Glee fic - Courage to Take Control: Part 1 of ? (10ish I think)
Media: Fic
Type: Multi-Part
Title: Courage to Take Control: 1 of ? (10ish)
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,339 (this part)
Genre: General, Drama, Romantic bits
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine established and the focus; but most characters turn up as an ensemble
Spoilers: Nope - although obviously we’re in between s2 and s3. Suspect this might be AUish once s3 starts.
Warning: Nah I don’t reckon.
Disclaimer: I’m borrowing all the characters and universe of Glee. They’re not mine, but I’m grateful to have a little play-time with them :-)
Summary: It’s the end of the summer break and Blaine has made a decision about his senior year, and his future. No-one seems particularly thrilled by his decision, least of all Kurt, but he’s determined to fight for what he believes and take control of his life.
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Chapter 1
Kurt just could not stop bouncing up and down on the steps to his front door as he spied the red car at the end of the street, approaching at a fast but reasonable speed. He felt his mouth widen into a big grin and launched himself off the step and down the path to where Blaine was pulling the car to a stop. The engine was barely off when Kurt raced around to the driver door, wrenched it off, reached over to undo the seatbelt and then pulled Blaine out of the car into a mammoth hug. Blaine laughed, surprised and pleased at Kurt’s aggression, and returned Kurt’s hug just as fiercely. His laughing subsided and they both fell silent, realising that they really were back together; Blaine realising that he really was holding Kurt in his arms again. He relished in the feel, smell and sight of Kurt after three weeks apart. They both held each other tightly, afraid that if they let go or moved away, then perhaps the reunion would reveal itself as a dream and not reality.
After some time, just as Blaine was beginning to wonder whether his torso had suffered bruising from Kurt’s tight grasp, he felt Kurt’s nose and face shift slightly against his neck were it had been buried. Kurt’s lips wanted to touch every patch of skin all at once and each fraction of an inch that he moved was punctuated by kisses on Blaine until he had lifted his head completely and was looking into Blaine’s eyes.
“You. Are. Not. Allowed. To. Do. That. Without. Me. Again.” Kurt said in staccato, his hands grasping Blaine’s arms near the shoulders.
“Believe me,” Blaine said softly, resting his forehead against Kurt’s, “I won’t be going anywhere without you again by choice.” He rubbed his palms at Kurt’s sides, feeling the warm skin through his linen shirt and marvelling at just how much he’d missed the simple touch.
“Good,” Kurt murmured, moving his lips until the touched to Blaine’s. The taste and feel of their mouths together, Blaine’s soft lips cushioning Kurt’s as he opened his mouth to let Blaine in, made Kurt want to forget where they were and just sink onto the ground and stay there, lips never parting. But the warm breeze and sound of birds around him reminded him of where they were. Now that Blaine was back there would be time for making out and more in privacy. The thought made Kurt’s lip curl into a smile as he pulled away from the kiss, taking Blaine’s hand instead and turning towards the house.
They walked around the car together, grinning like idiots and bounced up towards the house. Burt and Carole had appeared at the front door - no doubt attracted by Kurt’s squeals and Blaine’s laughter at being pulled from the car - and were smiling at them.
“Hi Burt, Carole,” Blaine said brightly as he and Kurt came to a stop a couple of feet away on the path, “it’s good to see you.”
“You too honey,” Carole said warmly, “how was your holiday?”
As Blaine and Carole chatted, exchanging the most boringly polite round of pleasantries ever, Kurt shifted from side-to-side impatiently. He looked at his father, who had been watching him and had raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“Eager to get inside, eh?” Burt said quietly so Blaine and Carole wouldn’t be distracted from their conversation, which was now on the weather. “Hey Carole?” he said a bit louder. “Why don’t we get the boys some cool lemonade and talk more inside?”
While Kurt was grateful for the impetus to get inside the house, but nearly groaned out loud as Carole nodded and they all moved inside towards the kitchen. Burt’s suggestion implied that there was still an intention to share pleasantries in a shared living area - which would only serve to delay his and Blaine’s relocation to the bedroom where they could resume where they’d left off on the street.
But Blaine was in full charm-mode and just squeezed Kurt’s hand as they moved inside and through to the kitchen, sitting close to each other at the table. He stroked the back of Kurt’s hand with his thumb and hooked his foot around Kurt’s ankle, tethering them together, just to be sure, while continuing to discuss the weather on his holiday.
“So yeah,” Blaine continued, “it wasn’t super hot but the humidity there was a bit crazy. It got so that going for a swim didn’t really help at all - you were just going from one form of being drenched to another.”
“Where were you again?” Burt asked as he took the glasses of lemonade from Carole and placed them on the table. “Poo-something?”
Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes with boredom. “Phuket, Dad,” he droned, “it’s in Thailand.”
“Oh right.” Burt said with a shrug. “And it’s hot there?” he asked Blaine. Kurt sighed even louder and Burt turned to him. “What? How’m I supposed to know every country and climate in the world? It’s not like Thailand is next door either.”
“Yeah it’s hot there pretty much all year round,” Blaine answered quickly, before Kurt could get too much higher on his horse - he knew Kurt was just impatient. He wanted to have some alone time with Kurt too, but felt compelled to be polite. He squeezed Kurt’s hand softly and glanced at him with a smile that said *be patient* before turning back to Burt. “It’s kinda tradition for my family to go there at least once a year - whenever my Dad has business there - not that we get any family time apart from the 20 or so hours flying time getting there and back. Dad spends his whole time working and Mom usually has some of her friends - Dad’s colleagues’ wives - there to go to day spas with. I’ll have to try to convince Kurt to come with me next time to keep me company.”
“Hey hey calm down buddy,” Burt saw a familiar look of excitement and deviousness on Kurt’s face at the thought. “School comes first - senior year is important and you’re not going to be flying halfway around the world when you should be studying.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “It’s not like school’s that hard, Dad. And anyway, my auditions for the best creative schools in the country will be more important than my grade in math.”
“Well you’ll need to be practicing for those auditions then, won’t you?” Burt responded - eyebrow raised.
“What about you, Blaine?” Carole asked with a smile. “Have you made any decisions about what schools you’re going to apply to for college?”
Blaine shifted in his seat and Kurt felt the hand in his loosen its grip, the skin suddenly going dry. He turned his head to look at Blaine and saw hesitation on his face. Hesitation he didn’t understand.
“Oh, well, you know it’s really hard to decide just what I want to do,” Blaine began in fits and starts. “I mean of course at Dalton there are all sorts of programs and trips organised to visit schools, and my father keeps making suggestions...”
“It’s ok buddy,” Burt smiled, patting Blaine on the back as he got up to re-fill his glass. “There’s no need to have it all figured it out now - whatever you end up doing will be the right thing because there’s no wrong decision when it comes to life. It’s your life to lead and you gotta do what’s right for you.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” Blaine said quietly, not really looking at anyone.
There was a pause in the conversation and Kurt wondered what Blaine meant exactly. He tried to catch his eye but Blaine’s gaze was fixed into the middle distance. Carole moved the conversation on to their plans for the last couple of weeks of the summer (shopping, movies, hanging out with friends, more shopping), and Kurt let Blaine’s comment go for the moment, resolving to bring it up again.
Fifteen long minutes later, Carole reminded Burt that they would need to get moving if they were going to get to the market before it closed. Kurt had no idea how Carole had convinced Burt that his presence was required for the weekly bulk shopping trip, but was grateful to her and gave her a quick hug before she followed Burt out of the kitchen to get her handbag and meet him at the car.
As the front door closed, Kurt felt himself relax and then bristle with excitement. “Hey,” he said breathily as Blaine stood up and moved towards him.
“Hey,” Blaine said back, standing perfectly still in front of Kurt.
The two grinned at each other before breaking the pose and racing up the stairs to Kurt’s room, diving in and closing the door behind them.
Kurt had entered the room first and spun around to face Blaine as soon as the door closed. Grabbing both Blaine’s hands in his, he stepped backwards until he reached the bed, sat down and pulled Blaine down on top of him. They both fell backwards awkwardly onto the bed, crashing into each other lips first. Kurt grasped at Blaine anywhere he could, finally settling on his Blaine’s neck, as he kissed more and more fiercely, almost hurting his lips in the process. He didn’t know how he’d managed for three whole weeks without Blaine. Without the taste, feel and smell of him all around.
“God,” he gasped, pulling away for air and opening his eyes just to check that Blaine really was there again. They were both lying on the bed now, their heads resting against the pillow, facing each other with their noses almost touching. “You have no idea how much I missed you,” he said truthfully. “No.” (Kiss) “Idea.” (Kiss), Kurt punctuated the words with his lips on Blaine’s.
“I think I might,” Blaine whispered, pausing to feather kisses along Kurt’s jaw. “cos as nice as the resorts and beaches at Phuket are, they’re nothing without you, my life would mean nothing without you. I love you.”
Kurt responded “I love you too” but the words were muffled as Blaine leant in to kiss him again. The kiss was different this time. It wasn’t the urgent, hungry kiss they had shared upon entering the room and falling onto the bed. This time, it was a needy kiss, and Kurt felt Blaine’s breathing hitch a bit with emotion. It was a kiss Kurt recognised meant something wasn’t quite right.
“Hey,” he pulled away and cocked an eyebrow, studying Blaine’s face carefully. “What’s wrong my love?” What happened in Phuket? Did you have a fight with your Dad?”
Blaine closed his eyes for a moment and took a deliberate breath, which Kurt recognised meant he was collecting his thoughts.
“I…” he opened his eyes to look at Kurt. “Firstly, I love it when you call me ‘my love’,” he said with a small smile, tracing his fingers up and down Kurt’s side, the slow rhythm soothing him. “It makes me feel like I am everything.”
Kurt smiled, and wanted to say something back, but was being careful to not interrupting Blaine before he had actually answered the question, so just cupped his face gently, nodding for him to continue.
“Ok, well, in Phuket… it was the standard holiday by myself while my parents did other stuff. I think they were ignoring me more than usual actually. But anyway, I got to thinking,” Blaine took a deep breath and averted his eyes slightly from Kurt’s. Blaine seemed to summon up his courage and looked Kurt straight in the eye. “All this pressure for senior year… when I did see my father he was talking about schools and the importance of taking the opportunities given to me… but,” he paused again, “but I don’t want my life to be some boring scripted parade of privilege and opportunity just because my parents can afford it. I don’t want to go back to Dalton. I want to transfer back into the public school system for my senior year.”
Kurt’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Blaine, wow,” Kurt said. “I get that you feel you ran away from your old school, and that you should go back to face it, but from what you’ve told me nothing has changed there. And you’re happy at Dalton - you have great friends, a great Glee club with the Warblers. Just because it’s a private school doesn’t mean that you have to be that private school person if you don’t want to be. As for the public school system, I went back to McKinley because I have a great group of friends there, a support network, a school that is at least trying with the bullying problems - you can’t say the same for your old school can you? Those factors were important in making it possible for me to go back to McKinley. If things had been different, if Karofsky was still…” he trailed off, knowing his point had been made.
Blaine closed his eyes again, almost frustrated and hesitant at once.
“I know what you’re saying Kurt,” he said slowly, “and there’s no way my parents would let me go back to my old school.” He paused, and opened his eyes again. “It was all I could do to stop my Dad from suing the school after the dance incident, and my Mom was so distraught I couldn’t put her through the stress of that happening again - neither of them want to chance that happening again; they wouldn’t let me go back.” Blaine paused, willing Kurt to understand what he was getting at.
“But if they won’t let you go back to your own school then what…” Kurt looked at him, confused.
When Blaine spoke, his voice was so quiet it almost sounded like he was making a secret wish. “They might let me go to McKinley.”
Kurt’s eyes widened and he gulped at the air, somehow almost choking with the surprise. “What?! No!”
[Chapter 2]
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Author’s Note: Ok yes it’s a transfer fic, and no apparently Kurt isn't onboard with the idea. But I promise I have a good plan, and it’s going to be more believable than whatever plot the showrunners go with (if they provide any explanation at all).
Type: Multi-Part
Title: Courage to Take Control: 1 of ? (10ish)
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,339 (this part)
Genre: General, Drama, Romantic bits
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine established and the focus; but most characters turn up as an ensemble
Spoilers: Nope - although obviously we’re in between s2 and s3. Suspect this might be AUish once s3 starts.
Warning: Nah I don’t reckon.
Disclaimer: I’m borrowing all the characters and universe of Glee. They’re not mine, but I’m grateful to have a little play-time with them :-)
Summary: It’s the end of the summer break and Blaine has made a decision about his senior year, and his future. No-one seems particularly thrilled by his decision, least of all Kurt, but he’s determined to fight for what he believes and take control of his life.
----------------------
Chapter 1
Kurt just could not stop bouncing up and down on the steps to his front door as he spied the red car at the end of the street, approaching at a fast but reasonable speed. He felt his mouth widen into a big grin and launched himself off the step and down the path to where Blaine was pulling the car to a stop. The engine was barely off when Kurt raced around to the driver door, wrenched it off, reached over to undo the seatbelt and then pulled Blaine out of the car into a mammoth hug. Blaine laughed, surprised and pleased at Kurt’s aggression, and returned Kurt’s hug just as fiercely. His laughing subsided and they both fell silent, realising that they really were back together; Blaine realising that he really was holding Kurt in his arms again. He relished in the feel, smell and sight of Kurt after three weeks apart. They both held each other tightly, afraid that if they let go or moved away, then perhaps the reunion would reveal itself as a dream and not reality.
After some time, just as Blaine was beginning to wonder whether his torso had suffered bruising from Kurt’s tight grasp, he felt Kurt’s nose and face shift slightly against his neck were it had been buried. Kurt’s lips wanted to touch every patch of skin all at once and each fraction of an inch that he moved was punctuated by kisses on Blaine until he had lifted his head completely and was looking into Blaine’s eyes.
“You. Are. Not. Allowed. To. Do. That. Without. Me. Again.” Kurt said in staccato, his hands grasping Blaine’s arms near the shoulders.
“Believe me,” Blaine said softly, resting his forehead against Kurt’s, “I won’t be going anywhere without you again by choice.” He rubbed his palms at Kurt’s sides, feeling the warm skin through his linen shirt and marvelling at just how much he’d missed the simple touch.
“Good,” Kurt murmured, moving his lips until the touched to Blaine’s. The taste and feel of their mouths together, Blaine’s soft lips cushioning Kurt’s as he opened his mouth to let Blaine in, made Kurt want to forget where they were and just sink onto the ground and stay there, lips never parting. But the warm breeze and sound of birds around him reminded him of where they were. Now that Blaine was back there would be time for making out and more in privacy. The thought made Kurt’s lip curl into a smile as he pulled away from the kiss, taking Blaine’s hand instead and turning towards the house.
They walked around the car together, grinning like idiots and bounced up towards the house. Burt and Carole had appeared at the front door - no doubt attracted by Kurt’s squeals and Blaine’s laughter at being pulled from the car - and were smiling at them.
“Hi Burt, Carole,” Blaine said brightly as he and Kurt came to a stop a couple of feet away on the path, “it’s good to see you.”
“You too honey,” Carole said warmly, “how was your holiday?”
As Blaine and Carole chatted, exchanging the most boringly polite round of pleasantries ever, Kurt shifted from side-to-side impatiently. He looked at his father, who had been watching him and had raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“Eager to get inside, eh?” Burt said quietly so Blaine and Carole wouldn’t be distracted from their conversation, which was now on the weather. “Hey Carole?” he said a bit louder. “Why don’t we get the boys some cool lemonade and talk more inside?”
While Kurt was grateful for the impetus to get inside the house, but nearly groaned out loud as Carole nodded and they all moved inside towards the kitchen. Burt’s suggestion implied that there was still an intention to share pleasantries in a shared living area - which would only serve to delay his and Blaine’s relocation to the bedroom where they could resume where they’d left off on the street.
But Blaine was in full charm-mode and just squeezed Kurt’s hand as they moved inside and through to the kitchen, sitting close to each other at the table. He stroked the back of Kurt’s hand with his thumb and hooked his foot around Kurt’s ankle, tethering them together, just to be sure, while continuing to discuss the weather on his holiday.
“So yeah,” Blaine continued, “it wasn’t super hot but the humidity there was a bit crazy. It got so that going for a swim didn’t really help at all - you were just going from one form of being drenched to another.”
“Where were you again?” Burt asked as he took the glasses of lemonade from Carole and placed them on the table. “Poo-something?”
Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes with boredom. “Phuket, Dad,” he droned, “it’s in Thailand.”
“Oh right.” Burt said with a shrug. “And it’s hot there?” he asked Blaine. Kurt sighed even louder and Burt turned to him. “What? How’m I supposed to know every country and climate in the world? It’s not like Thailand is next door either.”
“Yeah it’s hot there pretty much all year round,” Blaine answered quickly, before Kurt could get too much higher on his horse - he knew Kurt was just impatient. He wanted to have some alone time with Kurt too, but felt compelled to be polite. He squeezed Kurt’s hand softly and glanced at him with a smile that said *be patient* before turning back to Burt. “It’s kinda tradition for my family to go there at least once a year - whenever my Dad has business there - not that we get any family time apart from the 20 or so hours flying time getting there and back. Dad spends his whole time working and Mom usually has some of her friends - Dad’s colleagues’ wives - there to go to day spas with. I’ll have to try to convince Kurt to come with me next time to keep me company.”
“Hey hey calm down buddy,” Burt saw a familiar look of excitement and deviousness on Kurt’s face at the thought. “School comes first - senior year is important and you’re not going to be flying halfway around the world when you should be studying.”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “It’s not like school’s that hard, Dad. And anyway, my auditions for the best creative schools in the country will be more important than my grade in math.”
“Well you’ll need to be practicing for those auditions then, won’t you?” Burt responded - eyebrow raised.
“What about you, Blaine?” Carole asked with a smile. “Have you made any decisions about what schools you’re going to apply to for college?”
Blaine shifted in his seat and Kurt felt the hand in his loosen its grip, the skin suddenly going dry. He turned his head to look at Blaine and saw hesitation on his face. Hesitation he didn’t understand.
“Oh, well, you know it’s really hard to decide just what I want to do,” Blaine began in fits and starts. “I mean of course at Dalton there are all sorts of programs and trips organised to visit schools, and my father keeps making suggestions...”
“It’s ok buddy,” Burt smiled, patting Blaine on the back as he got up to re-fill his glass. “There’s no need to have it all figured it out now - whatever you end up doing will be the right thing because there’s no wrong decision when it comes to life. It’s your life to lead and you gotta do what’s right for you.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” Blaine said quietly, not really looking at anyone.
There was a pause in the conversation and Kurt wondered what Blaine meant exactly. He tried to catch his eye but Blaine’s gaze was fixed into the middle distance. Carole moved the conversation on to their plans for the last couple of weeks of the summer (shopping, movies, hanging out with friends, more shopping), and Kurt let Blaine’s comment go for the moment, resolving to bring it up again.
Fifteen long minutes later, Carole reminded Burt that they would need to get moving if they were going to get to the market before it closed. Kurt had no idea how Carole had convinced Burt that his presence was required for the weekly bulk shopping trip, but was grateful to her and gave her a quick hug before she followed Burt out of the kitchen to get her handbag and meet him at the car.
As the front door closed, Kurt felt himself relax and then bristle with excitement. “Hey,” he said breathily as Blaine stood up and moved towards him.
“Hey,” Blaine said back, standing perfectly still in front of Kurt.
The two grinned at each other before breaking the pose and racing up the stairs to Kurt’s room, diving in and closing the door behind them.
Kurt had entered the room first and spun around to face Blaine as soon as the door closed. Grabbing both Blaine’s hands in his, he stepped backwards until he reached the bed, sat down and pulled Blaine down on top of him. They both fell backwards awkwardly onto the bed, crashing into each other lips first. Kurt grasped at Blaine anywhere he could, finally settling on his Blaine’s neck, as he kissed more and more fiercely, almost hurting his lips in the process. He didn’t know how he’d managed for three whole weeks without Blaine. Without the taste, feel and smell of him all around.
“God,” he gasped, pulling away for air and opening his eyes just to check that Blaine really was there again. They were both lying on the bed now, their heads resting against the pillow, facing each other with their noses almost touching. “You have no idea how much I missed you,” he said truthfully. “No.” (Kiss) “Idea.” (Kiss), Kurt punctuated the words with his lips on Blaine’s.
“I think I might,” Blaine whispered, pausing to feather kisses along Kurt’s jaw. “cos as nice as the resorts and beaches at Phuket are, they’re nothing without you, my life would mean nothing without you. I love you.”
Kurt responded “I love you too” but the words were muffled as Blaine leant in to kiss him again. The kiss was different this time. It wasn’t the urgent, hungry kiss they had shared upon entering the room and falling onto the bed. This time, it was a needy kiss, and Kurt felt Blaine’s breathing hitch a bit with emotion. It was a kiss Kurt recognised meant something wasn’t quite right.
“Hey,” he pulled away and cocked an eyebrow, studying Blaine’s face carefully. “What’s wrong my love?” What happened in Phuket? Did you have a fight with your Dad?”
Blaine closed his eyes for a moment and took a deliberate breath, which Kurt recognised meant he was collecting his thoughts.
“I…” he opened his eyes to look at Kurt. “Firstly, I love it when you call me ‘my love’,” he said with a small smile, tracing his fingers up and down Kurt’s side, the slow rhythm soothing him. “It makes me feel like I am everything.”
Kurt smiled, and wanted to say something back, but was being careful to not interrupting Blaine before he had actually answered the question, so just cupped his face gently, nodding for him to continue.
“Ok, well, in Phuket… it was the standard holiday by myself while my parents did other stuff. I think they were ignoring me more than usual actually. But anyway, I got to thinking,” Blaine took a deep breath and averted his eyes slightly from Kurt’s. Blaine seemed to summon up his courage and looked Kurt straight in the eye. “All this pressure for senior year… when I did see my father he was talking about schools and the importance of taking the opportunities given to me… but,” he paused again, “but I don’t want my life to be some boring scripted parade of privilege and opportunity just because my parents can afford it. I don’t want to go back to Dalton. I want to transfer back into the public school system for my senior year.”
Kurt’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Blaine, wow,” Kurt said. “I get that you feel you ran away from your old school, and that you should go back to face it, but from what you’ve told me nothing has changed there. And you’re happy at Dalton - you have great friends, a great Glee club with the Warblers. Just because it’s a private school doesn’t mean that you have to be that private school person if you don’t want to be. As for the public school system, I went back to McKinley because I have a great group of friends there, a support network, a school that is at least trying with the bullying problems - you can’t say the same for your old school can you? Those factors were important in making it possible for me to go back to McKinley. If things had been different, if Karofsky was still…” he trailed off, knowing his point had been made.
Blaine closed his eyes again, almost frustrated and hesitant at once.
“I know what you’re saying Kurt,” he said slowly, “and there’s no way my parents would let me go back to my old school.” He paused, and opened his eyes again. “It was all I could do to stop my Dad from suing the school after the dance incident, and my Mom was so distraught I couldn’t put her through the stress of that happening again - neither of them want to chance that happening again; they wouldn’t let me go back.” Blaine paused, willing Kurt to understand what he was getting at.
“But if they won’t let you go back to your own school then what…” Kurt looked at him, confused.
When Blaine spoke, his voice was so quiet it almost sounded like he was making a secret wish. “They might let me go to McKinley.”
Kurt’s eyes widened and he gulped at the air, somehow almost choking with the surprise. “What?! No!”
[Chapter 2]
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Author’s Note: Ok yes it’s a transfer fic, and no apparently Kurt isn't onboard with the idea. But I promise I have a good plan, and it’s going to be more believable than whatever plot the showrunners go with (if they provide any explanation at all).