Fic: Painted on my Skin (Part 2)

[phantomofarose]

After that day, Kurt ended up texting Blaine, after a lot of debate. It ended up that Blaine was the first to text Kurt, just after he'd gotten back home with Italian.

I hope I didn't get you in too much trouble.

Kurt smiled and texted him back.

Of course not. I bribed my roommate with vegan friendly Italian and she's forgotten it already. ;)

Well I'm glad. Talk to you later, Kurt!

Lauren began to have to stay after for her classes to get this short movie done, so it created more opportunities to talk to Blaine. Kurt found him there the next day after his class, bent low over his sketch pad and scribbling away fiercely. Kurt got his coffee and approached him.

"Looks like that artist block is gone," said Kurt.

Blaine looked up, a little startled, then smiled at Kurt. "Yeah," he said with a laugh. "A rush of inspiration hit me earlier today. I've gone through a few pages already."

"I'm guessing I still can't see it yet," teased Kurt.

"It's a work in progress - of course not!"

Kurt laughed and sat down, smiling over at him. "I'm glad you have your uh, drawing mojo back then."

"Thank you, Kurt," said Blaine sincerely.

The easy conversation they had found yesterday was just as easy to slip into today. Kurt found that he was able to talk to Blaine just as much as he would Rachel, or even Lauren.

" - and today in my class, I swear, my professor was about to kill this one girl," said Kurt. "She is this huge diva, and since most of the people at NYADA are all divas, that's really saying something, you know? God, it made me feel like I had gone back in time to when I was in the early days of Glee club."

Blaine's eyebrows rose. "You were in Glee club?" he asked. "So was I!"

"No way," laughed Kurt. "We were the New Directions."

"Oh - oh!" Blaine laughed after a look of recognition came over his face. "Weren't you that glee club whose leads kissed on stage during Nationals two years ago? Like - for an uncomfortable amount of time?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes. That was my step brother and my roommate Rachel. Seriously - they deserved all those hate comments on the YouTube video."

"Wow," laughed Blaine shaking his head. "I have to say - I'm glad the Warblers never had to face off against you guys. You really were talented."

"I wonder why we didn't," said Kurt. "Being two hours away?"

"Well the competitions for Sectionals are just luck of the draw selections," shrugged Blaine. "We were up against Vocal Adrenaline most every year, sadly, except for my senior year. That year we were able to get passed Sectionals, but didn't win our Regionals."

"Vocal Adrenaline sucks," said Kurt.

Blaine lifted his coffee. "Here here!" Kurt laughed, raising his glass and toasting to this.

They talked more, burning through topics, though this time Kurt kept an eye on the clock. He left in time to get home for dinner, where he told Rachel he'd cook, because it was his turn last night. He hummed as he cooked, dancing over to the refrigerator to get more supplies.

"You seem happy," said Rachel when she walked into the kitchen. She danced over to him and he reached out to spin her. She giggled.

"I am," he chirped.

"You met a boy!"

Kurt stumbled, almost dropping the butter in his hand.

"What?"

"You met a boy - that's why you're so happy!" She was jumping up and down, her smile taking up most of her face. "Spill!"

"I didn't - I mean, yes I did meet a boy but -"

"I knew it! What's his name? Is he cute?"

" - but he's just a friend," said Kurt. "I met him at the coffee shop yesterday and we talked. He's really nice. And yes, he is cute. But we're just - I only just met him, Rachel."

"But he's gay, isn't he?" Rachel wasn't giving up on this.

"Yes, he is."

"Well then," said Rachel, her smile still in full effect. "There is still hope for when you two haven't just met, isn't there?" She winked at him and Kurt moved his hips to bump her so she stumbled a bit, still giggling.

00000

" - so do you think I should go with 'Popular' from Wicked, or maybe something more show stopping, like a Whitney song? Or I know - Mariah!"

"Well if you want something that's more on the showy side, definitely go with 'Popular', but Whitney definitely has her appeal," said Blaine after a moment of thoughtfulness. "Can you really pull of those notes, though?"

"Of course I can," said Kurt proudly. "Really, I was born to sing female songs. It's sort of my thing." Blaine laughed and nodded.

Kurt reached out and picked up his coffee and took a thoughtful sip as he looked over to study Blaine. He was leaning back in the cushy chair - they had moved over away from the formal tables today in the coffee shop in favor of the chairs and couches - his leg cross and sketch pad balanced on his knee and thigh. Every so often in their conversation he would lean down and Kurt could hear his pencil scratching against the rough paper. Then he would stop, looking back up at Kurt with a smile.

"You know," said Kurt and Blaine looked up again, pencil still poised. "I still haven't seen any of your drawings, mister. I'm starting to think you just use this artist thing as rouse. After all, you don't exactly have the artist image."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Blaine, his nose crinkling in an adorable way that Kurt tried not to notice. He had accepted that, despite what he had thought were flirty beginnings, they were friends. After nearly three weeks of this friendship, it was obvious that was what it was going to stay.

"Well you wear cardigans and bowties and sweater vests," said Kurt. "And you gel your hair, and wear loafers, Blaine. And those boat shoes. When someone thinks of an art student, they think of - I don't know - dreadlocks, ripped jeans and converse."

"I resent that generalization," said Blaine, though he didn't seem too offended. He still had the carefree smile on his face, if that was any indication. "You should know better, Mr. Hummel."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I'm just teasing. But really - I still haven't seen your art, thank you for your stalling techniques."

"Oh wow, it's that obvious, isn't it?" joked Blaine. He shrugged. "You know, I haven't heard you sing, either. For all I know, we're both lying about our artistic fortes."

"Well I can't exactly burst out into song in this café without becoming a bad high school musical scene," Kurt pointed out. "You, on the other hand, only need to turn that sketch pad around. And for further reference - you can come to my winter recital and you can hear me sing. Everyone actually gets either a whole solo, duet, or a part in the group number. Coming from the New Directions, I was shocked that someone wasn't going to hog all of the spotlight."

"What are you going to be singing?" asked Blaine.

"Not sure as of yet," said Kurt with a shrug. "I audition tomorrow. Though I'm aiming for at least a duet, if not a solo. There are only two, and I want one."

"I'm sure you'll be brilliant."

"You haven't heard me sing, as you said, so you have no idea how amazing I am - though I assure you, I am - so it is quite hard to believe your opinion on the matter."

This time Blaine rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm positive you have talent coming off you in waves, Kurt. I just am."

Kurt looked down, a little taken back by the sudden and intense praise. Especially because he hadn't actually done anything to earn it just yet. "Thank you. And that's the same way I know you must be a talented artist."

Blaine's eyes softened and he ducked his head. "That's sweet of you," he said, voice quiet. He paused for a moment, eyes drifting down to his sketch book. He sighed heavily and sat his pencil down on the bag next to him, scooting up in his chair and clutching at his sketch book. "Since I'll be seeing you sing in a few weeks, I guess it only is fair that I show you something, too. But to be completely fair, I only just started it when we sat down like, thirty minutes ago, so it's not perfect."

"Wait, are you really going to show me?" asked Kurt, sitting up straighter in his chair. His heart started to beat faster, for some reason.

"Yeah," said Blaine, a nervous laugh bubbling up. This touched Kurt more than he thought - because Blaine was still nervous, and yet willing to show him his art.

"Should you, uh, sit next to me?" asked Kurt. He patted the couch, suddenly feeling like an idiot as he did.

Blaine blinked, then nodded. "Yeah. That - that sounds like a good idea." He rose to his feet and walked over, sitting next to Kurt. The sketch pad was still turned away from Kurt. He looked over. "If you hate it, I swear to never draw anything like this again. I swear."

"I'm sure it's lovely," said Kurt.

Blaine smiled weakly and finally turned the sketch book over to Kurt.

Kurt's breath caught.

It was him.

It was like seeing himself from Blaine's perspective, sitting across from him as he had been up until moments ago. He was sitting on the couch, part of it still unfinished, his coffee in one hand and a look of enthusiasm that had been captured on the paper. Though Blaine said he had only started it as long as they had been sitting there, there was so much detail. Kurt's eyes had depth, even on the paper, and there were laugh lines around his eyes - everything but his outfit was really flushed out with details, really.

"Oh god, is it horrible?"

Kurt was startled by Blaine's voice. He looked over to him, blinking for the first time. Blaine looked anxious.

"I really don't like showing people the drawings I've done of them," said Blaine. "Usually you don't have to with the models in class, so it's all good - but you did insist, so - I just -"

"Blaine, stop," said Kurt. He reached out and put his hand on Blaine's before he had really thought through the action. It seemed natural, though, once their skin was resting up against each other's. "Really - I can't - this is beautiful."

That made Blaine stop in his worrying, eyebrows raised in surprised and his mouth slightly open. "Oh. Wait - really?"

Kurt laughed. "Of course. I can't believe - look at me. I mean, it's amazing how much you've captured. I've never looked so good," he joked, nudging Blaine's shoulder. Blaine laughed. Kurt grew a bit serious. "Really, Blaine. You're really talented. I didn't even expect this."

A blush was rising on Blaine's cheeks. "Well, thank you. Live drawing is one of my favorite things."

"Can - can I see more?"

It seemed that the wall had broken down, because Blaine seemed excited as he flipped through his sketch book, settling on a page filled with a few drawings of different times of dogs. "There was this dog walker," he explained in an excited rush. "And she had eight dogs pulling her along and she seemed completely in control. Not like in the movies or something. They were amazing and I sort of took a mental picture until I could sit down and draw a few. I sort of named them," he said, embarrassed. He pointed to each and the names were written just next to them.

"That's amazing," Kurt breathed.

"And besides life drawing," said Blaine, still breathless from excitement. "I like word design." He flipped to a page with the word "love" drawn in an intricate design. The lines swirled and connected to each other so many times, Kurt could barely keep track.

"Oh my god," said Kurt. "How do you do that?"

"A lot of practice doodling all over my page in math class," laughed Blaine. "I would just pick a random word and start making different designs for it - backwards, forwards, sideways - whatever. It's fun."

"It's amazing," said Kurt, feeling like he was being redundant, but not knowing what else to say. "More?"

Blaine laughed and nodded. He began to turn the page, to what looked like a lesbian couple sitting in Central Park, their heads leaning against each other, when he paused. He looked over to Kurt and they locked eyes. "I'm - I'm glad you like it, Kurt," he said, voice low. His eyes open so Kurt felt like he could feel everything Blaine was.

"I do," he said, his voice full of sincerity.

Blaine's smile was practically blinding and he turned back to his sketch, describing how he had been walking through the park last weekend when he'd seen Diane and Ronnie and asked them if they would mind being his model for a bit. "They were so nice," gushed Blaine. "They've been together for five years and they are the most adorable things in the world. I was embarrassed when I showed them the drawing, but they liked it and I was so glad. You should have seen the light coming off of them when I was sketching - it was the perfect atmosphere to draw."

Kurt nodded and listened, finding it adorable that Blaine talked about his art how Kurt talked about his singing. It was a passion. It was something Kurt had noticed before, whenever he talked about a painting class or something when they met, but now that he saw the result of that passion - it was beautiful.

Blaine flipped through more pages. This sketch book was only from as far back as two weeks ago, since Blaine admitted he went through a lot. There were more of people, mostly the models that came into his drawing class. A few were of nude women, when Blaine tinged pink at. "It's actually funny," he said nervously. "When they come in, most everyone is pretty professional about it, but I notice that some of the guys get distracted. I don't have that problem, which is good." Kurt rolled his eyes. Others were pages filled with words and lyrics that Blaine liked, designed all sorts of different ways. A few of those actually looked vaguely familiar to Kurt. Blaine's handwriting - though Kurt noticed it changed often to whatever he was designing - and his true handwriting was a cross between cursive and print that was his signature at the bottom of the pages, must have been similar to someone else that Kurt knew, because it tugged at his memory.

"You're amazing, Blaine," Kurt said when they were finally done. Blaine tried to reply with something humble, but Kurt wouldn't hear it. "Really. It's so fantastic. I can see how much you love you art, Blaine, and I'm sure with your talent you can do so much."

"Thank you," said Blaine, still a bit awed by the whole thing. "And I'm looking forward to your end of this exchange - I can't wait for your Winter recital."

"I'll make sure to do well in my audition so you actually have something exciting to see," said Kurt.

"I'd be happy just to see you sing one line," said Blaine. His words make Kurt's stomach jump and he realized just how close they were at the moment. He cleared his throat, pulling back and reaching for his coffee - deflecting.

"I better get home and get it all in order, then," he said, voice high. He took a moment to look over to Blaine again, still sitting. "Thank you, again, for sharing your art with me."

Blaine smiled. "It was my pleasure."

00000

Despite it all, Kurt is nervous for his audition. He felt the same way he did when auditioned for NYADA in the first place. But then, he'd nailed that, after getting off on the wrong foot and changed his song at the last minute to the more controversial number he had up his sleeves that Rachel had warned him against.

Kurt remembered this and tried to keep his nerves at bay - but in the end, he walked on stage still slightly nervous.

He does what he thinks is an amazing rendition of the Christmas song he'd finally selected for the audition, "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas" and walks off, hoping for the best.

The next day the list of all their parts are handed out in voice class. Because he'd been so used to it in previous years, his eyes go to the group numbers to find his name, but he finds nothing. Daring to hope, his eyes move up to the duets, and still nothing. Giddily, he moves up to the two solo spots and there is his name.

White Christmas by Kurt Hummel

He's just after Michelle, a tall girl with honey colored skin, who will be singing "All I Want for Christmas is You" and she smiles at him from across the room. He can't help but think about when Mercedes sang it during their senior year and thinks she might have a lot to live up to, but then, her voice is stellar.

He can't really help it. He ends up punching the air silently - his friends around him giggle at him - and he blushes. They congratulate him, though.

Their professor explains that he will work with the soloists and the four people doing duets separately, and that they are only going to be working on the two group numbers - one at the beginning of the concert and the other at the end - in class. He gets them working on the first, "Deck The Rooftops", right away.

After the class period the have the number near perfect they are dismissed and Kurt curses the fact that he's going to have Christmas music stuck in his head already.

He hurries to the coffee shop, though he's meeting Lauren and not Blaine today, since Blaine has a class late on Tuesdays. He bursts out with his news the moment he sees her.

"I got the solo!"

"Good for you, twinkle toes," said Lauren with a nod and he accepts this as the biggest compliment. He quickly learned that Lauren's nicknames come from a place of endearment, almost similar to Sue's nickname for him.

"I can't believe it," he gushed.

"I can. You're probably the most talented guy in that place," said Lauren. "They'd be crazy not to give you a solo."

"I'm just not used to it," Kurt admitted. "I'm always getting passed over for solos, given my voice."

"Well welcome to New York City, where they don't care," said Lauren, holding up her cup for a toast. Kurt laughed and raised his own to meet hers.

Later on when Kurt is home, he tells Rachel about his solo and she screams. She's already giving him pointers as she insists they go out to dinner to celebrate. When she's getting ready he texts Blaine, telling him about the solo. He gets a reply just as they're slipping into the taxi.

I knew it! I can't wait to see how amazing you are.

Somehow, this only makes Kurt's mood better.

00000

Over the next week and a half Kurt has more practices scheduled both privately with his voice professor, and with Michelle, the other soloist. They take turns rehearsing their solos, with their teacher giving pointers and giving each other someone else to be in front of for nerves. Kurt is feeling increasingly more confident in his song, though every time Blaine mentions he is going to be there that night, he grows a little bit more nervous.

Kurt doesn't know why. He's never been this nervous for anything, bar his NYADA audition and tanking on his "Defying Gravity" note. He loves the stage and having an audience. He welcomes strangers to see him sing and perform. Why is one boy making his stomach fill with butterflies whenever he thinks about him finally hearing him sing for the first time?

He wonders if this was how Blaine felt when showing Kurt his drawings. He'd certainly seemed nervous at the time. Though really, Blaine mentioned that was a usual thing for him and his art. He'd explained it, once.

"I'm not nervous when I sing at all," Blaine had said. "I had a job at Six Flags for two summers and I was performing in front of crowd after crowd. But singing, it's not personal to me, I guess. My art is. My art is like - it's a part of me and my soul and my heart. It's my innermost thoughts and feelings. It took me a long time to show it to anyone." Blaine shook his head. "But after a while, I realized that this, more than singing, was what I wanted to share with the world. So I needed to get over the fear. My teachers this year have really helped me, especially this one that assigned this huge project the first week of classes, that was about laying your work out for everyone to see. I did it, and since then, I have gotten better. But showing my art to others is still like showing them my soul and suddenly I feel naked and vulnerable. It's silly."

Kurt had told him it wasn't silly. It was natural.

Maybe this was natural, then. Showing someone close to you something that was so close to you, in Kurt's case his singing, was big.

So that's what it was for Kurt. Necessary nerves that he couldn't get over. They lasted up until the day that his Winter Concert was and he was backstage, nervously wringing his fingers. Rachel had texted him thirty minutes ago, telling him that she and Lauren had (grudgingly) met up and gotten seats together. They were also to look out for Blaine. Blaine had met Lauren before, so if he spotted her, they should be able to sit together, but Kurt had buried his phone in his bag before she'd been able to get back to him if he'd shown up already.

After a quick show circle, it was all out of his hands. He pulled at his sweater as they all filtered on stage for their first group number. After that, Kurt's blood was pounding in his ears and he was beyond excited for his solo. It all reminded him so much of his competitions with New Directions - just a group of singers doing something they all loved and having fun.

Michelle was the first duet, and she really did kill it. He could hear the screams for her as she skipped off stage, shaking slightly. Then the first duet couple went on, singing a cute "Let it Snow" rendition.

Then it was Kurt's turn.

He walked on stage, the slow instrumentals building as he made it to center stage and began to sing. He loved the arrangement his professor had made for him, because it was able to dip into both some low registers and hit a few high notes.

After he finished, Kurt was blown back by the thundering applause that seemed to echo in his bones. He grinned out at the audience he couldn't see and bowed low before going off stage as the next duet pair walked on. He felt like he was floating as he went off stage and honestly didn't even recall the duet at all. He only became more aware of what was going on around him as he went onstage once more with everyone for their closing number. Then there were bows, one separate for him due to his solo, and the curtains closed.

Everyone congratulated each other on a job well done. From here on, it was a cake walk to Winter Break, seeing as they only had two more days and most midterms and finals were through with.

He went to the dressing rooms, changing out of his costume and into real clothes. Kurt pulled his phone out of his bag, noticing that he had many texts from Rachel. He began to read them as he went out to the front, where they should be waiting for him.

One was saying that Blaine had made it, and that she "highly approved of him since he was so handsome and seemed to have an adequate knowledge of Broadway". Another was telling him that he did amazingly, with lots of caps and exclamation points. One after that, only a few minutes ago, was saying that they were waiting for him in the lobby of the theatre.

He fought through the crowd of other students greeting friends and family, finally spotting Lauren. He did hope that she hadn't killed Rachel yet, and that Blaine had enough sense to sit between them.

"Kurt!" squealed Rachel when she spotted him. In just a moment, he had an arm full of Rachel, squeezing him tightly and telling him how fantastic he was.

"Thank you, Rachel!" he said, feeling like his face could split open, he was smiling so much.

"You did good, killer," said Lauren behind him, though she stayed further back. She wasn't one to do hugs.

Then Kurt's eyes fell on Blaine.

He was smiling, eyes big and full of pride.

"You were just spectacular, Kurt," he said once Rachel had released Kurt. He walked up, pulling Kurt into a hug he didn't quite expect. It wasn't as tight as Rachel's had been, for that Kurt was almost thankful, but it wasn't what Kurt would imagine a friend would give a friend (though that was probably wishful thinking on his part). No matter what kind of hug, it filled Kurt with a pleasantly warm feeling that made his toes tingle. All too soon, Blaine pulled back, his hands still on Kurt's shoulders.

"I am just so blown away," he continued. "I knew you were good, of course, but that was just - wow."

"Thank you," Kurt said softly. "Thank you for coming."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said.

"Come on," said Lauren. "Let's get out of here and get some food."

"To celebrate!" exclaimed Rachel.

00000

Three days later, Kurt was packed up and ready to go to JFK to fly back home with Rachel. He could barely believe that he had only been in New York for a handful of months, that he had survived his first semester in college - and got a tattoo of all things. Really, it feels like a lifetime since Kurt had first come to New York to start the new chapter of his life.

Now, though, there was Christmas with his family to look forward to. He hadn't went home for Thanksgiving, since they couldn't find the sense in spending so much money to come home for a few days to only come back for Christmas break a few weeks later. He missed them, despite how much he loved being in the city and living on his own, after getting used to it.

Not only was Kurt looking forward to spending time with a few of his friends still in Lima, or coming back for the holiday, and seeing his family, but Blaine was also going back home for the break. That meant he would still be close. In the most bizarre way, Kurt was dreading not being able to see him everyday. They still probably wouldn't, but he was coming over for dinner a few days before Christmas at his family's house.

That would certainly be interesting.

He and Rachel had a late flight that night and when they finally had gotten though security and the way in their terminal and were on the plane at last, Rachel quickly curled up (damn her and her short stature) and rested her head against his shoulder to sleep. Kurt tried sleep, too, but he mostly just closed his eyes and listened to his music on his iPhone.

Later, he and Rachel made it off the plane, sleepy as they walked to baggage claim to meet their families. Burt was the first to make it to Kurt, hugging him tightly. Rachel's dads were there as well, twirling her around as soon as they could. Carole and Finn weren't there, since Carole had work in the morning and Finn was more than likely dead to the world in his comfy bed.

Kurt and Rachel parted, both secretly happy to get a few days away from each other, since living together at all times of the day could get a bit strained. Kurt let his dad handle one of his bags on the way up to his room, then quickly changed after he left and fell into his old bed, noting how strange it felt now to be back before sleep claimed him.

00000

The next morning at breakfast, the first thing Finn asked him - no greeting whatsoever - was to see his tattoo in the flesh "just to make sure you weren't just pulling our leg." Kurt groans and thrusts his hand toward Finn. He looks down, eyes widening. Even his father, sitting next to Finn, glances over.

"I can't believe you actually got a tattoo, man," said Finn, voice awed. "Did it hurt a lot?"

Kurt shrugged and began to look through the cabinets for oatmeal and brown sugar. "It did a little. The person giving it distracted me by talking, though. It wasn't so bad."

It seems like everyone who he hasn't seen since leaving for college wants to see his tattoo. Mercedes, who comes to town the next day for the holidays, can't get over it at all. When he hangs out with Tina, Artie and Brittany, who are all still going to McKinley this year, are also intrigued by it. Although Brittany thinks he wrote on his skin in crayon. Puck says he's a badass for getting one, when he's over at his house one day hanging out with Finn, and Joe, the new boy from last year, gives him a look of approval, seeing as he has tattoos himself. They even go ahead and compare stories about getting the tattoos and the stories behind them - though all of Joe's are Bible quotes and Kurt feigns interest.

By the fifth day in town, he's sick of it. Showing off his tattoo to people he didn't know before he didn't have one will probably be great, but right now, he's annoyed at having to roll up his sleeve so often to show his gawking friends.

The days on break pass by quickly and the excitement of Christmas grows. He's also getting more and more excited about Blaine coming over to his house for dinner.

They had been texting ever since Kurt left New York. Blaine followed the next day to come home himself, and even though they both wanted to get together since, neither have been able to pull away from their families. Finally, though, it's just three days before Christmas and Blaine is coming over.

"So, is this like, your boyfriend?" asked Finn as he hung around the kitchen watching Kurt prepare the salad and Carole pulling food out of the oven.

Kurt sighed and shook his head. He saw Burt look up, eyes narrowing, out of the corner of his eyes. Honestly. "No, Finn, he is a friend who is gay. He and I spend a lot of time together in New York. And don't you dare say anything embarrassing. In fact - it would be safe of you to say nothing at all." Finn grumbles.

Rachel gets there first, at least thirty minutes before they eat, so she can cuddle with Finn on the couch. Then five minutes before 6:30 the doorbell rings and Kurt lets in Blaine, who looks relaxed and quite festive in his red sweater vest and bowtie with what looks like Christmas trees on it.

"Kurt!" he said as soon as Kurt opened the door. He steps forward, pulling Kurt into a hug and it's all Kurt can do to keep himself together. They're laughing and catching up, though they'd just talked to each other an hour or so ago at the most. Kurt introduces Blaine to everyone, his nerves and excitement mixing.

"You have a lovely home," he said, sounding every bit like that date you wish to bring home to your parents.

"Thanks, kid," said Burt as they sit down to eat. Finn is already loading up his plate to the max, as Rachel takes the vegan friendly platters she had brought over herself.

The conversation seems to flow easily. Rachel asks Blaine about his high school life, since they hadn't gotten to talk that much at Kurt's concert. Once he mentions being in Glee club, it's all over. She takes up most of conversation after that, until she finally takes a bit of her salad and Kurt steers the topics in other places, like Blaine's artwork.

"I love it so much," said Blaine, after Kurt begins the topic.

"What do you do? Sculpture? Drawing?" asked Carole.

"Drawing and design," said Blaine. "I'm already preparing for a gallery that the school has at the end of the school year, where everyone has a bit of wall space to show off their work. I can't decide what I'll even begin to put up that is good enough."

"You'll find something," said Kurt.

After that, Burt begins rapid fire questions that sound too much like an interrogation to Kurt, but are probably polite to people who don't know him as much as Kurt does. Burt asks about his family, why it choose New York for school, friends - stuff like that. Then -

"So, kid, you have any tattoos?"

"Dad."

"I don't, sir," said Blaine. He's smiling with amusement over his plate. He probably thought that Burt was asking the question to see if he was some kind of delinquent. "I guess I'm a little too chicken."

"If Kurt can get one, you could I'm sure," said Finn.

"Ignoring that rude comment now," Kurt snapped. "And moving on -"

"You have a tattoo?" said Blaine, voice full of surprise as he looked over to Kurt. "Wow - can I see?"

"No. We are moving on. Dad, please, bore us to death with football or something."

Burt chuckles, but brings up a game that both Finn and Blaine had interest in and that moves the conversation away from Kurt's tattoo. Really, he's tired of showing it to nosy people.

After dinner and spending some time in the living room together, Finn, Rachel, Blaine and Kurt all decide to go out and get some ice cream - though it's winter and freezing. They goof off at "A Scoop Above" for at least an hour before Blaine admits he needs to head back home.

"I'll see you back in New York, if we can't get back together until then," said Blaine as they all stand. He hugs Rachel, "bro fists" with Finn, then hugs Kurt. "Bye!"

Rachel looks after Blaine with a thoughtful expression before turning back to Kurt. "He's cute, charming, talented and gay - Kurt, really, if you don't start dating him, he's going to get taken."

Kurt doesn't respond. He looks down at his empty bowl of ice cream, frowning.

Because she's right.

00000

"I missed the city so much," sighed Kurt when he sits down in front of Lauren, handing her a cup of coffee and sipping his own. He moans. "Even the coffee is better here."

"That's why I didn't leave," said Lauren.

"That and you have a job and couldn't get off," said Kurt. "And your parents decided that Paris is lovely this time of year and took off."

"That too."

Kurt laughs and shakes his head. "I missed you, actually. It would have been great to hang out in Lima."

"Eh, Lima is snoresville - hanging out with me in New York is by far superior." She takes another sip of her coffee. "So did you and lover boy meet up?"

"His name is Blaine and yes, he came over to dinner."

"You guys make out yet?" asked Lauren. "Because not gonna lie, I want to see you guys get your mack on. It would be totally hot."

"Lauren!" Kurt feels his face grow hot.

"But the blush, I'm gonna guess that's a no." She sighed and shook her head. "Disappointed."

Kurt glares at her, but then hears Blaine call out his name behind him and instantly smiles. He hears Lauren mutter something under her breath - he only catches "sickening" - before Blaine finally comes over and sits down, greeting Lauren as well.

"Isn't it great to be back?" he asked. "There is so much more to draw here - well - things that are more interesting, at least." He laughs.

"I was just telling Lauren. It feels like coming home," he said.

"Too true." Blaine sets his sketchbook down on the table before searching his pockets for his wallet.

It all happens in slow motion.

Lauren grabs Blaine's sketchbook and for a moment, he's too shocked to grab for it. When he does, she easily moves it out of the way.

"Hey -!"

"Oh man, just as I suspected," said Lauren as she begins to flip through the pages.

"Lauren, give Blaine his sketchbook back," said Kurt firmly. He knows Blaine doesn't like sharing work with just anyone and Lauren has already looked through half of it as she flips through the pages.

"Oh man, you don't even know how bad you got it - ether of you." Lauren laughs and finally throws the sketch book on the table, open to a page that actually has a sketch of Kurt on it, his chin leaning up against his hand. "That has like, pages of Kurt in it. Man, you got it bad, art boy."

Kurt looks over to Blaine, who is blushing and scrambling for his sketchbook. He glances up to Kurt, only to look away, cheeks red.

"Look," said Lauren, reaching down to the ground to grab her bag. "It's obvious that you're both lusting after each other and are like, this close to throwing yourselves at the other." She stands and hoists the bag to her shoulder, looking down at Kurt and Blaine, both avoiding each other's eyes and red. "You should really just get on with it and save yourselves so much sexual frustration. Until then - I'm out." She salutes them, grabs her coffee, and turns to leave the coffee shop.

Kurt and Blaine sit in the awkward silence for at least a full minute before finally turning to each other. "She uh, really has some strong ideas about us, doesn't she?" asked Kurt, his hand coming up to trace on the dark wood of the table. He hopes he sounds casual enough.

"Yeah," said Blaine. He is looking down at his sketchbook. He finally looks back up to look at Kurt, expression quizzical. "Look, Kurt, I'm not brave like you. I wish I was, and sometimes I can fake it pretty well, but I'm not."

"I'm not that brave," said Kurt, voice quiet.

"You can do the thing you love without any fear," said Blaine desperately. "You get up on stage with no problem. I'm still terrified of letting people see my art on a constant basis. And you - you could probably talk to the boy you liked and wouldn't hide behind sketchbooks drawing his face instead of actually talking to him about it." Blaine closes his eyes, looking modified at his own words. His jaw clenches and Kurt watches as his grip tightens on his sketchbook.

For a long moment, Kurt tries to get his mind around Blaine's words. That they mean - Blaine likes him. Kurt lets out a shaky breath and stands. Blaine opens his eyes at the sound of the chair scratching on the tile and looks heartbroken.

"No - I'm not leaving," said Kurt in a rush. "I just - I need to show you something. Come with me." He wraps his scarf around his neck one more time.

Blaine nods slowly and stands, grabbing his bag and holding the sketchbook to his chest as he follows Kurt out of the coffee shop. Kurt takes the route that leads to his school and in no time they are at the wall with the mural on it. It's faded since Kurt had first seen it months ago, and more things have been added around it, but it still remains - something that Kurt is thankful for everyday when he passes it.

He turns to face Blaine, who stops suddenly. He's looking down at his feet, away from Kurt, and probably has been most of the walk. Kurt sighs, stepping closer to Blaine and putting his gloved hand on his forearm. He finally looked up at him and away from his feet.

"I wasn't always brave. Like, at all. I felt pretty damn cowardly for most of my life," said Kurt, his throat growing tight. "And the first few days here in New York, I felt the same way. I loved the city, but I was so, so lost." Blaine was staring up at him, eyes wide. "And then I was walking to school for the first day and I took this short cut. I looked up and saw that mural over there, and it hit me." Kurt turned and pointed at the work and Blaine's eyes followed. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly. Kurt knew he had probably had a similar reaction.

"I saw that word, 'Courage', and the rainbow lettering and it was like it was written just for me," said Kurt. "Like someone was grabbing me by the shoulders and telling me that it was going to get better as long as I had the courage to make it that way." Kurt tightened his grip on Blaine's arm. "So all this bravery you think I have - it's not like I'm that kind of person naturally. It takes practice and you, Blaine Anderson, are one of the most amazing people I know. I know you're brave. I know you have courage. I know you could show your art to a million people one day and not bat an eye lid if you just tried."

Blaine was still staring at the mural with wide eyes as Kurt spoke. Kurt took a shaky breath and smiled weakly at him. "And as for having the guts to talk to a guy I like - well, I obviously am not that brave yet." This seems to wake Blaine from his trance. He looks over to Kurt slowly, eyes lost. "I couldn't tell you," added Kurt, his voice so quiet that Kurt isn't sure Blaine will hear. But he does.

"You - you like me?" asked Blaine, voice hoarse.

"Yes," said Kurt in one heavy breath. "But I didn't think you - but I guess you do."

"I do," said Blaine, voice quiet, his expression still one of disbelief. "But Kurt - I - that mural up there?" Blaine turns his eyes toward the word again and Kurt follows him.

"I drew that my first week here." He says it with so much awe and wonder that Kurt does a double take between Blaine and the wall.

"You - what?"

Kurt feels dizzy almost at the admission. He looks at Blaine like it's the first time he's ever seen him and all the air suddenly exhales from his lungs.

"I designed it," said Blaine. He's suddenly fiddling with his pockets, frustrated by the little grip the gloves give as he finally extracts his phone. He starts flipping through photos until he lets out a triumphant sound and hands it over to Kurt. Kurt looks down with wide eyes. On the screen is Blaine, who looks like he had held out his phone as far as it could reach. It's not very bright outside at all, probably the wee hours of the morning by the looks of it. He's here, in this alley, back facing the wall that the mural rests on. Most of Blaine's face is in the photo, smile wide, and the 'Courage' design is above him. He's pointing upwards with the hand not holding the camera, straight to the word and the look of complete happiness on his face is something that also takes Kurt's breath away.

Kurt looks up from the photo, looking at Blaine with a wide eyed expression. His left arm is tingling, just where his tattoo rests.

"You drew it," said Kurt, voice still filled with awe.

"It was the assignment I mentioned once, I think," said Blaine breathlessly. "My teacher's first assignment was for us to, and I quote, 'let your soul be bared for everyone to see using art' - and it was completely open for interpretation. I came up with the word that night, because I have always, always wanted to be that brave, and the colors because how much more of my soul could I show a person? Being gay is who I am, so it only seemed natural. And as for baring it for everyone to see - what better than a building?" He explained. "It took me a while to work up the nerve to come out here and paint it on the wall, but finally I realized that no one would ever know it was me who did it. People could see it, but I wouldn't have to see them see it. It was perfect. I was - I was so happy."

"I can see from the picture," said Kurt. He had reached out at some point to hold Blaine's hands tightly. His mind was still spinning with what this meant - what Blaine being the artist meant. "And you should be, Blaine. This mural - I was telling you how much it meant to me. How much it gave me courage."

"Which I can't even begin to believe," laughed Blaine. There were tears in his eyes, he looked so happy. "I can't believe that something I did - something I made - inspired you. You - you saw something I drew before I ever met you. By months." He laughed again and shook his head.

Blaine paused, still smiling, and looked up at Kurt with eyes shining. He reached up with one hand slowly, resting it on Kurt's cheek. His gloved thumb was rubbing a small circle on his skin, making him shiver. Then Blaine leaned forward and Kurt began to as well to meet in a kiss. Their lips were dry and too cold, after standing in the cold weather of January in New York, but it made Kurt's body grow pleasantly warm. The kiss was everything Kurt had ever imagined and dreamed a real first kiss would be like - with a boy he liked and absolutely perfect for the moment. He didn't want it to end, though it took his breath away.

They parted, breathing heavily and visible in front of their faces. They giggled nervously.

"I can't believe I did that," said Blaine, still breathless from the excitement and the kiss.

"Neither can I," said Kurt. "It was - it was amazing."

"It was."

Blaine was looking at his lips again and was starting to lean in again, but Kurt stopped it.

"Wait - just a moment," said Kurt, tone slow. "I - I have something else to tell you."

Blaine blinked at him, bringing his eyes away from his lips. He nodded. Kurt took a deep breath and took one step away from Blaine so he could think more clearly.

"I loved what this mural made me feel," said Kurt and Blaine smiled at the compliment. "I took a photo of it with my phone and it ended up on the desktop of my computer and phone. It was a constant reminder to be proud of who I am and to always try my best to be brave." He took another deep breath, nervous at what he was about to say. Would Blaine think it was weird, his tattoo? It was certainly strange. "You know how my dad mentioned I had a tattoo?" he asked in a rush.

"Uh, yeah?" said Blaine, confused by the sudden change in conversation. He wasn't thinking clearly, obviously, and wasn't putting the pieces together.

"I was - I was inspired, when I went with Lauren to get her first tattoo," said Kurt as he began to slip off his left glove, wincing at the cold. He began to roll up his thick jacket and long sleeved shirt under it until he was just above the tattoo. "And well - here."

Kurt thrust his arm to Blaine, who reached out and held it delicately with his hands, the fabric of his gloves scratching his skin just like it had his cheek. Blaine looked down at the tattoo, a moment before the fact sunk in - then his eyes widened and the grip tightened slightly.

"That's - that's my -" he said. "Oh my god."

"I ended up getting the mural as my tattoo," Kurt said, though it didn't need to be. Blaine had reached out one hand to trace along the word and Kurt shivered, though not strictly from the cold. "I wanted the constant reminder. And I think - somehow I knew how important it was. Somehow I knew that I was supposed to be drawn to this artwork, because I was always supposed to be drawn to you." Blaine tore his eyes away from the tattoo to look at Kurt, eyes wide and moist. "You don't think it's weird, right?"

"It's not weird," he said, voice thick with the sound of tears. "I just -"

Then Blaine surged forward, kissing Kurt again so hard that Kurt's toes curled. He reached up to grip Blaine's arms, pulling his warm body closer to him. They were even more breathless when they finally tore away.

"I think it looks better on you than it ever has," said Blaine against his lips. "I just can't believe - I can't believe how perfect this all was." He pulled away slightly so he could look into Kurt's eyes. "I - I love you, Kurt."

Kurt knew that it should be too soon. They had only been friends for a few months, and this new part of their relationship was only five minutes old. Those words should be reserved for after more time together. But it felt like a life time to Kurt. He had Blaine's art painted on his skin forever - his feelings toward Blaine with it.

"I love you, too," he said without hesitation.

They pulled each other close again, lips searching for each other.

000000

Five Months Later

Kurt and Blaine stood in front of the wall, filled with Blaine's drawings, arms around each other's waists. Blaine's head was leaning on Kurt's, eyes taking in the different pieces that he had been slaving over for months now.

There was the painting, much bigger than the original sketch, of Diane and Ronnie, the lesbian couple from Central Park that Blaine had met. The colors of the background were just as beautiful as the look on each woman's face as they looked at the person the loved.

There was one particular drawing of Kurt, Blaine's favorite, of him looking straight ahead. The detail of Kurt's eyes was quite impressive, it was true, though Kurt tended to shy away from selecting drawings of himself as his favorite.

Another drawing two hands joined, wedding rings visible, done in black and white. It was a simple statement of love that Blaine had done over and over again so he could get it right. Kurt had been the one to tell him that he needed to stop stressing and that he was doing it all perfectly - finally giving him the push he need.

There were a few others, but the centerpiece of the small exhibit was a photograph.

Blaine only dabbled in photography. He much preferred getting his hands covered in paint or graphite than standing in a dark room developing film, but in this case, he had made an exception.

It was a large photograph, a split screen. The top photo was of the mural Blaine had painted his first week in school, the 'Courage' drawing centered. The coloring was vibrant and bright, being such a nice day when the photo was taken. The other photo was of Kurt's own wrist, the same drawing tattooed on his skin.

This center photo proclaimed the whole theme of Blaine's exhibit of his work throughout his first year at art school - courage and the courage to love whoever it was you loved.

The art show had begun almost an hour ago. Each student stood by their own work to answer questions by those who had come out to see it. Some were teachers at the school, others people coming in front the public, and other still art critics. Blaine had received his fair share of compliments and teary eyed "thank you's".

Most of all, Blaine was thrilled with the final product of his work. It had all come together in the end, with a lot of encouragement from Kurt.

"I think it's beautiful," said Kurt, breaking the silence that had settled. He leaned down to press a kiss to Blaine's cheek.

"I think so, too," said Blaine. He dropped the arm he had around Kurt's waist, coming down to hold his hand. As he did his fingers graced down the skin of his arm, pausing a moment where he knew the tattoo was. The place of Kurt's body that his hands and lips always found a way back to. He traced Kurt's skin there, almost absently. "Beautiful."

fin