he never stopped having a thing for Blaine, no matter the long gap (years) between them seeing each other. And it doesn’t help that Blaine’s only got more attractive. And probably less annoying - he and Rachel are relatives after all. There’s competitive streak in al of them.
“Hi,” Blaine says when they’ve been silent for a little too long and Kurt’s just petting over Blaine’s arms (such nice arms). “I, uh, wouldn’t have said that if I knew it was you.”
Kurt blushes and damns his fair skin. He’d forgotten what Blaine had said, evidently taking a liking to his ass, but it thrills Kurt a little to think Blaine saw him and wanted. “It’s fine,” Kurt says because it really is. Not a problem at all, never. “It’s been happening all night.”
Blaine raises an eyebrow and Kurt hates himself. What a way to make yourself sound egotistical, he chides in his head and Blaine says, “So I’ve got some competition?”
And now Kurt hates Blaine. Blaine’s always been quick with the lines and the flirting. Kurt didn’t understand flirting when he was younger, just thought they were talking and having fun, not getting why his stomach was twisting and his heart humming but now he knows flirting and that was definitely it. His hands suddenly feel clammy and his breath short.
“I, um- I don’t-“
“Relax,” Blaine chuckles, coming to stand next to Kurt and bump him with an elbow as they both lean against the house. “I’m messing with you.”
Kurt swallows and clears his throat, says, “Oh,” and hopes it doesn’t sound so disappointed to Blaine as it does to his own ears - he hates how easily Rachel usually picks up on his moods and it better not run in the family. He’s eighteen now, off to New York in the fall - he shouldn’t still be crushing like this: hard and overwhelming. Some of it may be down to alcohol buzzing through him, making him a little lightheaded and making the world fuzzy and bright (Blaine’s eyes look luminescent under a moonlit sky) but most of it’s probably unrequited like (maybe love - Kurt was an overdramatic kid… still is) bubbling back up and a New Year’s Eve wish on the tip on his tongue - kiss me at midnight, be my first, be my all.
Blaine is quiet beside him, staring out into the garden lit with a trail of fairy lights through the trees. It’s simple but beautiful and Kurt’s distracted by it, following Blaine’s gaze, until Blaine says, “Except, I could not be messing.”
It sounds like Blaine’s contemplating the idea, brow drawn and lips pressed out in not quite a pout as he thinks. Kurt is watching him now with his head rolled to the side against the house and fingers tangling together in nervous hope. He thinks Blaine’s nervous, frightened of Rachel maybe. Kurt is a little, because all those years ago she didn’t want Blaine stealing Kurt’s heart and probably him along with it. Kurt’s not sure she ever realized Blaine already had.
Kurt starts, “As in…”
Blaine rolls his shoulders and licks his lips. Kurt can’t help but stare as he talks. “I could be jealous? Of the competition?”
It’s definitely a question - the high , nervous lilt at the end says so - and Kurt hears Rachel grab a microphone inside and shout about five minutes until midnight (and she’s always had a way of interrupting Kurt and Blaine alone). Kurt doesn’t know when he’ll see Blaine after tonight, it could be years again, so he rushes to say, “Are you jealous?” hoping shamelessly for a yes and a first kiss at midnight, under the stars with literal fireworks.
Blaine sniffs, says, “Yes.”
Kurt almost chokes on a squeal, trying to hold it down. Blaine’s expressionless beside him, only a faint blush high on his cheekbones betraying his stoic confidence, and Kurt shuffles an inch closer. He hopes it’s inconspicuous, but the way Blaine’s eyes dart to him briefly and the step closer Blaine takes tells him it wasn’t. Though he can’t care about subtlety or hiding his smile anymore when Blaine starts to laugh and shake his head, slipping a cold, winter-chilled hand into Kurt’s.
“I’ve been jealous for years,” Blaine says, thumb rubbing over Kurt’s knuckles and his other hand scratching at his jawline (a little stubbled, Kurt notes. Also sexy). “Of any boy who ever got close to you, even if I had no idea if there were any because I was away.” He looks at Kurt then, smiles wryly. “Of Rachel.”
Kurt snorts, then coughs to try and cover it up. He loves and hates how Blaine makes him feel so comfortable, yet he wants to impress all the same too. “Why Rachel?”
“She’s your best friend,” Blaine says. “I know we were friends when we were younger, before I went, but… she’s had you all this time and when I was gone, I missed you.” Kurt blinks, eyes blurring with tears (mostly happy), no matter that he promised himself he’d never cry over a boy (and he pointedly ignores the memory that he cried for at least a week when Blaine moved away). Blaine shrugs. “And I missed getting to see you grow into… this.”
He gestures at Kurt with their joined hands, looking Kurt up and down as he bites his lip. Kurt feels hot all over and dips his head, feels like he’s on a precipice. “You’ve always been my best friend, Blaine.” He jumps over the edge. “And more.”
“Kurt Hummel’s big crush of 2008, right?”
Kurt blanches and goes wide-eyed. He knew Rachel had taken his diary all those years. And apparently it got into Blaine’s hands, or Rachel couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. The latter seems likely as Rachel was terrible at secret keeping back then, especially from her family.
“Hey,” Blaine grins, bumping their shoulders. “You’ve been the crush of my life so-“
“Ten!”
Kurt glances over his shoulder and through the patio doors to where the rest of the party is huddled together, swaying and counting, all eyes on the TV and facing away from the two outside. Blaine’s close when he turns back, suddenly there and bright-eyed and breath tickling over Kurt’s face.
“Nine!”
“I’ll do this right, I promise,” Blaine says, eyes in a constant dart of up, down, up, down between Kurt’s eyes and his lips.
“Eight!”
“I want you, Kurt.”
“Seven!”
”And I’ll take you on dates and spoil you and show you the sights of New York when we both head back in a couple of weeks.”
“Six!”
“I’ll bring you coffee before lectures.”
“Five!”
“I’ll buy you random gifts just because you’re beautiful when you smile.”
“Four!”
“I’ll roll my eyes with you and throw pillows at Rachel when she tells me I’ve stolen you or we’re too cute.”
“Three!”
“I’ll-“
“Blaine?”
“Two!”
Blaine stops, says, “Mm?” and stares at Kurt’s mouth.
“One!”
“Kiss me.”
Blaine does so, doesn’t hesitant a moment, and Kurt clutches at him and gives as good as he’s getting. He doesn’t know if he’s doing right, if he’s off center or if he’s too sloppy, but Blaine doesn’t seem to care as he grips tight to the back of Kurt’s jacket and gasps, “Happy New Year,” between kisses, Kurt barely making the words out over fireworks and raucous cheers. He tries to say it back, but Blaine’s nipping his bottom lip, his mouth a warm, inviting pressure over Kurt’s, and all that comes out is a hiss of pain when he bites too hard as the patio door slams open and Rachel groans, “Blaine, can’t you let me have one friend who likes me more than you.”
And then all Kurt can do is giggle and hide his face in Blaine’s shoulder, not even sorry that Rachel will find reason to pester them for weeks, because he just had his first kiss on New Years with his first crush and best friend and suddenly the Big Apple seems so much sweeter with Blaine by his side.