Title: Right Now
Fandom: Glee
Author:
flyingcarpet, formerly r_becca
Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: teen
Length: 1200 words
Summary: In a month from now, two months from now, things will be different. They will be different because of this moment. This is the moment that will lead to all other moments for Kurt and Blaine.
Author's Notes: Contains spoilers through 2x16. Thanks to
spazzula and
lyras for beta-reading.
Additional notes: This story has been
recorded as podfic by
winkingstar and remixed by
escritoireazul:
Arpeggio (the Broken Chord of Love Remix).
Three months from now, the William McKinley High School Junior-Senior Prom will be an explosion of tackiness the height of which Kurt Hummel has never experienced before. He will look around the ballroom of the Lima Hilton and take in the crepe paper and balloon arch, and he will love every minute of it, despite his offended sensibilities.
A big banner with the words A Night to Remember in glittery gold script will hang over the photo area. The photographer's eyebrows will shoot up as Kurt and Blaine pose in front of the ridiculous moonlit gazebo in the backdrop, but Kurt will narrow his eyes in a glare and he won't say anything. Kurt will wrap his arm around Blaine's shoulders, and Blaine will press one hand to the small of Kurt's back, and they will lean together and smile for the camera and preserve this moment forever.
Later, they will slip away from the dance when Mr. Schue is more focused on Ms. Pillsbury-Howell than on his chaperoning duties. Kurt will lead Blaine by the hand to the elevators, and when they step inside, he will push the button for the eleventh floor.
"Kurt?" Blaine will ask, just a little confused. "What are we doing up here?"
When Kurt leads him into the hotel room and kisses him up against the door, Blaine will get the idea.
----------
Two months from now, Kurt will buy two coffees and wait at their usual table. It will not be any different from any other day at the Lima Bean, but he will feel horribly nervous nonetheless.
When Blaine arrives, he will get into line and Kurt will hold up the two paper cups to demonstrate that he already ordered for both of them, and when Blaine walks over to the table he will have a big, bright smile on his face. "Thanks, Kurt," he will say, looking surprised and happy and it will be obvious that he wasn't expecting it at all. Kurt will know how he feels; he won't really know how to be anyone's boyfriend any more than he does now.
That's what he will be, though: Blaine's boyfriend. And being a boyfriend will be wonderful, but it will also be nerve-wracking in ways that Kurt does not fully appreciate yet. Sitting at that table in the Lima Bean, with two coffees in his hands, Kurt will begin to understand just how difficult this whole 'boyfriends' thing is.
"Is one of those for me?" Blaine will ask, and Kurt won't know what he's talking about at first, until he realizes that he's clutching both coffees tightly and not handing either of them over. He will feel unspeakably awkward for a moment, until he has an idea.
"Maybe," he will say. "That all depends."
"Depends on what?" Blaine will ask as he sits down, immediately willing to play Kurt's silly little conversational games, and Kurt will have to fight the urge to just sit there and gaze at his boyfriend in silent adoration.
"On whether you'll go to prom with me," Kurt will answer, smiling to cover his nerves.
There will be no need to worry, though, and Kurt really should anticipate that. "Of course I will," Blaine will say, reaching out and clasping Kurt's hand on top of the table. The coffee will sit beside them and grow cold, and neither of them will even notice.
----------
One month from now, Blaine will find Kurt in the small study room off the East Wing. Kurt will sit in shocked silence, his eyes wide as he listens to what Blaine has to say.
It will be nothing less than a declaration of love, although that single little word won't be uttered by either of them just yet.
Blaine will confess that he was looking for an excuse to spend more time with Kurt, that he feels like he's been looking for Kurt his whole life. And possibly best of all, in a voice that sounds as though he can hardly contain all the emotion he's feeling, he will say, "You move me, Kurt," and Kurt will feel as though he, too, has been swept away.
----------
Two days from now, it will be Valentine's Day. Blaine will still be feeling a little bitter about the whole enterprise, and to Kurt's surprise, he won't feel the same way. Of course, he will wish that things were different, that his confession elicited a declaration from Blaine as well. But realistically, he will know that these things take time. Blaine's heart will still be broken, or at least bruised.
Kurt has always been honest with Blaine, and things will not have changed in that respect. But honesty will not always smooth their communication. If anything, honesty will make things more difficult between them. And that will never be more true than when Kurt is standing in Breadstix in his Dalton blazer, going over the set list with the Warblers.
The concept of the lonely hearts dinner will call for a very specific type of song, one which will fit Kurt's disillusioned-yet-hopeful mood perfectly. Explaining those songs to Blaine, without sounding like he's haranguing him, will be a very delicate operation. Throughout the conversation, David will be smiling gently at him and Kurt will be filled with a sneaking dread that David knows exactly what he feels for Blaine. Kurt won't be worried about him abusing his knowledge, because he will know that David is a good guy, but he'll feel awkward about it anyway.
Then again, maybe organizing a lonely hearts dinner and inviting all of his friends won't be the best way to avoid any awkwardness.
----------
Right now, Kurt takes a deep breath and speaks as honestly as he can. "I thought the guy you wanted to ask out on Valentine's Day... was me." He looks Blaine right in the eye as he says it, keeping his voice calm and even. It's not an accusation or a dramatic freak-out, it's just two friends talking about a misunderstanding between them.
Right now, Blaine opens his eyes and looks at Kurt. For the first time, he truly sees his friend: not just what he is, but what he could be. What they could be, together. And it scares him.
"The truth is," Blaine confesses, "I've never really been anyone's boyfriend."
"Me neither," Kurt says gently. Of course Blaine knows that, but hearing it reminds him that he's not the only one who's inexperienced. He may not know what to do, or how to avoid messing things up, but Kurt is in exactly the same place he is.
They're not alone in this. And somehow, that makes it all right.
It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow, or even next week, but sometime soon Kurt and Blaine will find their way together.