[fic] the art of love (8/8)
title: the art of love
fandom: glee
pairings: kurt/karofsky; blaine/kurt, mentions of finn/rachel
summary: Kurt is a fashionable singer who is loved by his friends. Dave is the recently outed football player who once made Kurt's life hell. Apart from being partners for an art project, they couldn't have anything else in common... right?
rating: pg-13
notes: LAST PART! :D :D :D :D I'm so excited, I love this story sosososo much. And even more than that, I have LOVED all the wonderful feedback I have received from everyone over the past two months. It is definitely the motivation that has kept me going and kept me writing more. I cannot thank you guys enough for your AMAZING words of inspiration and encouragement that have just kept me wanting to write more and more. Never in a piece I've written has the feedback been so great, so thankyouthankyouthankyou :D
♥
I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you into meeting me or anything… but, well, I do really want to meet you. I know I can talk to you over the web, and I already know that you’re an awesome person. I just really want to see if we can click as well in person as we do online. I’ve become so confused, lately, about how I feel for someone else, and that’s starting to scare me. But I know how I feel for you and I just need to know that this connection is real.
I think I might be in love with you.
E
With a tired hand, Dave rubs his face. This isn’t what was supposed to happen at all. Through this all, Kurt was just supposed to realize that Dave and allmixedup were one and the same person. That was the only reason that Dave had decided to keep this charade up for so long. But in reality, Kurt is falling for him - Dave Karofsky, not allmixedup. Hell, Kurt may have already fallen for him. If the events that happen last Saturday in the elevator Hayden’s building, including the aftermath of Kurt sprinting out into the parking lot without his coat, without Dave, without even looking back or letting Dave drive him home.
Dave may not be the best person at reading people’s emotions, but he can notice an freak out when he sees one, and what Kurt had was a definite freak out.
Opening up a new email, Dave sighs. It’s not fair to keep lying to Kurt’s face like this. He’s hasn’t even spoken to Kurt since that night, which made presenting their project to the class a pretty difficult task considering that when they stood up in front of the class Kurt wouldn’t even look at him without turning bright pink and becoming flustered as he began to flip through his note cards with a suddenly squeaking voice. They had managed to get a B+ on the project, which was pretty damn good by Dave’s standards, and even better considering that it was one of the higher grades in the class.
I really want to meet you too, Extraordinary. My schedule’s been pretty hectic lately, but it’s dying down ever since I’ve finished up a huge project that was taking up a lot of my time. I’m free tomorrow, and I’d love to see you. There’s a small park in Lima, right on the edge of town. I will be waiting by the willow tree by the gate at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. Meet me there? Let’s not delay this anymore. I hope it won’t be disappointing for you.
Dave clicks ‘send’ and closes his computer. He can’t keep this lie up anymore. Kurt deserves to know the truth - once and for all. He pauses for a second, before picking up his cell phone and dialing Kurt’s cell phone number.
___
“I can’t stay all afternoon,” Kurt says, taking a sip of his coffee. The tension is still there, he can feel it already building between them, but luckily after the conversation that Dave tried to have with him last night it’s not as bad as it’s bad for the past week. When Dave had called him, asking him if he wanted to meet at the Lima Bean this morning for what could be considered a now annual coffee meeting between the two of them. This one was supposed to be in celebration of a job well done on their art history project, but considering that they had now had coffee together three times in a little over a month, Kurt could say that it was becoming a habit.
“Really?” Dave quirks, raising an eyebrow and licking the whipped cream off of his straw. “Big date with the e-boyfriend?”
Kurt smirks, and this time around, it feels a bit easier than it did originally this morning when Dave had picked him up. If Dave can relax like this, then so can Kurt. He can put everything that happened in that elevator behind him and forget about it, because clearly Dave has. And even though Kurt may not want to - or admit that he doesn’t want to - Dave does. So, yeah, Kurt can be cool.
Besides, he’s finally going to meet allmixedup. Everything’s going to be perfect. “As a matter of fact, I did…” Kurt muses, running a finger all along the rim of his plastic lid. “And he was the one who suggested it this time, so there.”
“Liar.”
“Jealous.”
The word hangs in the air for a moment, and Kurt wonders if he crossed a line at that point. But when a smile breaks out on Dave’s face, all encompassing before he cracks up in laughter before he takes another sip of his iced mocha. Kurt smiles, suddenly feeling more at ease than he has in the past week. It almost feels like everything’s back to normal.
Almost.
The few hours that they have to spend pass by quickly between them, and it’s only when Kurt realizes that his coffee cup is empty that he checks his phone for the time, which reminds him that he needs to get home to get his car so he can get to the park on time to meet allmixedup. When he mentions this to Dave, he nods slightly, a subdued smile on his face as he drops his empty cup into the garbage as he grabs his keys and heads for the truck.
The ride back to Kurt’s house is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Every so often, Kurt will find himself looking up from the road in front of them and focusing instead on Dave, who’s focusing on the road, of course. Kurt can’t help it, but he just seems to be stuck on Dave’s profile.
When they pull up to a stoplight, Dave finally asks “Nervous about meeting your guy?”
Kurt shrugs weakly, bringing his gaze back into his lap, where it seems to fit comfortably these days. “Kind of,” he admits. It’s the truth, because he is nervous about meeting allmixedup. But as he sits there in the silence a little bit longer, he realizes that this isn’t what he’s really nervous about. He’s nervous that allmixedup isn’t going to be as wonderful as he hoped. As wonderful as…
His eyes flicker back to Dave, who’s still watching him carefully.
All this time he’s been worried about falling in love too quickly with someone he’s never seen face to face, but what he probably should’ve been worried about was falling in love with Dave Karofsky. As this point, though, it might be too late to be worrying about it happening.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dave encourages, gripping Kurt’s shoulder gently with his hand. “He can’t be any worse than Curly Boy. And if he is, you already know how to handle it. Just, you know, kick him in the balls or something. I figure you’d be able to handle that well…”
“Yeah, I think I would,” Kurt replies weakly.
“You’ll be fine,” Dave says gently, and again the car falls silent for another few minutes. Kurt is staring out the window the entire time, wondering how in the world he managed to let it all get this far when Dave asks quietly “Do you think he’ll be boyfriend material?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how he feels about me.”
“What about you?”
Kurt pauses, before admitting, “I wouldn’t say no to it.”
Dave’s quiet at that point, and this time around, the silence is unnerving to Kurt. He wishes now more than any other time that Dave would say something encouraging about meeting his mystery man or something. Hell, he’s even wishing for the old Karofsky, who would simply verbally or physically abuse him. It’s pretty self-deprecating, but it’s something that Kurt knows better than this Karofsky. The longer the two of them stay in silence, the longer Kurt is starting to feel like there’s something wrong with what’s he’s about to do, and he can’t feel that way.
They’re still silent when they pull into Kurt’s driveway and when Dave’ turns the ignition of the truck off. Even though they’re back at his house, Kurt doesn’t immediately get out of the car, because when he looks over at Dave, the other boy is staring down at the steering wheel intently, almost like he can’t and won’t bear to pick his head up to look at Kurt and face him.
“This guy,” Dave starts. “He has you thinking that you’re already in love with him. That there’s no one else in the world that’s better made for you…”
“Stop.”
“And you’re already eating it all up, not even bothering to look at the whole picture of what this really is, or give other people…”
“Shut up.”
“He’s made up completely in your head!”
“I said shut up!” Kurt exclaims, slamming one of his fists down onto the dashboard of Dave’s truck. He feels dizzy and sick all of a sudden, like he can’t focus on anything. Because he already knows what Dave was trying to get at, and he can’t let that get brought up now. Not now, when he’s so close to what’s right within his grasp.
Dave eventually drops his head, murmuring out an “I’m sorry.” The silence settles over the two of them, heavy and awkward until Kurt finally relaxes against the seat, pulling his fist back into his lap. When he does so, he punches Dave lightly in the shoulder, a soft smile curling on his lips. It’s so damn hard at this point to try to stay mad at him when Dave’s only trying to help.
“Thanks for everything today,” Kurt offers quietly.
“Don’t mention it,” Dave replies earnestly.
Kurt starts to climb out of the truck, one leg hanging out of the truck when Dave grabs onto his arm, hand sliding down until it’s loosely curled around the crook of his elbow. He pauses it there for a moment, before dropping it and entwining it with Kurt’s hand. Kurt’s breath hitches when Dave’s thumb drags itself lightly over Kurt’s knuckles. “Last Saturday…” Dave starts, and it takes all of Kurt’s willpower to not choke on his own breath as he hears the complete pain running through Dave’s voice.
“I know,” Kurt mutters softly, because he does. He knows what Dave is going to ask, he knows what his answer would’ve been, he knows everything that his conversation is asking for by now. By now, Dave is stroking Kurt’s hand, one finger at a time. It’s incredibly intimate, causing Kurt’s breath to catch in his throat, and he doesn’t know what else to say to it.
“If it wasn’t me-“
With a bitter laugh, Kurt interrupts him. “None of that matters, Dave. You are Dave Karofsky, and I’m Kurt Hummel. The two don’t go together. And they never will.”
“It always matters. That’s the only thing that matters,” Dave points out, and it hits Kurt hard that he might be right.
“Dave, I can’t. I can’t do this right now…” Kurt breathes desperately. But at the same time, he can’t bring himself to pull his hand out of Dave’s grasp. “I need to get going,” he tries again.
Nodding, Dave eventually lets go of Kurt. “Wear that red and black plaid shirt you wore during the Born This Way performance. It looks good on you…”
Weakly smiling, Kurt steps out of the car and turns back to Dave. “I will. Thanks again.”
“See you later, Kurt…” Dave says, putting his car into gear and backing out of the Hummels driveway. The car has already driven down the street and turned the corner, towards the direction of Karofsky’s house when Kurt finally manages to turn away from the street and head inside.
___
When Kurt finally pulls up to the park that allmixedup is supposed to meet him at, he’s wearing his red and black flannel shirt and a pair of jeans that surprisingly he doesn’t have to jump around to get into. As he puts the car into park and climbs out of it, his hands are trembling furiously. As he starts the trek out towards the old willow tree that he used to climb on with Tina and Puck when they were young, he shoves them into his pocket in an attempt to quell their shaking.
He’s only a few steps from the willow, which means he’s probably only a minute or two away from meeting the guy he’s practically sold his heart to over the internet. And yet, right now all he can see in his head is Dave and how shattered he seemed on the car ride back to Kurt’s. All this time, as Kurt is walking over to the tree, he’s half-expecting Dave to be there waiting.
But he’s not. Of course he’s not.
Taking a deep breath, he runs a hand through his hair, at which point he realizes that his hands are still shaking uncontrollably. He can’t show up and be nervous, because if he’s nervous, he won’t even be in control of his mouth and he’ll embarrass himself within a matter of three minutes.
Dave wouldn’t care…
He swears to himself, because the last thing that needs to be on his mind right now is Dave. He’s so close to everything that he’s been wanting over the past months, and he’s going to ruin it for himself.
The tree’s right there, and under it’s a bench. He can see the figure sitting on it, one leg crossed over the other and head bowed carefully. He’s dressed in a zip up sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, and that’s the sweatshirt from their first-
It can only be…
“Dave?”
Dave looks up, his lips twerking in a half-smile. “Hey Kurt.” By now, Kurt’s stopped walking completely, but like always, Dave’s taken over, standing up and walking to meet him in graceful strides.
“You…you’re…?” Kurt splutters, only because his brain can’t form coherent thoughts at this moment. Dave replies with a nod, and just like that it all clicks and Kurt can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner than right now. Everything he told Dave in person versus everything he told him over the web, the feelings he had for Dave Karofsky and the feelings he had for allmixedup…
“So you didn’t stand me up at the coffee shop originally?”
“I did not.”
Taking a step forward, this is still a bit too much for Kurt to comprehend. “Why haven’t you said anything?” He’s surprised at how relaxed his voice is. The smile on Dave’s face falters for a second, before he opens his mouth. Kurt sighs, pinching down on the bridge of his nose. “Never mind, I understand why you never said anything. I made that pretty clear this afternoon why…”
“I never wanted to lie to you, Kurt. I just-“ Dave takes another step closer to Kurt, to the point where they’re only inches apart.
“Then why did you?”
Dave frowns, turning his head away for a second. “Because I was scared,” he admits, and it’s probably in the most honest voice that Kurt’s heard from him. “I was afraid that I would lose you.” Stopping for a moment, Dave reaches for Kurt’s hand, encircling it in his own. Even through his own shaking hands, Kurt can feel Dave’s trembling against his own. “I couldn’t lose you, because I think I might be in love with you.”
“Oh my god,” Kurt blurts out, a shuddery laugh breaking his voice. This can’t be happening, it can’t be. Because this would mean that Kurt’s actually going to get everything that he wanted - that he won’t have to hurt anybody or lose anybody in the process. Or more importantly, have to hurt himself. It can’t be happening, because things like this don’t happen to Kurt. Kurt never gets what he wants.
“Please say something,” Dave eventually mutters.
“Fuck you, Dave…” Kurt whispers, because he can’t even bring himself to speak louder than it. Immediately, he feels Dave tense against him. “Fuck you for making me fall in love you, Dave Karofsky.”
With a stiff laugh, Dave admits, “I’m not sure if I can really apologize for that…”
“Fuck you,” Kurt repeats, starting to laugh as he squeezes Dave’s hand in his own. “I’m in love with you.”
Dave’s smiling, lifting his hand to run his thumb along Kurt’s jawbone. Kurt falls into the touch, and he’s already feeling that electricity tingling in between them. When Dave lets his hand fall against Kurt’s neck, letting it rest there for a moment, Kurt wonders if they’re both thinking the same thing.
They must’ve been, because after a beat of silence, their lips are crashing against one another in the painfully desperate way that’s such a contradiction to the kiss that they shared last Saturday night in the elevator. This one is filled with everything that has been unsaid between them since…well…
Since the locker room almost a year ago. Because if this kiss can be compared to anything, it’s that. It’s so filled with longing and passion and wanting that it leaves Kurt desperate for more. This time around, though, there’s nothing to stop the kiss. Dave is cradling Kurt’s face in his hands, holding him close and everything is so perfect that Kurt can’t believe that this is happening to him.
After what feels like an eternity of kissing under the willow tree, Kurt breaks apart from the kiss, pressing his forehead against Dave’s. “I wanted it to be you,” he admits, both to himself and Dave. Through it all, he can feel Dave smile against him, pressed softly on his skin. “All this time, I was hoping that it might’ve been you. Even with how much I was trying to hate you, and with everything that happened between us, ever since you showed up at the coffee shop that afternoon, something changed. You changed, and it made me want you instead of… well, instead of you. And I couldn’t even admit that to your face. I mean, how could I?”
“I don’t care… I don’t care about any of that, Kurt. I care about you.” Before Kurt can say anything else, Dave’s kissing him again. And as Kurt pulls him into a tight embrace, Kurt couldn’t see this with any other outcome.
EPiLOGUE
When Dave walks up to Kurt’s locker, where Kurt’s currently talking to Finn, he can’t help but feel, well, happy. And that’s saying a lot - for him, at least. Considering everything that he’s been through in the last year, and considering most of all that he’s Dave Karofsky - happy endings have never really been in his future. But when he looks down the hallway and sees Kurt standing there and realizes that this is his reality now - it’s not just a figment of his imagination - Dave thinks that maybe he can get used to endings like this. At least, as long as they have Kurt in them.
When he walks up to the locker, he puts his hand gently on Kurt’s shoulder, who immediately spins around from his conversation with Finn. “Oh, hi!” he exclaims, leaning over to quickly give Dave a peck on the lips. “I was wondering where you were!”
“Just taking care of some stuff,” Dave says, nodding a greeting to Finn, who’s looking at both of them with a smirk on his face. “Hey, Finn,” Dave tries, a tone of caution at the end of his voice.
“Hey Dave. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go meet up with Rachel to talk about some of the stuff for Nationals. I’ll see you two later, okay?” Finn says as he slams his locker shut, clapping a hand onto one of Kurt’s forearms.
“Finn,” Dave calls out as an afterthought, catching the other boy just as he’s about to turn away and walk down the hall. When Finn stops, there’s a momentary look on confusion on his face as he waits for Dave to finish his sentence. Dave bites down on his lip cautiously, before saying to Finn, “Say hi to Rachel for me, would you?”
There’s a question imprinted on Finn’s features, before he breaks out in a smile, nodding and walking down the hall.
“What in the world was that?” Kurt says, raising an eyebrow elegantly as he continues shoving the last of his books into his locker. “Since when did the sun relocate to shining out of your ass?”
Dave pushes him playfully, only to then wrap the arm around Kurt’s waist. “Well, I figure if I can get your brother on my side, then getting Hudson’s mom can’t be that hard. And after that, well, your father won’t stand a chance when it’s three on one…”
Kurt’s smiling at him by now, closing his locker as he completely turns to face him. “Really?”
Dave groans mock dramatically, though he’s still grinning. “So I want your stepbrother and his girlfriend to like me, is that such a horrible thing?” By now, both of his arms are around Kurt’s waist, and Kurt’s stretching his long arms to wrap themselves in an embrace around Dave’s neck.
Never once did Dave picture this happening. He may have thought that he wanted to be with Kurt, but not like this. Where they were just - together. And able to be together with no one trying to stop them. When they were able to just be. Because as they’re locked in this embrace in the middle of the main hallway, which is currently frantic with half of the entire school, no one has even bothered to say anything to them.
Which is how it should be.
“I think it’s adorable, and only a little bit nauseating,” Kurt admits before catching Dave’s lips in his own again.
“Speaking of nauseatingly adorable,” Dave starts, untangling himself from Kurt’s grip, he reaches into his back pocket. “This is what I was taking care of earlier.” He places the ticket into Kurt’s open palm, waiting for the appropriate reaction.
Kurt’s laughing before he even realizes what is now sitting in his hand. Slowly, he turns the ticket over in his hand a few times, almost like he’s making sure that it’s a real ticket that’s made for the real prom that’s was really bought by Dave. When he looks back up at Dave, the smile has slipped from his lips. “Are you serious?” he mumbles.
“Well, it only makes sense for two of McKinley most attractive to make an appearance at what could be one of the most sinfully boring events of our high school career. It’s up to us to make sure that it’s not…”
As Kurt looks back down at the ticket again carefully, Dave finally knows why this is really it; why this is going to work out for the both of them. Because when one of them falls, the other rises to the occasion to make sure it all works out. Because they are - and months ago, if anyone had ever said this to him he’d have thrown him into a dumpster - actually really compatible.
And because they just work. It might’ve taken them months to get here, but at least they did.
Kurt slips the ticket into his bag before sliding his hand into Dave’s. As he starts to pull Dave through the hallway, he leans over and whispers into his ear “You’re going to look really hot in a tux, you know that?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have bought the tickets if I didn’t. I mean, you’re going to need to have someone that looks good to bring with you. Arm candy, you know?”
Breaking out in a smile, Kurt links his arm through Dave’s. “My boyfriend. Always thinking about the needs of others.”
Starting to laugh, Dave pulls Kurt into one of the alcoves of the hallway, feeling strangely light at the weirdness of how normal this is feeling. “I had a thought. Or, an idea of some sort.”
“Hmm?” Kurt prompts playfully.
“Well, every other normal couple takes pictures before prom. They stand outside in their yard and pose for their parents and pose with their date and pose with their dog and pose with everything they’ve ever owned… “
“Oh yeah? Then what do you propose?”
“Clearly, we’re not ordinary in any way. I mean, you’re extraordinarily unordinary,” Dave pointed out, to which Kurt flushed a light shade of pink, a smile creeping up on his face. “And if I’m going to prom, I’m making it an event that’ll go down in history. So. I think we should get our prom pictures taken by Hayden.”
Kurt pauses, the smile still on his face before he bursts out laughing. Dave smiles back, because this pretty much was the reaction he was expecting. But when Kurt buries his face in the crook of Dave’s neck in an attempt to quell his laughter, it just reminds him that this isn’t some kind of a dream.
This is real.
“You’re such a pervert,” Kurt says, shaking his head.
Dave shrugs easily. “Yeah, but notice that you haven’t said no to it yet. And besides, you wouldn’t love me any other way.”
“That is definitely true. To the last part, I mean. Not the pictures…” Kurt tries, waving his hand before he grabs onto Dave’s again and starts to head out towards the parking lot.
The best part about this whole thing? Dave doesn’t even have to think twice about the honesty of Kurt’s answer.
He just knows.
fandom: glee
pairings: kurt/karofsky; blaine/kurt, mentions of finn/rachel
summary: Kurt is a fashionable singer who is loved by his friends. Dave is the recently outed football player who once made Kurt's life hell. Apart from being partners for an art project, they couldn't have anything else in common... right?
rating: pg-13
notes: LAST PART! :D :D :D :D I'm so excited, I love this story sosososo much. And even more than that, I have LOVED all the wonderful feedback I have received from everyone over the past two months. It is definitely the motivation that has kept me going and kept me writing more. I cannot thank you guys enough for your AMAZING words of inspiration and encouragement that have just kept me wanting to write more and more. Never in a piece I've written has the feedback been so great, so thankyouthankyouthankyou :D
♥
I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you into meeting me or anything… but, well, I do really want to meet you. I know I can talk to you over the web, and I already know that you’re an awesome person. I just really want to see if we can click as well in person as we do online. I’ve become so confused, lately, about how I feel for someone else, and that’s starting to scare me. But I know how I feel for you and I just need to know that this connection is real.
I think I might be in love with you.
E
With a tired hand, Dave rubs his face. This isn’t what was supposed to happen at all. Through this all, Kurt was just supposed to realize that Dave and allmixedup were one and the same person. That was the only reason that Dave had decided to keep this charade up for so long. But in reality, Kurt is falling for him - Dave Karofsky, not allmixedup. Hell, Kurt may have already fallen for him. If the events that happen last Saturday in the elevator Hayden’s building, including the aftermath of Kurt sprinting out into the parking lot without his coat, without Dave, without even looking back or letting Dave drive him home.
Dave may not be the best person at reading people’s emotions, but he can notice an freak out when he sees one, and what Kurt had was a definite freak out.
Opening up a new email, Dave sighs. It’s not fair to keep lying to Kurt’s face like this. He’s hasn’t even spoken to Kurt since that night, which made presenting their project to the class a pretty difficult task considering that when they stood up in front of the class Kurt wouldn’t even look at him without turning bright pink and becoming flustered as he began to flip through his note cards with a suddenly squeaking voice. They had managed to get a B+ on the project, which was pretty damn good by Dave’s standards, and even better considering that it was one of the higher grades in the class.
I really want to meet you too, Extraordinary. My schedule’s been pretty hectic lately, but it’s dying down ever since I’ve finished up a huge project that was taking up a lot of my time. I’m free tomorrow, and I’d love to see you. There’s a small park in Lima, right on the edge of town. I will be waiting by the willow tree by the gate at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. Meet me there? Let’s not delay this anymore. I hope it won’t be disappointing for you.
Dave clicks ‘send’ and closes his computer. He can’t keep this lie up anymore. Kurt deserves to know the truth - once and for all. He pauses for a second, before picking up his cell phone and dialing Kurt’s cell phone number.
___
“I can’t stay all afternoon,” Kurt says, taking a sip of his coffee. The tension is still there, he can feel it already building between them, but luckily after the conversation that Dave tried to have with him last night it’s not as bad as it’s bad for the past week. When Dave had called him, asking him if he wanted to meet at the Lima Bean this morning for what could be considered a now annual coffee meeting between the two of them. This one was supposed to be in celebration of a job well done on their art history project, but considering that they had now had coffee together three times in a little over a month, Kurt could say that it was becoming a habit.
“Really?” Dave quirks, raising an eyebrow and licking the whipped cream off of his straw. “Big date with the e-boyfriend?”
Kurt smirks, and this time around, it feels a bit easier than it did originally this morning when Dave had picked him up. If Dave can relax like this, then so can Kurt. He can put everything that happened in that elevator behind him and forget about it, because clearly Dave has. And even though Kurt may not want to - or admit that he doesn’t want to - Dave does. So, yeah, Kurt can be cool.
Besides, he’s finally going to meet allmixedup. Everything’s going to be perfect. “As a matter of fact, I did…” Kurt muses, running a finger all along the rim of his plastic lid. “And he was the one who suggested it this time, so there.”
“Liar.”
“Jealous.”
The word hangs in the air for a moment, and Kurt wonders if he crossed a line at that point. But when a smile breaks out on Dave’s face, all encompassing before he cracks up in laughter before he takes another sip of his iced mocha. Kurt smiles, suddenly feeling more at ease than he has in the past week. It almost feels like everything’s back to normal.
Almost.
The few hours that they have to spend pass by quickly between them, and it’s only when Kurt realizes that his coffee cup is empty that he checks his phone for the time, which reminds him that he needs to get home to get his car so he can get to the park on time to meet allmixedup. When he mentions this to Dave, he nods slightly, a subdued smile on his face as he drops his empty cup into the garbage as he grabs his keys and heads for the truck.
The ride back to Kurt’s house is quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Every so often, Kurt will find himself looking up from the road in front of them and focusing instead on Dave, who’s focusing on the road, of course. Kurt can’t help it, but he just seems to be stuck on Dave’s profile.
When they pull up to a stoplight, Dave finally asks “Nervous about meeting your guy?”
Kurt shrugs weakly, bringing his gaze back into his lap, where it seems to fit comfortably these days. “Kind of,” he admits. It’s the truth, because he is nervous about meeting allmixedup. But as he sits there in the silence a little bit longer, he realizes that this isn’t what he’s really nervous about. He’s nervous that allmixedup isn’t going to be as wonderful as he hoped. As wonderful as…
His eyes flicker back to Dave, who’s still watching him carefully.
All this time he’s been worried about falling in love too quickly with someone he’s never seen face to face, but what he probably should’ve been worried about was falling in love with Dave Karofsky. As this point, though, it might be too late to be worrying about it happening.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dave encourages, gripping Kurt’s shoulder gently with his hand. “He can’t be any worse than Curly Boy. And if he is, you already know how to handle it. Just, you know, kick him in the balls or something. I figure you’d be able to handle that well…”
“Yeah, I think I would,” Kurt replies weakly.
“You’ll be fine,” Dave says gently, and again the car falls silent for another few minutes. Kurt is staring out the window the entire time, wondering how in the world he managed to let it all get this far when Dave asks quietly “Do you think he’ll be boyfriend material?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know how he feels about me.”
“What about you?”
Kurt pauses, before admitting, “I wouldn’t say no to it.”
Dave’s quiet at that point, and this time around, the silence is unnerving to Kurt. He wishes now more than any other time that Dave would say something encouraging about meeting his mystery man or something. Hell, he’s even wishing for the old Karofsky, who would simply verbally or physically abuse him. It’s pretty self-deprecating, but it’s something that Kurt knows better than this Karofsky. The longer the two of them stay in silence, the longer Kurt is starting to feel like there’s something wrong with what’s he’s about to do, and he can’t feel that way.
They’re still silent when they pull into Kurt’s driveway and when Dave’ turns the ignition of the truck off. Even though they’re back at his house, Kurt doesn’t immediately get out of the car, because when he looks over at Dave, the other boy is staring down at the steering wheel intently, almost like he can’t and won’t bear to pick his head up to look at Kurt and face him.
“This guy,” Dave starts. “He has you thinking that you’re already in love with him. That there’s no one else in the world that’s better made for you…”
“Stop.”
“And you’re already eating it all up, not even bothering to look at the whole picture of what this really is, or give other people…”
“Shut up.”
“He’s made up completely in your head!”
“I said shut up!” Kurt exclaims, slamming one of his fists down onto the dashboard of Dave’s truck. He feels dizzy and sick all of a sudden, like he can’t focus on anything. Because he already knows what Dave was trying to get at, and he can’t let that get brought up now. Not now, when he’s so close to what’s right within his grasp.
Dave eventually drops his head, murmuring out an “I’m sorry.” The silence settles over the two of them, heavy and awkward until Kurt finally relaxes against the seat, pulling his fist back into his lap. When he does so, he punches Dave lightly in the shoulder, a soft smile curling on his lips. It’s so damn hard at this point to try to stay mad at him when Dave’s only trying to help.
“Thanks for everything today,” Kurt offers quietly.
“Don’t mention it,” Dave replies earnestly.
Kurt starts to climb out of the truck, one leg hanging out of the truck when Dave grabs onto his arm, hand sliding down until it’s loosely curled around the crook of his elbow. He pauses it there for a moment, before dropping it and entwining it with Kurt’s hand. Kurt’s breath hitches when Dave’s thumb drags itself lightly over Kurt’s knuckles. “Last Saturday…” Dave starts, and it takes all of Kurt’s willpower to not choke on his own breath as he hears the complete pain running through Dave’s voice.
“I know,” Kurt mutters softly, because he does. He knows what Dave is going to ask, he knows what his answer would’ve been, he knows everything that his conversation is asking for by now. By now, Dave is stroking Kurt’s hand, one finger at a time. It’s incredibly intimate, causing Kurt’s breath to catch in his throat, and he doesn’t know what else to say to it.
“If it wasn’t me-“
With a bitter laugh, Kurt interrupts him. “None of that matters, Dave. You are Dave Karofsky, and I’m Kurt Hummel. The two don’t go together. And they never will.”
“It always matters. That’s the only thing that matters,” Dave points out, and it hits Kurt hard that he might be right.
“Dave, I can’t. I can’t do this right now…” Kurt breathes desperately. But at the same time, he can’t bring himself to pull his hand out of Dave’s grasp. “I need to get going,” he tries again.
Nodding, Dave eventually lets go of Kurt. “Wear that red and black plaid shirt you wore during the Born This Way performance. It looks good on you…”
Weakly smiling, Kurt steps out of the car and turns back to Dave. “I will. Thanks again.”
“See you later, Kurt…” Dave says, putting his car into gear and backing out of the Hummels driveway. The car has already driven down the street and turned the corner, towards the direction of Karofsky’s house when Kurt finally manages to turn away from the street and head inside.
___
When Kurt finally pulls up to the park that allmixedup is supposed to meet him at, he’s wearing his red and black flannel shirt and a pair of jeans that surprisingly he doesn’t have to jump around to get into. As he puts the car into park and climbs out of it, his hands are trembling furiously. As he starts the trek out towards the old willow tree that he used to climb on with Tina and Puck when they were young, he shoves them into his pocket in an attempt to quell their shaking.
He’s only a few steps from the willow, which means he’s probably only a minute or two away from meeting the guy he’s practically sold his heart to over the internet. And yet, right now all he can see in his head is Dave and how shattered he seemed on the car ride back to Kurt’s. All this time, as Kurt is walking over to the tree, he’s half-expecting Dave to be there waiting.
But he’s not. Of course he’s not.
Taking a deep breath, he runs a hand through his hair, at which point he realizes that his hands are still shaking uncontrollably. He can’t show up and be nervous, because if he’s nervous, he won’t even be in control of his mouth and he’ll embarrass himself within a matter of three minutes.
Dave wouldn’t care…
He swears to himself, because the last thing that needs to be on his mind right now is Dave. He’s so close to everything that he’s been wanting over the past months, and he’s going to ruin it for himself.
The tree’s right there, and under it’s a bench. He can see the figure sitting on it, one leg crossed over the other and head bowed carefully. He’s dressed in a zip up sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, and that’s the sweatshirt from their first-
It can only be…
“Dave?”
Dave looks up, his lips twerking in a half-smile. “Hey Kurt.” By now, Kurt’s stopped walking completely, but like always, Dave’s taken over, standing up and walking to meet him in graceful strides.
“You…you’re…?” Kurt splutters, only because his brain can’t form coherent thoughts at this moment. Dave replies with a nod, and just like that it all clicks and Kurt can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner than right now. Everything he told Dave in person versus everything he told him over the web, the feelings he had for Dave Karofsky and the feelings he had for allmixedup…
“So you didn’t stand me up at the coffee shop originally?”
“I did not.”
Taking a step forward, this is still a bit too much for Kurt to comprehend. “Why haven’t you said anything?” He’s surprised at how relaxed his voice is. The smile on Dave’s face falters for a second, before he opens his mouth. Kurt sighs, pinching down on the bridge of his nose. “Never mind, I understand why you never said anything. I made that pretty clear this afternoon why…”
“I never wanted to lie to you, Kurt. I just-“ Dave takes another step closer to Kurt, to the point where they’re only inches apart.
“Then why did you?”
Dave frowns, turning his head away for a second. “Because I was scared,” he admits, and it’s probably in the most honest voice that Kurt’s heard from him. “I was afraid that I would lose you.” Stopping for a moment, Dave reaches for Kurt’s hand, encircling it in his own. Even through his own shaking hands, Kurt can feel Dave’s trembling against his own. “I couldn’t lose you, because I think I might be in love with you.”
“Oh my god,” Kurt blurts out, a shuddery laugh breaking his voice. This can’t be happening, it can’t be. Because this would mean that Kurt’s actually going to get everything that he wanted - that he won’t have to hurt anybody or lose anybody in the process. Or more importantly, have to hurt himself. It can’t be happening, because things like this don’t happen to Kurt. Kurt never gets what he wants.
“Please say something,” Dave eventually mutters.
“Fuck you, Dave…” Kurt whispers, because he can’t even bring himself to speak louder than it. Immediately, he feels Dave tense against him. “Fuck you for making me fall in love you, Dave Karofsky.”
With a stiff laugh, Dave admits, “I’m not sure if I can really apologize for that…”
“Fuck you,” Kurt repeats, starting to laugh as he squeezes Dave’s hand in his own. “I’m in love with you.”
Dave’s smiling, lifting his hand to run his thumb along Kurt’s jawbone. Kurt falls into the touch, and he’s already feeling that electricity tingling in between them. When Dave lets his hand fall against Kurt’s neck, letting it rest there for a moment, Kurt wonders if they’re both thinking the same thing.
They must’ve been, because after a beat of silence, their lips are crashing against one another in the painfully desperate way that’s such a contradiction to the kiss that they shared last Saturday night in the elevator. This one is filled with everything that has been unsaid between them since…well…
Since the locker room almost a year ago. Because if this kiss can be compared to anything, it’s that. It’s so filled with longing and passion and wanting that it leaves Kurt desperate for more. This time around, though, there’s nothing to stop the kiss. Dave is cradling Kurt’s face in his hands, holding him close and everything is so perfect that Kurt can’t believe that this is happening to him.
After what feels like an eternity of kissing under the willow tree, Kurt breaks apart from the kiss, pressing his forehead against Dave’s. “I wanted it to be you,” he admits, both to himself and Dave. Through it all, he can feel Dave smile against him, pressed softly on his skin. “All this time, I was hoping that it might’ve been you. Even with how much I was trying to hate you, and with everything that happened between us, ever since you showed up at the coffee shop that afternoon, something changed. You changed, and it made me want you instead of… well, instead of you. And I couldn’t even admit that to your face. I mean, how could I?”
“I don’t care… I don’t care about any of that, Kurt. I care about you.” Before Kurt can say anything else, Dave’s kissing him again. And as Kurt pulls him into a tight embrace, Kurt couldn’t see this with any other outcome.
EPiLOGUE
When Dave walks up to Kurt’s locker, where Kurt’s currently talking to Finn, he can’t help but feel, well, happy. And that’s saying a lot - for him, at least. Considering everything that he’s been through in the last year, and considering most of all that he’s Dave Karofsky - happy endings have never really been in his future. But when he looks down the hallway and sees Kurt standing there and realizes that this is his reality now - it’s not just a figment of his imagination - Dave thinks that maybe he can get used to endings like this. At least, as long as they have Kurt in them.
When he walks up to the locker, he puts his hand gently on Kurt’s shoulder, who immediately spins around from his conversation with Finn. “Oh, hi!” he exclaims, leaning over to quickly give Dave a peck on the lips. “I was wondering where you were!”
“Just taking care of some stuff,” Dave says, nodding a greeting to Finn, who’s looking at both of them with a smirk on his face. “Hey, Finn,” Dave tries, a tone of caution at the end of his voice.
“Hey Dave. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go meet up with Rachel to talk about some of the stuff for Nationals. I’ll see you two later, okay?” Finn says as he slams his locker shut, clapping a hand onto one of Kurt’s forearms.
“Finn,” Dave calls out as an afterthought, catching the other boy just as he’s about to turn away and walk down the hall. When Finn stops, there’s a momentary look on confusion on his face as he waits for Dave to finish his sentence. Dave bites down on his lip cautiously, before saying to Finn, “Say hi to Rachel for me, would you?”
There’s a question imprinted on Finn’s features, before he breaks out in a smile, nodding and walking down the hall.
“What in the world was that?” Kurt says, raising an eyebrow elegantly as he continues shoving the last of his books into his locker. “Since when did the sun relocate to shining out of your ass?”
Dave pushes him playfully, only to then wrap the arm around Kurt’s waist. “Well, I figure if I can get your brother on my side, then getting Hudson’s mom can’t be that hard. And after that, well, your father won’t stand a chance when it’s three on one…”
Kurt’s smiling at him by now, closing his locker as he completely turns to face him. “Really?”
Dave groans mock dramatically, though he’s still grinning. “So I want your stepbrother and his girlfriend to like me, is that such a horrible thing?” By now, both of his arms are around Kurt’s waist, and Kurt’s stretching his long arms to wrap themselves in an embrace around Dave’s neck.
Never once did Dave picture this happening. He may have thought that he wanted to be with Kurt, but not like this. Where they were just - together. And able to be together with no one trying to stop them. When they were able to just be. Because as they’re locked in this embrace in the middle of the main hallway, which is currently frantic with half of the entire school, no one has even bothered to say anything to them.
Which is how it should be.
“I think it’s adorable, and only a little bit nauseating,” Kurt admits before catching Dave’s lips in his own again.
“Speaking of nauseatingly adorable,” Dave starts, untangling himself from Kurt’s grip, he reaches into his back pocket. “This is what I was taking care of earlier.” He places the ticket into Kurt’s open palm, waiting for the appropriate reaction.
Kurt’s laughing before he even realizes what is now sitting in his hand. Slowly, he turns the ticket over in his hand a few times, almost like he’s making sure that it’s a real ticket that’s made for the real prom that’s was really bought by Dave. When he looks back up at Dave, the smile has slipped from his lips. “Are you serious?” he mumbles.
“Well, it only makes sense for two of McKinley most attractive to make an appearance at what could be one of the most sinfully boring events of our high school career. It’s up to us to make sure that it’s not…”
As Kurt looks back down at the ticket again carefully, Dave finally knows why this is really it; why this is going to work out for the both of them. Because when one of them falls, the other rises to the occasion to make sure it all works out. Because they are - and months ago, if anyone had ever said this to him he’d have thrown him into a dumpster - actually really compatible.
And because they just work. It might’ve taken them months to get here, but at least they did.
Kurt slips the ticket into his bag before sliding his hand into Dave’s. As he starts to pull Dave through the hallway, he leans over and whispers into his ear “You’re going to look really hot in a tux, you know that?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have bought the tickets if I didn’t. I mean, you’re going to need to have someone that looks good to bring with you. Arm candy, you know?”
Breaking out in a smile, Kurt links his arm through Dave’s. “My boyfriend. Always thinking about the needs of others.”
Starting to laugh, Dave pulls Kurt into one of the alcoves of the hallway, feeling strangely light at the weirdness of how normal this is feeling. “I had a thought. Or, an idea of some sort.”
“Hmm?” Kurt prompts playfully.
“Well, every other normal couple takes pictures before prom. They stand outside in their yard and pose for their parents and pose with their date and pose with their dog and pose with everything they’ve ever owned… “
“Oh yeah? Then what do you propose?”
“Clearly, we’re not ordinary in any way. I mean, you’re extraordinarily unordinary,” Dave pointed out, to which Kurt flushed a light shade of pink, a smile creeping up on his face. “And if I’m going to prom, I’m making it an event that’ll go down in history. So. I think we should get our prom pictures taken by Hayden.”
Kurt pauses, the smile still on his face before he bursts out laughing. Dave smiles back, because this pretty much was the reaction he was expecting. But when Kurt buries his face in the crook of Dave’s neck in an attempt to quell his laughter, it just reminds him that this isn’t some kind of a dream.
This is real.
“You’re such a pervert,” Kurt says, shaking his head.
Dave shrugs easily. “Yeah, but notice that you haven’t said no to it yet. And besides, you wouldn’t love me any other way.”
“That is definitely true. To the last part, I mean. Not the pictures…” Kurt tries, waving his hand before he grabs onto Dave’s again and starts to head out towards the parking lot.
The best part about this whole thing? Dave doesn’t even have to think twice about the honesty of Kurt’s answer.
He just knows.