Fic: Hot Mikado, 4/? (PG-13)
Media: Fic
Type: Multi-Part
Title: Hot Mikado
Author: lola_mejor
Betas: sparklegemstone & jennacorinth
Word Count: ~4,700 (this chapter, ~20,200 total so far)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
Pairings: Klaine
Spoilers: Not so much, no. NOTE THIS IS AU AFTER YES/NO because I cannot keep up with canon.
Disclaimer: Kurt, Blaine, Rachel, Harmony, Gavroche and whomever else from Glee’s version of Lima, Ohio don’t exist, nor did I create them. Which seems like it poses an existential question, but is actually just me saying I’ve borrowed them from the people who did create them.
Summary: Kurt has been approached by the Gerber baby and his doppelganger to help them put on a community production of Hot Mikado, but there’s just one problem…
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A/N: So many apologies for the delay (It's actually two months! I'd hate me if I was a reader following this fic - I'm so fucking sorry). I had a lovely holiday but had absolutely no access to computers, let alone internet, for a while there… and then RL stayed exciting and awesome but totally time-consuming.
If you need to catch up/reacquaint yourselves:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Or read on J
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CHAPTER 4
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Kurt closed his eyes as he and Harmony sang the last note of the song, their voices coming together, finally, as if they’d always meant to complement rather than duel - no matter how fine the battle had been. He held onto the moment as the sound faded away and the noise of traffic and people around them started to invade his and Harmony’s musical bubble.
Someone started clapping, but the sound was coming from behind him so it couldn’t have been Gavroche. Kurt opened his eyes slowly as the clapping - polite but insistent - spread around them. There was a group of nearly 10 people gathered around them - theater students and other types seeking to audition, he supposed, from their general fashion sense and the prevalence of sheet music clutched in their hands.
Harmony, always ready for an audience, was curtsey-ing and blowing kisses all of 5 feet to where the people stood, making Kurt roll his eyes. She thanked the crowd, and linked her arm into Kurt’s, describing him as her protégé and the next big thing to hit Lima, Ohio.
Abruptly, Kurt de-linked his arm from hers and retorted, hands on hips: “I think we can do better than Lima, Ohio, don’t you Harmony?” He grinned and puffed up a bit, feeding off her energy and playing to the crowd. Somehow he felt confidence in front of these people. People he didn’t even know, but people who were looking at him, the real him. The him who owned every song he sang. And he addressed them as the performer he knew he was.
“I hope you’re all here to audition for Hot Mikado,” he breathed. “We are, and we want it to be an amazing production, with amazing people.”
Kurt spied someone at the edge of the group rolling their eyes a bit, and it occurred to him that he probably would have done the same thing if their situations were reversed. But they weren’t. He had managed to wow a group of people that he didn’t even know with his rendition of Defying Gravity. Take that Mr. Schue.
He was brought out of his reverie by a hand grasping at his wrist. Gavroche had risen to his feet and was, for the lack of a better word, squee-ing at them both. He had both Kurt and Harmony at the wrist, pulling them closer towards him.
“Oh my GOD you two I can’t even!” He was jumping up and down on the spot, dragging Harmony and Kurt’s arms with him. “Aren’t they brilliant everyone?!” he appealed to the crowd, who were starting to lose interest now that it was past 9am and there were signs of life inside the theatre.
“You were really really brilliant,” Gavroche said more quietly, his face close to Kurt’s, eyes looking directly into his.
“Yes, yes,” Harmony pulled her arm out of Gavroche’s grasp. “Less dawdling Gavroche, we need to pack up to be ready to go inside when Larry opens up. Did you make the muffins? You know how much he likes his muffins and we’ve got to convince him to kick the middle aged wannabe hacks to the curb…”
Gavroche looked appalled. “The muffins! I forgot about the muffins!” He dived down behind one of the chairs while Harmony made an irritated clicking noise. “Of course I didn’t forget to make them,” he resurfaced, “I mean I forgot, Kurt, I forgot to tell you I made muffins and I really hope you like them!” Gavroche scrambled, folding chairs and collecting food and beverage containers.
Kurt stifled a giggle and rolled his eyes at Harmony before moving forward to help Gavroche. He was really getting to be a bit much, but the look of consternation on Harmony’s face was enough to make it worthwhile to help Gavroche. He was realising, however, that he might need to lay down some ground rules sometime soon. Introduce him to Blaine, perhaps, to make the point clear. Still, humoring Gavroche really seemed to be annoying Harmony. He smiled at that thought.
“…so since he’s got a sweet tooth but likes his food bite-sized I usually make some mini-muffins for Larry,” Gavroche was babbling, oblivious to Kurt’s inattention, “and they’re most definitely not vegan - nearly a dozen eggs went into the batter which means they’re practically cheesecake muffins.”
“Cheesecake?” Kurt snapped to attention, eyes widening. “I love cheesecake… but how do you compromise between a muffin and cheesecake recipe?”
Gavroche beamed and straightened up, chairs and other parephenalia now tucked neatly under his arm. “I’m not sure I can share my secrets with just anyone,” he said coyly, “but I could make an exception if you could help me make them one time?”
Kurt smiled weakly, realising a little too late the implication of his enthusiasm for the cheesecake. He really would have to introduce Gavroche to Blaine soon. “Well I’ll have to taste one of these intriguing mini-cheesecake-muffins first won’t I? Save me some for after the audition? I don’t think I could eat anything now.”
“Hahahaha!” Harmony snorted in an unexpected manner and both Kurt and Gavroche started. She covered her mouth, eyes crinkled as she laughed “I mean,” she started again, “I’m sure you made enough for everyone and would save some for later, especially for Kurt, right Gavroche?” The sweetness in her voice was almost dangerous.
Gavroche blushed and scuffed his foot against the sidewalk, looking down for a moment. “Like I said, I always make muffins for auditions,” he shrugged, still not looking up. “For the director, and then to mollify the competition. ‘snothing special.”
“Well I’ll look forward to being mollified,” Kurt smiled gently at Gavroche’s horrified look that he might have suggested he was trying to sabotage Kurt’s chances in any way. “Hey, no - I know what you meant, and I really appreciate you making muffins for whatever reason you make them because I’m going to be able to taste a quasi-cheesecake muffin, which has me a little on the high side of excited right now - bring on this audition, right?”
Gavroche grinned and emptied his lungs in a sigh of relief, just as the doors opened, and Larry appeared.
Kurt didn’t know Larry, but he was apparently the same director Mr. Schuester had auditioned in front of against Brian Ryan in Kurt’s sophomore year. Kurt had spoken to others who had performed with him and not heard particularly impressive things, which was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because the guy should be easy to impress. A curse because ignorance, in Kurt’s experience, is the antithesis of logic, reason and fairness. He would have to tread carefully.
Much like with Harmony, he would have to make this guy do what he, Kurt, wanted, all while making him believe that he had come up with every idea himself. With Harmony, it was important to make her feel like she was in control - just before tripping her up. With Larry, it wasn’t so much control that he would want. Larry would want to feel like he had everyone’s respect, and that people looked to him.
Most importantly, it would be essential to make sure Larry didn’t feel like he was being mocked or teased at any point. He was twice divorced, both ex-wives lived within the city and hounded him - constantly - for every last penny that he earned in the dry-cleaner’s store. He lived with his mother, who harangued him constantly about his weight, which meant he was almost always on one of those Slimfast style liquid diets, but almost always also cheating on it by eating hot dogs, and presumably Gavroche’s mini-muffins, whenever he was at the theater.
Kurt might have pitied him if he wasn’t so focused on the task at hand. And the task was impressing Larry. Making Larry think that he was the one calling the shots; the one everyone looked up to. That way, Kurt would get everything he wanted and deserved.
As Larry opened the doors with a grunt and sigh, the off-white T-shirt clinging in all the wrong spots to his belly, Kurt gave him his best “I’m nervous and innocent and looking up to you and want to impress you” smile and walked in ahead of Harmony.
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Nearly an hour later, and it seemed everyone who would be auditioning had arrived and were waiting in the theater. There were almost thirty people seated. Some were talking, some were engrossed by their phones, and others seemed to be running through their auditions in their heads, concentrating intensely on fixed points that were imagined in the distance. Most seemed to be under 20 - Kurt suspected Harmony and Gavroche may get their wish for a youth production - but there were five who were definitely in a much older age group.
“Are there usually this many young people here?” He leant over to Gavroche, who was thrilled to be sitting next to Kurt and not Harmony.
“Oh no,” Harmony cut in before Gavroche could respond. “I put out the feelers to everyone I know - well everyone I know and could stand to work with - to try and stack the candidates more on the younger side. You may recognise a few of them from the mixer, while there are more on the way from my glee club at school. Good chorus fodder.”
“The old guard over there,” Gavroche spoke quietly, looking over to the older people waiting, “is at every audition and in every production - except the first one I was in two years ago with this really weird and obnoxious guy who seemed to love and hate it all at the same time. He made that production a farce.”
“Ah that would be Brian Ryan,” Kurt said with a smile. “You know he was the second choice for that part? Our glee club director actually nailed the audition but he gave up the role to save our club - Mr. Ryan is on the school board and threatened to pull the funding. We were glad he was in the part - although I’m sorry it meant you had to deal with him. He was a regular Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
“Dr. What and Mr. Who?” Harmony asked, in a way that implied she was not actually interested. “All I can tell you is he should have hidden that reed-thin voice of his. I mean sure, he could sing in tune, but there was no depth or expression to it - and then his attitude.”
“What was that about attitude young lady?” Larry was looming over them from the row behind, a faint aroma of sweat and morning-after pizza emanating from his pores. Kurt, Harmony and Gavroche shifted forward and swivelled on their seats, both to face Larry and also to recoil slightly from his overbearing presence.
Kurt discreetly pulled out a handkerchief and made to sneeze into it, leaving it there to protect against the unwanted smell. “I’m not surprised to see you here,” he continued, belly now resting on the back of Kurt’s seat, causing Kurt to recoil a little further. “I just hope you’ve brought a better attitude this time and will be wiling to work for the production as a whole - the world isn’t just a vehicle for you to squawk center-stage, you know.”
Kurt smiled blandly. “And you must be Larry,” he raised an eyebrow, trying to look impressed but nonchalant at the same time. “Harmony tells me we’re lucky to have you - you’re apparently the only guy in town who has a hope of appeasing both the talented amateurs among us, as well as the heartbroken has-beens and no-talents who audition for these things.”
“Oh and you’ve got a new minion,” Larry sighed, his gut sagging into the seat.
“Ha! She wishes,” Kurt spied an opportunity to bond with Larry. “I’m here as a favor to her, and probably to you too,” Kurt winked at Larry. “You need someone to take her down a peg or five? I’m your man. You need someone to bring life to this production by killing in the role of Ko-Ko? I’m definitely your man for that.”
Larry chuckled. “Well we’ll see about that kid.” His eyes flicked from Kurt to Gavroche and back. “I’m looking for a lot ‘a attitude in that role - you look a bit baby-faced to bring it, but if you’ve got more of that sass then maybe we’ll be onto something.”
“Oh I’ll bring it,” Kurt responded instantly, ruffled by the suggestion he was baby-faced. A sly grin formed across his face. “You missed me outside - I just outsang Little Miss Diva here and I intend to steal this show.”
Larry shrugged, as if to say ‘yeah whatever, knock yourself out’, and focused on Gavroche.
“I… I made you muffins?” Gavroche squeaked, eyes wide.
“That’s my boy!” Larry reached a paw over the back of the seat to gather the Tupperware box proffered by Gavroche. “Not chocolate I hope? I told you Ma can smell chocolate on me so I gotta stay away from that.” Larry swiped at the container Gavroche was holding up for him, taking the entire thing.
“No sir,” Gavroche looked so earnest it hurt Kurt’s eyes, “they’re cheesecake mini-muffins - mini sized for ease of consumption and cheesecake to provide a dense consistency that’s satisfying and low on crumbs. So no one has to know.”
“Atta boy,” Larry said through a mouthful of cheesecake mini-muffin. He clapped Gavroche on the shoulder and started moving sideways along the row of seats, away from the group.
“Don’t worry,” Gavroche whispered to Kurt. “I always have another container for us - I’ve saved the best muffin for you to try later.”
Kurt just nodded, still watching Larry, who was sliding awkwardly along the row, causing two young girls to shriek and leap backwards away from his voluminous behind which threatened to graze their faces.
“Good luck kids,” Larry said, oblivious to the kerfuffle going on behind him, “and don’t think you’ve got this in the bag just ‘cause you’re young and pretty.” He paused for a moment and looked just at Harmony. “I know what you’ve been trying to do, reaching out to school kids and the local college. I got people who’ve been keeping me informed. I’ve told you before, with the right mix and attitude you could be a lead in one of these things. You may have brought the mix today, but I’m watching that attitude.”
Larry reached the end of the row and started walking down the stairs towards the stage. Kurt, Harmony and Gavroche returned to their seats just as Larry reached the stage and stepped up onto it. He took the center and looked down on everyone in the theater, scowling as if already exhausted by the entire production.
“RIGHT!” Larry bellowed, flecks of cheesecake mini-muffin landing on an unfortunate middle-aged woman. “We’ve got EXACTLY one hour to do this so I want you all lined up and ready to sing - I need NAME, PART, and then to hear your voice for THIRTY SECONDS ONLY - anything else or more is an INSTANT NO. You all got me? Good. Now first up, because he made me such lovely muffins, and because she brought a new toy, YOU THREE!”
Kurt suddenly felt like there was no breath in his lungs. Even Harmony seemed to start at being called out to audition first by Larry. Gavroche, on the other hand, and ever the excitable optimist, was clutching Kurt’s arm. Kurt felt himself rising to his feet and walking towards the aisle but his brain was in a fog.
The next hour or so passed in that same fog. Kurt felt himself move, heard himself speak and even sing, gliding around the stage with practiced ease. He followed Larry’s instructions precisely, announcing his name, the part he was going for, and then performing for 30 seconds. Well, he guessed it was 30 seconds because he just sang until he was told to stop and move off the stage. He did so, still zombie-like, only registering dimly in his mind that Gavroche was applauding him from the side of the stage where he was waiting for his turn.
Similarly, Kurt barely registered Harmony’s performance, although the thought entered his mind that she was tantalisingly vicious as Katisha, the perfect counterpoint to his Ko-Ko. He managed to smile and nod encouragingly at Gavroche after his audition, although he had no idea what he sang for his audition as Nanki-Poo.
Kurt didn’t take much in from the rest of the auditions either. He was numb to his surroundings but hyper-aware of his own body at the same time, focussing on them to keep calm. The sound of his shallow breathing was clear while others’ singing and talking was muffled. His limbs were tingling with residual adrenaline but he could barely feel Gavroche’s hand as it found its way to touch his arm a little too often. He’d finished the audition, and it had gone to plan. He couldn’t bring himself to think it through any further, to analyse whether he’d done well. It didn’t seem real and he didn’t want to wake up to engage with his surroundings, or get too excited, just in case.
Harmony and Gavroche whispered excitedly across him and he smiled and nodded occasionally, murmuring platitudes when they seemed to speak to him. But he didn’t know what they were saying. He managed to register Larry’s closing remarks which involved thanks to everyone and informing them that the list would be posted the following Tuesday at 3pm and not a second before, but didn’t notice Larry exit from a side door. Nor did he notice that slowly the noise levels around him rose from whispers and murmurs to quiet and then full volume conversation. People had started to move around too, although Harmony and Gavroche stayed where they were.
Slowly Kurt realised that Harmony and Gavroche had finally stopped talking, probably because they had asked him a question he hadn’t heard, he surmised. There was suddenly no other sound coming from the theater, either, which he supposed had emptied while they dissected every conceivable detail of the audition process. He looked at Gavroche and Harmony in turn, expecting them to be looking at him, but instead something behind them had caught their attention. Kurt felt the air shift behind him, becoming warmer somehow, and then the fog started clearing as a feeling of relaxation overtook him. He felt his synapses re-forming connections he’d forgotten existed and a smile tugged at his face without even thinking about it.
“Am I interrupting?” Blaine placed his hands on Kurt’s shoulders, rubbing them in the way he knew Kurt loved, and Kurt relaxed into his touch.
“Oh not at all,” Gavroche gushed. “You must be Blaine - I’d recognise you from Kurt’s description anywhere - and boy he did not lie about you. You’re so dapper!”
“Ah…” Blaine blushed and dipped his head.
“Oh ignore him,” Harmony rolled her eyes. “His default setting is somewhere between overexcited and hysterical.” She got to her feet, collected her bag and leaned against the stage to look at the three boys now in front of her. “So you’re the boyfriend then?”
“Uh, yeah,” Blaine was overcome with manners and moved away from Kurt around the chairs to extend a hand to Harmony. “Blaine. You must be Harmony.”
“The one and only,” Harmony beamed a thousand watt smile at him. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about me.”
Blaine stifled a giggle and Kurt smiled. He had told Blaine about Harmony alright. The words “turbocharged Rachel” had been involved.
“And I’m Gavroche!” Gavroche had leapt out of his seat and stolen Blaine’s hand from Harmony. “It’s so wonderful to meet the man behind our Kurt here.”
Kurt tried to stifle a snort but failed completely. He locked eyes with Blaine who looked vaguely horrified and had an eyebrow raised, asking whether Gavroche had intended the double entendre. Kurt shook his head quickly, grinning even more broadly.
“Ah, well,” Blaine was flustered and looked desperately at Kurt to help him.
“This is Blaine, yes,” said Kurt, standing up and throwing his bag over his shoulder. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he added more quietly, looking at Blaine shyly through his eyelashes and fiddling with the strap of his satchel.
“And miss your audition?” Blaine looked from left to right, appealing to Harmony and Gavroche to back him up. “You all killed it by the way.”
“Of course I did,” said Harmony, “that part has my name written all over it. Gavroche was a bit uneven across the bridge but that other guy auditioning for the same part was even worse so… you know… there’s that.”
“Oh I thought Gavroche sounded great!” Blaine squeezed Gavroche’s arm, causing Gavroche to squeal and bob up and down on the spot. Blaine didn’t seem to notice, however, as he directed his gaze directly at Kurt. “But I’m sorry neither of you had a patch on this guy, who was absolutely phenomenal,” he looked intently into Kurt’s eyes, who looked back, questioning and a little wary. “He’s always been amazing, and every time I see him perform I don’t think he can get better…” Blaine swallowed and his face softened with affection. “But then he does. Every time.”
The cavernous auditorium was silent but for the breaths of four people as Kurt and Blaine’s gazes remained locked on each other. They didn’t even notice the air shifting as Harmony, in a rare moment of subtlety, slipped behind Blaine to lead Gavroche away.
“Hi,” Blaine said finally, once they were truly alone.
“Hi,” Kurt felt a lump settling in his throat, and his heart rate quicken with nerves. He wanted to move in, to kiss Blaine, to wrap his arms around him or sink into Blaine’s embrace instead, but he felt afraid. Afraid the weight of misunderstanding had not yet lifted.
“I meant it, you know,” Blaine reached out to hold Kurt’s hands between them, rubbing his thumbs against Kurt’s skin. “You were breathtaking in that audition, and you’re going to be the undisputed star of this show. I could tell, the others could tell, and that pompous over-important director could even tell.”
“Thanks,” was all Kurt could manage, unable to really process what Blaine was saying.
“I…” Blaine searched the space behind Kurt’s head for the words. “I feel…” He tried again: “I’m so lucky to know you, Kurt. To have met you and to have somehow managed to get you to fall in love with me because it’s mind boggling to me that someone so talented, smart, funny…”
“You forgot good looking,” Kurt teased, swinging their arms together a bit.
“Oh no I definitely didn’t forget that,” Blaine chuckled. “But my point… my point is that it’s like you’re in a different league to me. And that’s not a self-esteem thing from my side,” he added as Kurt opened his mouth to cut him off. “You’re right. I never had to really fight for solos or attention in the way you have - that’s one aspect of my life that really has always been easy. But nothing easy is really that spectacular. I know I put on a good show and I really try but you… your energy and the way you’re so defiant in your performances… you do something that no one else could dream of doing and you blow everyone away. You blow me away,” Blaine looked down at his feet, but squeezed Kurt’s hands, “and I’m sorry.”
Kurt felt like he’d stopped breathing. His heart was pounding but he tried to keep his breaths silent, lest the noise of air passing through his lips break the spell between them. Blaine got it, and Kurt felt a weight lift off of him.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you like that, made you feel bad about what you were doing when you’re just chasing your dreams.” Blaine was starting to choke up. “You need to know that I’m always in your corner.”
“Blaine, Blaine look at me.” Kurt cut him off and tugged at his hands, pulling him in. He suddenly felt strong again. He’d felt strong leading up the audition but that was because he’d been focussing on the music and the performance -two things he knew he could do and do well, and distract from the tense distance between him and Blaine. But the tension was gone, and Kurt felt the strength and confidence grow within him. He clasped Blaine’s hands tighter, sharing this regained strength.
“I knew… I know you’re in my corner. If it felt otherwise to either of us these past few days it’s because I pushed you away,” he chewed at his lip. “I’m the one that owes you an apology… you were trying to help and I’ve been so keyed up with nerves and excitement that I must have seemed like a crazy person.”
“No, no I kept pushing you,” Blaine protested. “I basically told you you were being a horrible person, but I know you’re not a horrible person and I wouldn’t ever want to make you feel like you were.”
“Blaine really,” Kurt sighed, “we could keep apologising to each other or we could move past it.” He smiled and Blaine returned the smile with an accompanying giggle. “Good,” Kurt moved his hands around Blaine’s waist, “because now I can do this,” and he leaned in to kiss Blaine, and almost laughed into the kiss as he felt Blaine’s entire body relax and sink into his with sheer relief.
“Oh. My. God. I’ve. Missed. This.” Blaine punctuated each word with kisses, before giving up on talking altogether and fusing his lips more insistently with Kurt’s.
“Oh for crying out loud if you’re going to carry on like this I’m banning him from rehearsals,” a crabby voice wafted across the empty air, accompanied by the smell of stale junk food.
Kurt snapped his head around so sharply he bumped his ear against Blaine’s nose, eliciting a small yelp from the latter.
“Seriously, there’s a reason I don’t usually cast teenagers and I’m willing to ignore it but only if you two can keep your tongues in your own mouths…”
Kurt was speechless. He was pretty sure that he was doing an outstanding impression of a goldfish at that precise moment. His brain struggled to process what Larry said and he actively fought against it for the same reason he had avoided thinking about his audition too much - just in case.
“What? Don’t act like you’re so shocked kid,” Larry reached the third row from the front and bent over to pick up a small bag that he had evidently forgotten. “Obviously I’m not going to post the full cast list til Tuesday, but after that audition there’s no way anyone else is going to be Ko-Ko - just don’t tell anyone yet, ‘kay? Especially not Miss Hysteria. She’d just start haranguing me and I fully intend to keep her waiting until Tuesday to find out about her part - it’s fun to see her go to pieces over nothing because, well, obviously I’m a sucker for punishment because she’s going to get the part.”
Blaine broke the silence from their end and started giggling. Kurt joined him and nodded his thanks to Larry, who turned and left without another word.
“I like him,” Blaine looked at Kurt fondly and pulled him closer, feeling and inhaling Kurt’s warm body, “this is going to be fun.”
“Hmmm,” Kurt hummed and revelled in the closeness for a moment, trying not to think about what Larry had said. He didn’t want to believe what Larry had said - not yet - not until he saw it in writing, just in case. He dipped his face into Blaine’s neck and breathed in his scent, hoping it would help to distract from other the niggling thought: the feeling that maybe Blaine had been right all along, and that he should have told Rachel about the auditions. Because now, if he dared let himself believe what Larry had said, he would definitely have to cross that bridge.
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Chapter 5
A/N: I wrote this whole chapter before Easter so before anything in canon happened after then… just saying. It’s a bit weird to have the show be so similar and so different at the same time to something I’m writing. I hope people don’t find it too jarring…