Lovestruck Romeo
Title: Lovestruck Romeo
Author: lennoxave
Pairing,Character(s): Kurt/Mike, Ensemble (with plenty of Matt/Mike friendship)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3576
Spoilers: Season 1
Summary: Mike's been crushing on Kurt for a while. Matt pushes him to make the big reveal (through song, 'cause that's how Glee kids do) over the summer at a party at Rachel's.
Author's Note: I don't usually write ships, but I have a shipper fic in my head that's probably going to be longer and more involved than this (and with a different pairing), so I wanted to write something as practice. Also, this fic assumes you've heard Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me."
Lovestruck Romeo
Ever since he had joined Glee, Mike had wanted to tell Kurt that he had a crush on him. But Kurt only had eyes for Finn most of the year, and once that had stopped, there was The Great Funkification of 2010, and then the whole Regionals disaster, and then the last month of school, which was filled entirely with projects and papers and studying until it was finals and finally summer. There simply hadn't been time.
That totally wasn't an excuse. Not at all.
“No, I'm pretty sure that's an excuse,” Matt said, sitting in the desk chair in Mike's room and tossing a whiffle ball up into the air. Mike was sprawled out on his bed, replaying Pokémon on the old Gameboy his mom had found when she was cleaning out the basement.
“Timing's important, y'know? And I just haven't found the right time yet.” Mike looked up from a battle with Team Rocket to see Matt glaring at him.
“I swear to God, Mike Chang, if I have to hear you bitch all summer about how you want to date Kurt Hummel but don't have the balls to ask him out, I will punch you in the face.”
Mike couldn't help but smile at that. He had been a little worried about telling Matt that he was gay and into a dude from Glee, but his best friend had taken it in stride, like he took everything. He'd even been willing to join the club with him (Glee Club, not the liking-guys club, which wasn't actually a real thing, but Mike kind of wished it was; it would make finding other gay dudes a lot easier). Anyway, whenever Matt made a comment that encouraged him to go after the guy he liked, it made Mike happy. It was nice to know that he had someone in his corner pulling for him.
“No, seriously, dude. Punch you. Right in the face.”
“I'll make you a deal,” Mike said. “I'll make a move on Kurt, if you make a move on Mercedes.”
Matt's eyes grew wide. “Dude. No fair.”
“C'mon, man. You flat out admitted you thought she was looking hot during Regionals.”
“I . . . know. But I'm still not really into the idea of dating again.”
Mike raised his eyebrows. “The Santana thing?”
“Dude, you try walking in on your girlfriend having sex with her best friend. It's kind of scarring.” Matt looked annoyed. “'It's not cheating,' my ass. I don't give a damn what Katy Perry has to say about it.”
“I'm pretty sure I won't ever be in that situation.”
“Then change the genders around in your head until it starts to freak you out.” Matt watched Mike think about it until a look of horror crossed his face. “See?”
“Please never make me think about the fact the crazy truck-driver Kurt and Brittany made out ever again.”
“Then don't bring up my love life, okay?” There was silence as Matt threw the ball up into the air a couple of times. Then Mike spoke.
“Seriously, though, that was like, three months ago.”
“I know. But I'm not over it. Or her, even if she was a total bitch while we were dating. She's still smokin', and the sex was--” He stopped. “Did you just make an 'ew' face at the idea of straight sex?”
“Maybe?”
“Heterophobe.” Matt threw the whiffle ball at Mike.
“Bite me,” Mike grinned, throwing it back.
* * *
Two weeks later, Mike logged on to Facebook. He was excited to see that he had an event invitation to a “Gleeunion Party” hosted by Rachel Berry, which she had helpfully described as “a reunion for Glee!” There would be cookies and karaoke. And Kurt, he saw, checking the list of people attending. He immediately replied “yes.”
They had seen each other in little groups, some more than others, but they hadn't all been together since school let out. The responses on the events page proved how much they had missed each other, though. Even the unlikeliest of people.
Santana had written on the wall: “Britt and I will be there. She'd reply for herself, but she can't remember her Facebook password. Or her e-mail address. Anyway, we're going, but if Berry hogs the karaoke all night, I will set fire to her face with my mind.”
Mike laughed when he saw it. The reply was vintage Santana, but the fact that she was going at all was a testament to how much Glee had wormed its way into their lives.
* * *
Mike rang the Berrys' doorbell on behalf of the four of them. Despite Matt's complicated relationship with Santana and Brittany, they all still hung out a lot, so it was logical that they should all go to the party together. The fact that Matt was the only one of them with a car and Santana's pleading voice made Matt's brain go all fuzzy may have been a factor, as well.
The door was opened by a man who Mike assumed was Rachel's Jewish dad. “Hi! Come on in. The party's out through the back.”
They walked through Rachel's house. “Rachel would have a party with her parents around,” Santana said to Brittany, although in an unprecedented show of tact, she said it quietly enough that Rachel's dad couldn't hear. Mike briefly wondered if Santana Lopez was starting to go soft. “And dear god, are those ferrets?” Maybe not.
As they stepped into the backyard through the sliding glass doors, they were greeted by a rousing chorus of “heys.” It looked like Santana's insistence on fashionable lateness had made them the last ones there. Tina was sitting on Artie's lap as they raided a tray of cookies, Finn and Puck were playing frisbee on the lawn, Mercedes and Quinn were looking through a binder of karaoke song selections, and Kurt (Mike couldn't help but look at him with a little extra attention) was drinking a Diet Coke in one of the lawn chairs underneath a giant tent, watching Rachel set up the karaoke machine. When Rachel saw them come out, she put down the extension cord she was fumbling with and ran over.
“Hi, guys! I'm really glad you could make it. There are cookies and chips and popcorn over on that table, and a cooler with soda and water right next that.” Rachel seemed unusually perky, even for her. It occurred to Mike, with no small feeling of guilt, that this might be the first time Rachel had ever had a party at her house. He decided to be the most appreciative guest ever.
“Thanks. I'm really glad you decided to do this. It all looks really great.” Mike kind of wanted to smack himself for how stupid that sounded, but Rachel just smiled at him.
“No problem! If you need anything, I'll be in the tent hooking up the karaoke machine.” With that, she bounded away. Mike turned to see that Brittany and Santana had already headed for the cooler, but Matt was looking at him strangely.
“Are you sure it's not Rachel's pants you want to get into?” Matt asked in a low voice. “Because I have a feeling that Finn would not be real happy about having another one of his friends sleep with another one of his girlfriends.”
“Shove it, Shaft,” Mike rolled his eyes and went to get a cookie. He talked to Tina and Artie for a little while and watched as Matt joined the frisbee game. He must have zoned out, because he heard a voice behind him that made him jump and blush at the same time.
“Mike,” Kurt said, and Mike spun around, hoping he could pass off the redness on his face as embarrassment at being startled, rather than embarrassment at being spoken to by the guy he was crushing on.
“Kurt, hey,” Mike tried to keep his cool. “You snuck up on me, there.”
“Sorry. I guess I'm light on my feet.” Kurt smiled and Mike felt himself smile back like an idiot.
“No worries. How's your summer been?”
“It's been good. I've mostly been hanging out with Oprah and Gayle over there,” Kurt flicked his head back toward Mercedes and Quinn, “or working at the garage with my dad.” Kurt paused and Mike realized that he was waiting for the reaction of disbelief he must inevitably get any time someone found out that the fashion- and hygiene-conscious Kurt Hummel worked at a garage. Mike took the opportunity to prove himself different.
“Sweet deal. It must be nice to have a job, make some money.”
“It is.” Mike assumed the tension ebbing away from Kurt's face meant that his response had been acceptable. “How about your summer?”
“Eh, it's been fine.” I've just missed staring at your ass during dance rehearsals. Okay, that part shouldn't be said out loud. “Not too eventful. Lots of hanging out and wasting time.”
“That sounds relaxing.”
“After the psychosis that was this school year? It is.” Mike smiled again, and Kurt looked about to reply when Mercedes called him over to look at a song she'd found.
“I guess I'll talk to you later,” Kurt said as he turned and walked over to his friend.
“That looked like it went well,” Matt muttered into Mike's ear.
Mike jumped a foot into the air for the second time in two minutes. “Oh my god, will you people stop sneaking up on me.”
“Sorry,” Matt said, in a tone that implied that he actually was not sorry at all. He looked around to make sure no one was around them, Artie and Tina having moved over to the tent, and murmured, “Seriously, though, that did look like it went well.”
Mike rolled his eyes and replied in a low voice, “Dude, we were having a 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' talk. It wasn't exactly love rocket science.”
“Okay, but you realize that this would be a great place to make a move, right? Some awesome big, romantic gesture?”
Mike stared at him. “Oh, yeah. Here. With all of these other people around. And Rachel's dads looking out the window at us. Great plan.”
“I'm serious. You've got ten people around here who aren't going to give a crap if you try something,” Matt pointed out, “and Lord knows the best parents you could possibly have around if you get caught in a compromising position with him are Rachel's, because you know they aren't going to throw you out or anything.”
“But I have no idea what his feelings are.”
“He walked over to you at a party specifically to talk to you. That's a good start.”
“I'd prefer to have a little more solid evidence than that before I make a fool out of myself.”
“Dude? Kid is gay in Lima, and you're good looking. He's going to at least consider it.”
Mike sighed and resigned himself to the fact that his best friend had just talked him into doing something completely stupid. Then something caught in his brain. “Wait, did you just call me hot?”
Matt playfully smacked him upside the head and grabbed a handful of popcorn off the table. “Dude, you wish. Just figure out a way to get your Casanova on tonight, okay?”
* * *
So, karaoke night was actually ridiculously fun. Rachel had an insane amount of music for them to sing to, and she had caught on to the fact that this isn't serious and I don't have to offer a full critique of everyone's performance, so they all got to relax and have fun with it. And if Mike got to show off his mad hot dance skills to Kurt while singing “Billie Jean,” then so be it.
The evening was starting to wind down, and people were doing slower songs now, more reflective of their mood after a night of music, dancing, and laughter. Mercedes got up and started to sing “Fallin'” by Alicia Keys. Mike grinned at the schmoopy, lovestruck look Matt got on his face as she sang.
“You know, I could get you a neon sign to hang over your head that says 'Mercedes Is My Sex Goddess' and it would be less obvious than what you're doing now,” he leaned over and whispered to Matt. This shook Matt out of his reverie and caused him to glare at Mike.
“Shut up. Also?” Matt checked his cell phone. “It's after eleven. Everybody's going to start leaving soon, and you still haven't admitted that Kurt is your sex god.”
“I . . . have some ideas on that,” Mike muttered.
“Good. What?”
“A . . . song. But I'm not sure that I'm comfortable--” Mike was cut off as the group applauded for Mercedes. Matt stood up when she asked who wanted to go next.
“I believe Mike Chang would like to sing something,” he said, pulling his horrified friend to his feet and pushing him to the make-shift stage at the front of the tent.
“Uh, hi,” Mike said into the microphone, feeling absolutely mortified. “I, uh, just have to find the right CD,” and figure out a way to kill my best friend and hide the body, he thought, “so, uh, feel free to talk amongst yourselves?”
“You gonna give us a topic, Linda Richman?” Santana called out. Mike just gave her the finger as he paged through a binder full of karaoke CDs.
“It's okay, guys. I found it. Crisis averted.” He put the CD in and set the machine for track seven. He took a deep breath and glared at Matt as the music started.
“I want you to want me,” he sang. “I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. And I'm beggin' you to beg me.” He didn't dare look anyone in the face as he sang. He just stared at the words on the screen, even though they were some of the easiest and most repetitive lyrics ever written.
As he hit the end of the first “didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'” bit, he glanced over at Matt. Who emphatically mouthed at him, “GO FOR IT.” Mike screwed up his courage and turned to make eye contact with Kurt, who was sitting in the front row.
“I want you to want me.” He made it through one line before the awkwardness became too much for him and he had to look away. How did the other Glee kids manage to pointedly serenade each other all the time? He recovered enough to chance another look at Kurt as he sang, “I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt.” Kurt's expression was difficult to read. He had crossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist and furrowing his brow. He looked confused, but possibly intrigued. Mike threw in a pelvic thrust for musical emphasis. Kurt licked his lips. Mike decided that he didn't really care how self-conscious he felt anymore, and as the song ended, he got down on one knee in front of Kurt and reached out his hand.
“I want you to want me.” Okay, it was probably the cheesiest move in the history of everything. And Kurt . . . still looked confused. The track ended and he heard Matt start to whoop it up from the other side of the group. There was tentative, probably also confused applause from the rest of the audience and Kurt, now looking both confused and somewhat embarrassed, grabbed Mike by the arm and dragged him outside the tent.
“What. The hell. Was that.” Kurt sounded angry. Mike panicked.
“It was Matt's idea!” he blurted out.
“WHAT?”
“I mean, kind of. It was my idea but I was scared to so he pushed me into it and . . . please don't hurt me.”
“What?”
“You can kick, like, really well, and you could probably do some damage to--”
“No, what do you mean you were scared?”
“That . . . you wouldn't like me back? Which, apparently is the case because you're freaking the hell out and I should probably go.” Mike turned to leave but Kurt grabbed his wrist.
“So, that wasn't a carefully orchestrated jock plot to embarrass me?”
“No! How can you even ask that?”
“Well, why else would a straight guy be singing that song to me?”
“Dude, none of the athletes in Glee have picked on you in months and . . .” Mike said this last part under his breath, “also, I'm not straight.”
Kurt looked at him carefully, checking for signs of deception. “So, not an elaborate plot.”
“No.”
“And you're not straight.”
“If by 'not straight' you mean gay, then yes.”
Kurt seemed to be trying to process everything in his head. “And . . . you want me to want you?”
“It . . . sounds more awkward when you say it than when you sing it, but yeah, basically.”
“You're not dating Brittany?”
Mike laughed out loud. “No. We're just friends. That's kinda how I figured myself out. If I wasn't hot for Brittany . . .”
“I see.” Kurt paused again. “This is all very sudden.”
“Yeah, I know. I was hoping to do a little more of a lead up, but Matt was sick of hearing me complain about being single.”
“Okay, well.” Kurt took a deep breath. “First of all, I apologize for getting all defensive and questioning your motives just now--”
“It's okay,” Mike cut him off.
“No, it's not. I just--” Kurt sighed. “I've just come down off of a very long straight-guy crush, and I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never have a boyfriend in high school, that there was no one here who would or could love me.” Mike winced at Kurt's honesty. It was unusual for him to break his stoic mask, but Mike felt himself falling even more for the vulnerable boy hiding beneath it. He took Kurt's hand.
“Well, now you know that's not true.” The weight of the moment became too much for him, and he kicked into jokester mode. “I mean, even beyond me, statistically there has to be at least several hundred other gays in town . . .”
Kurt laughed. “I'd like to try. With you.” He looked shyly down at his hand holding Mike's.
“This isn't because I'm the only other gay dude you know, is it?”
“No. Even if I've been . . . preoccupied with other things, I've still noticed you. You're nice and sweet and funny, and I sometimes have a hard time doing choreography in Glee because I can't stop watching you dance.” Even in the darkness, Mike could see Kurt blush. “So, maybe I hadn't considered you as an option before, but . . . I'm considering you now.”
“And?”
“Well, I think it all depends on where you decide to take me on our first date.”
Mike grinned. Now this was the Kurt Hummel he knew how to deal with. “Well, I may have noticed that the touring production of Wicked was coming to the Ohio Theatre in Columbus next weekend . . .”
Kurt's mouth hung open. “No way. Tickets have been sold out for weeks.”
“I . . . may have been planning on asking you out for a while.” Kurt's mouth was still hanging open. “Is that a yes?”
Kurt laughed and pulled him into a hug. A really awesome hug. “Of course it is. Even if you just serenaded me with the lamest song ever.” Suddenly, Kurt pulled away and his eyes narrowed. “What would you have done if I had said no, or if you'd never worked up the guts to ask me?”
Mike shrugged. “I wanted to see it anyway, after hearing you go on so much about it, so I probably would've bullied Matt into going with me. Or maybe Rachel.” He grinned at Kurt, who made a valiant effort to look angry before breaking into a smile. “Speaking of, there are probably other people at the party who are wondering whether you've killed me yet, or if we've just been making out this whole time.”
Kurt swatted him on the shoulder, but allowed him to take his hand, and the two walked back into the tent. They were met with loud cheering and catcalls from most of the club.
Most of them.
“Dammit!” Puck said, as he handed Matt a twenty-dollar bill. “I never would have called it.”
Author: lennoxave
Pairing,Character(s): Kurt/Mike, Ensemble (with plenty of Matt/Mike friendship)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3576
Spoilers: Season 1
Summary: Mike's been crushing on Kurt for a while. Matt pushes him to make the big reveal (through song, 'cause that's how Glee kids do) over the summer at a party at Rachel's.
Author's Note: I don't usually write ships, but I have a shipper fic in my head that's probably going to be longer and more involved than this (and with a different pairing), so I wanted to write something as practice. Also, this fic assumes you've heard Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me."
Lovestruck Romeo
Ever since he had joined Glee, Mike had wanted to tell Kurt that he had a crush on him. But Kurt only had eyes for Finn most of the year, and once that had stopped, there was The Great Funkification of 2010, and then the whole Regionals disaster, and then the last month of school, which was filled entirely with projects and papers and studying until it was finals and finally summer. There simply hadn't been time.
That totally wasn't an excuse. Not at all.
“No, I'm pretty sure that's an excuse,” Matt said, sitting in the desk chair in Mike's room and tossing a whiffle ball up into the air. Mike was sprawled out on his bed, replaying Pokémon on the old Gameboy his mom had found when she was cleaning out the basement.
“Timing's important, y'know? And I just haven't found the right time yet.” Mike looked up from a battle with Team Rocket to see Matt glaring at him.
“I swear to God, Mike Chang, if I have to hear you bitch all summer about how you want to date Kurt Hummel but don't have the balls to ask him out, I will punch you in the face.”
Mike couldn't help but smile at that. He had been a little worried about telling Matt that he was gay and into a dude from Glee, but his best friend had taken it in stride, like he took everything. He'd even been willing to join the club with him (Glee Club, not the liking-guys club, which wasn't actually a real thing, but Mike kind of wished it was; it would make finding other gay dudes a lot easier). Anyway, whenever Matt made a comment that encouraged him to go after the guy he liked, it made Mike happy. It was nice to know that he had someone in his corner pulling for him.
“No, seriously, dude. Punch you. Right in the face.”
“I'll make you a deal,” Mike said. “I'll make a move on Kurt, if you make a move on Mercedes.”
Matt's eyes grew wide. “Dude. No fair.”
“C'mon, man. You flat out admitted you thought she was looking hot during Regionals.”
“I . . . know. But I'm still not really into the idea of dating again.”
Mike raised his eyebrows. “The Santana thing?”
“Dude, you try walking in on your girlfriend having sex with her best friend. It's kind of scarring.” Matt looked annoyed. “'It's not cheating,' my ass. I don't give a damn what Katy Perry has to say about it.”
“I'm pretty sure I won't ever be in that situation.”
“Then change the genders around in your head until it starts to freak you out.” Matt watched Mike think about it until a look of horror crossed his face. “See?”
“Please never make me think about the fact the crazy truck-driver Kurt and Brittany made out ever again.”
“Then don't bring up my love life, okay?” There was silence as Matt threw the ball up into the air a couple of times. Then Mike spoke.
“Seriously, though, that was like, three months ago.”
“I know. But I'm not over it. Or her, even if she was a total bitch while we were dating. She's still smokin', and the sex was--” He stopped. “Did you just make an 'ew' face at the idea of straight sex?”
“Maybe?”
“Heterophobe.” Matt threw the whiffle ball at Mike.
“Bite me,” Mike grinned, throwing it back.
* * *
Two weeks later, Mike logged on to Facebook. He was excited to see that he had an event invitation to a “Gleeunion Party” hosted by Rachel Berry, which she had helpfully described as “a reunion for Glee!” There would be cookies and karaoke. And Kurt, he saw, checking the list of people attending. He immediately replied “yes.”
They had seen each other in little groups, some more than others, but they hadn't all been together since school let out. The responses on the events page proved how much they had missed each other, though. Even the unlikeliest of people.
Santana had written on the wall: “Britt and I will be there. She'd reply for herself, but she can't remember her Facebook password. Or her e-mail address. Anyway, we're going, but if Berry hogs the karaoke all night, I will set fire to her face with my mind.”
Mike laughed when he saw it. The reply was vintage Santana, but the fact that she was going at all was a testament to how much Glee had wormed its way into their lives.
* * *
Mike rang the Berrys' doorbell on behalf of the four of them. Despite Matt's complicated relationship with Santana and Brittany, they all still hung out a lot, so it was logical that they should all go to the party together. The fact that Matt was the only one of them with a car and Santana's pleading voice made Matt's brain go all fuzzy may have been a factor, as well.
The door was opened by a man who Mike assumed was Rachel's Jewish dad. “Hi! Come on in. The party's out through the back.”
They walked through Rachel's house. “Rachel would have a party with her parents around,” Santana said to Brittany, although in an unprecedented show of tact, she said it quietly enough that Rachel's dad couldn't hear. Mike briefly wondered if Santana Lopez was starting to go soft. “And dear god, are those ferrets?” Maybe not.
As they stepped into the backyard through the sliding glass doors, they were greeted by a rousing chorus of “heys.” It looked like Santana's insistence on fashionable lateness had made them the last ones there. Tina was sitting on Artie's lap as they raided a tray of cookies, Finn and Puck were playing frisbee on the lawn, Mercedes and Quinn were looking through a binder of karaoke song selections, and Kurt (Mike couldn't help but look at him with a little extra attention) was drinking a Diet Coke in one of the lawn chairs underneath a giant tent, watching Rachel set up the karaoke machine. When Rachel saw them come out, she put down the extension cord she was fumbling with and ran over.
“Hi, guys! I'm really glad you could make it. There are cookies and chips and popcorn over on that table, and a cooler with soda and water right next that.” Rachel seemed unusually perky, even for her. It occurred to Mike, with no small feeling of guilt, that this might be the first time Rachel had ever had a party at her house. He decided to be the most appreciative guest ever.
“Thanks. I'm really glad you decided to do this. It all looks really great.” Mike kind of wanted to smack himself for how stupid that sounded, but Rachel just smiled at him.
“No problem! If you need anything, I'll be in the tent hooking up the karaoke machine.” With that, she bounded away. Mike turned to see that Brittany and Santana had already headed for the cooler, but Matt was looking at him strangely.
“Are you sure it's not Rachel's pants you want to get into?” Matt asked in a low voice. “Because I have a feeling that Finn would not be real happy about having another one of his friends sleep with another one of his girlfriends.”
“Shove it, Shaft,” Mike rolled his eyes and went to get a cookie. He talked to Tina and Artie for a little while and watched as Matt joined the frisbee game. He must have zoned out, because he heard a voice behind him that made him jump and blush at the same time.
“Mike,” Kurt said, and Mike spun around, hoping he could pass off the redness on his face as embarrassment at being startled, rather than embarrassment at being spoken to by the guy he was crushing on.
“Kurt, hey,” Mike tried to keep his cool. “You snuck up on me, there.”
“Sorry. I guess I'm light on my feet.” Kurt smiled and Mike felt himself smile back like an idiot.
“No worries. How's your summer been?”
“It's been good. I've mostly been hanging out with Oprah and Gayle over there,” Kurt flicked his head back toward Mercedes and Quinn, “or working at the garage with my dad.” Kurt paused and Mike realized that he was waiting for the reaction of disbelief he must inevitably get any time someone found out that the fashion- and hygiene-conscious Kurt Hummel worked at a garage. Mike took the opportunity to prove himself different.
“Sweet deal. It must be nice to have a job, make some money.”
“It is.” Mike assumed the tension ebbing away from Kurt's face meant that his response had been acceptable. “How about your summer?”
“Eh, it's been fine.” I've just missed staring at your ass during dance rehearsals. Okay, that part shouldn't be said out loud. “Not too eventful. Lots of hanging out and wasting time.”
“That sounds relaxing.”
“After the psychosis that was this school year? It is.” Mike smiled again, and Kurt looked about to reply when Mercedes called him over to look at a song she'd found.
“I guess I'll talk to you later,” Kurt said as he turned and walked over to his friend.
“That looked like it went well,” Matt muttered into Mike's ear.
Mike jumped a foot into the air for the second time in two minutes. “Oh my god, will you people stop sneaking up on me.”
“Sorry,” Matt said, in a tone that implied that he actually was not sorry at all. He looked around to make sure no one was around them, Artie and Tina having moved over to the tent, and murmured, “Seriously, though, that did look like it went well.”
Mike rolled his eyes and replied in a low voice, “Dude, we were having a 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' talk. It wasn't exactly love rocket science.”
“Okay, but you realize that this would be a great place to make a move, right? Some awesome big, romantic gesture?”
Mike stared at him. “Oh, yeah. Here. With all of these other people around. And Rachel's dads looking out the window at us. Great plan.”
“I'm serious. You've got ten people around here who aren't going to give a crap if you try something,” Matt pointed out, “and Lord knows the best parents you could possibly have around if you get caught in a compromising position with him are Rachel's, because you know they aren't going to throw you out or anything.”
“But I have no idea what his feelings are.”
“He walked over to you at a party specifically to talk to you. That's a good start.”
“I'd prefer to have a little more solid evidence than that before I make a fool out of myself.”
“Dude? Kid is gay in Lima, and you're good looking. He's going to at least consider it.”
Mike sighed and resigned himself to the fact that his best friend had just talked him into doing something completely stupid. Then something caught in his brain. “Wait, did you just call me hot?”
Matt playfully smacked him upside the head and grabbed a handful of popcorn off the table. “Dude, you wish. Just figure out a way to get your Casanova on tonight, okay?”
* * *
So, karaoke night was actually ridiculously fun. Rachel had an insane amount of music for them to sing to, and she had caught on to the fact that this isn't serious and I don't have to offer a full critique of everyone's performance, so they all got to relax and have fun with it. And if Mike got to show off his mad hot dance skills to Kurt while singing “Billie Jean,” then so be it.
The evening was starting to wind down, and people were doing slower songs now, more reflective of their mood after a night of music, dancing, and laughter. Mercedes got up and started to sing “Fallin'” by Alicia Keys. Mike grinned at the schmoopy, lovestruck look Matt got on his face as she sang.
“You know, I could get you a neon sign to hang over your head that says 'Mercedes Is My Sex Goddess' and it would be less obvious than what you're doing now,” he leaned over and whispered to Matt. This shook Matt out of his reverie and caused him to glare at Mike.
“Shut up. Also?” Matt checked his cell phone. “It's after eleven. Everybody's going to start leaving soon, and you still haven't admitted that Kurt is your sex god.”
“I . . . have some ideas on that,” Mike muttered.
“Good. What?”
“A . . . song. But I'm not sure that I'm comfortable--” Mike was cut off as the group applauded for Mercedes. Matt stood up when she asked who wanted to go next.
“I believe Mike Chang would like to sing something,” he said, pulling his horrified friend to his feet and pushing him to the make-shift stage at the front of the tent.
“Uh, hi,” Mike said into the microphone, feeling absolutely mortified. “I, uh, just have to find the right CD,” and figure out a way to kill my best friend and hide the body, he thought, “so, uh, feel free to talk amongst yourselves?”
“You gonna give us a topic, Linda Richman?” Santana called out. Mike just gave her the finger as he paged through a binder full of karaoke CDs.
“It's okay, guys. I found it. Crisis averted.” He put the CD in and set the machine for track seven. He took a deep breath and glared at Matt as the music started.
“I want you to want me,” he sang. “I need you to need me. I'd love you to love me. And I'm beggin' you to beg me.” He didn't dare look anyone in the face as he sang. He just stared at the words on the screen, even though they were some of the easiest and most repetitive lyrics ever written.
As he hit the end of the first “didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'” bit, he glanced over at Matt. Who emphatically mouthed at him, “GO FOR IT.” Mike screwed up his courage and turned to make eye contact with Kurt, who was sitting in the front row.
“I want you to want me.” He made it through one line before the awkwardness became too much for him and he had to look away. How did the other Glee kids manage to pointedly serenade each other all the time? He recovered enough to chance another look at Kurt as he sang, “I'll shine up the old brown shoes, put on a brand new shirt.” Kurt's expression was difficult to read. He had crossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist and furrowing his brow. He looked confused, but possibly intrigued. Mike threw in a pelvic thrust for musical emphasis. Kurt licked his lips. Mike decided that he didn't really care how self-conscious he felt anymore, and as the song ended, he got down on one knee in front of Kurt and reached out his hand.
“I want you to want me.” Okay, it was probably the cheesiest move in the history of everything. And Kurt . . . still looked confused. The track ended and he heard Matt start to whoop it up from the other side of the group. There was tentative, probably also confused applause from the rest of the audience and Kurt, now looking both confused and somewhat embarrassed, grabbed Mike by the arm and dragged him outside the tent.
“What. The hell. Was that.” Kurt sounded angry. Mike panicked.
“It was Matt's idea!” he blurted out.
“WHAT?”
“I mean, kind of. It was my idea but I was scared to so he pushed me into it and . . . please don't hurt me.”
“What?”
“You can kick, like, really well, and you could probably do some damage to--”
“No, what do you mean you were scared?”
“That . . . you wouldn't like me back? Which, apparently is the case because you're freaking the hell out and I should probably go.” Mike turned to leave but Kurt grabbed his wrist.
“So, that wasn't a carefully orchestrated jock plot to embarrass me?”
“No! How can you even ask that?”
“Well, why else would a straight guy be singing that song to me?”
“Dude, none of the athletes in Glee have picked on you in months and . . .” Mike said this last part under his breath, “also, I'm not straight.”
Kurt looked at him carefully, checking for signs of deception. “So, not an elaborate plot.”
“No.”
“And you're not straight.”
“If by 'not straight' you mean gay, then yes.”
Kurt seemed to be trying to process everything in his head. “And . . . you want me to want you?”
“It . . . sounds more awkward when you say it than when you sing it, but yeah, basically.”
“You're not dating Brittany?”
Mike laughed out loud. “No. We're just friends. That's kinda how I figured myself out. If I wasn't hot for Brittany . . .”
“I see.” Kurt paused again. “This is all very sudden.”
“Yeah, I know. I was hoping to do a little more of a lead up, but Matt was sick of hearing me complain about being single.”
“Okay, well.” Kurt took a deep breath. “First of all, I apologize for getting all defensive and questioning your motives just now--”
“It's okay,” Mike cut him off.
“No, it's not. I just--” Kurt sighed. “I've just come down off of a very long straight-guy crush, and I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never have a boyfriend in high school, that there was no one here who would or could love me.” Mike winced at Kurt's honesty. It was unusual for him to break his stoic mask, but Mike felt himself falling even more for the vulnerable boy hiding beneath it. He took Kurt's hand.
“Well, now you know that's not true.” The weight of the moment became too much for him, and he kicked into jokester mode. “I mean, even beyond me, statistically there has to be at least several hundred other gays in town . . .”
Kurt laughed. “I'd like to try. With you.” He looked shyly down at his hand holding Mike's.
“This isn't because I'm the only other gay dude you know, is it?”
“No. Even if I've been . . . preoccupied with other things, I've still noticed you. You're nice and sweet and funny, and I sometimes have a hard time doing choreography in Glee because I can't stop watching you dance.” Even in the darkness, Mike could see Kurt blush. “So, maybe I hadn't considered you as an option before, but . . . I'm considering you now.”
“And?”
“Well, I think it all depends on where you decide to take me on our first date.”
Mike grinned. Now this was the Kurt Hummel he knew how to deal with. “Well, I may have noticed that the touring production of Wicked was coming to the Ohio Theatre in Columbus next weekend . . .”
Kurt's mouth hung open. “No way. Tickets have been sold out for weeks.”
“I . . . may have been planning on asking you out for a while.” Kurt's mouth was still hanging open. “Is that a yes?”
Kurt laughed and pulled him into a hug. A really awesome hug. “Of course it is. Even if you just serenaded me with the lamest song ever.” Suddenly, Kurt pulled away and his eyes narrowed. “What would you have done if I had said no, or if you'd never worked up the guts to ask me?”
Mike shrugged. “I wanted to see it anyway, after hearing you go on so much about it, so I probably would've bullied Matt into going with me. Or maybe Rachel.” He grinned at Kurt, who made a valiant effort to look angry before breaking into a smile. “Speaking of, there are probably other people at the party who are wondering whether you've killed me yet, or if we've just been making out this whole time.”
Kurt swatted him on the shoulder, but allowed him to take his hand, and the two walked back into the tent. They were met with loud cheering and catcalls from most of the club.
Most of them.
“Dammit!” Puck said, as he handed Matt a twenty-dollar bill. “I never would have called it.”