His Perfect Partner (12/?)
Title: His Perfect Partner (12/?)
Rating: R
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, with appearances by Burt/Carole, Tina/Mike, Mercedes/Sam, Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Finn
Spoilers: None, but assume that anything through 3.14 is fair game for inspiration.
Word Count: 3142
Summary: After five disappointing seasons on the show, professional dancer Kurt Hummel finally has his chance at ballroom glory. With actress and fan favorite Kim Schrodinger as his partner, Kurt vows to channel all his focus into winning that mirrorball trophy - distractions, including men, be damned. Enter Blaine Anderson, a gorgeous, confusing pop star who may turn out to be the biggest distraction of them all.
In This Chapter: Kurt and Kim discover the wonders of waltz therapy, Kurt makes room for Blaine in his show-day schedule, and Blaine finds Kurt's performance particularly moving.
Author's Note: This is a Dancing with the Stars/Glee crossover AU, in which Kurt grew up dancing and became a professional on the show in his mid-twenties, and Blaine is a pop star with a very private private life. Other familiar Glee faces, some actual DWTS pros, and a couple of OCs appear to round out the cast of characters. I'll be posting twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. I have a master glee post here, or follow my bff's tumblr for updates and some fun multi-media extras that will go along with many chapters. Thanks to
samzgurl,
wintercreek, and
gypsyangel25 for the beta as well as for general cheer-leading and fun times.
When Kim got to the studio the next morning for their final rehearsal before dress, she took one look at Kurt and opened her arms without saying a word.
“I’ve been here since six,” he said into her shoulder, not caring that he had to bend at an awkward angle to cuddle close. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Something happened,” Kim said, stroking Kurt’s hair back off his forehead. “What was it?”
In fits and starts, Kurt explained everything from the moment Kim had left him the previous night until she’d found him a few minutes ago. His mind was still a muddled mess, and he didn’t totally know why. To her credit, Kim didn’t try to fix it for him. She just listened and patted him and then suggested that they waltz it out. She truly was a quick study.
The piece they were performing on the show the next night was one of the best ones Kurt thought he’d ever choreographed. They were waltzing to Morning Has Broken, and he’d insisted on rehearsing to the version by Cat Stevens, which his mother had loved. They’d never been a particularly religious family, choosing instead to express their awe and wonder and joy through music and dance. When he was little, his mother used to dance around the living room with Kurt in her arms while his father watched from the couch. When Morning Has Broken came on, she would drag Burt up too so that they could all sway together. Looking back, Kurt realized that those moments gave him the same feeling that others got from worship or prayer. To this day, the song still made him feel grateful for all the wonderful moments in his life and offered him solace to survive the difficult ones. He’d tried to put a bit of that feeling into his choreography, and it felt like he’d succeeded.
Sunlight streamed through the large studio windows as they danced, and Kurt began to feel himself relax into the movement and the message he was trying to convey. Kim moved gracefully within the circle of his arms as they swept around the floor. Kurt could almost see the swirl of her costume’s skirt - a deep rose that faded into yellow, like the sunrise. He let himself go a bit, letting the motion carry them rather than worrying about the precision of their steps. When they came to the end, a quick series of steps followed by a long, fluid stretch with Kim’s head and arms reaching back toward the floor, Kurt focused only on the feeling of wholeness the dance gave him rather than the lingering uncertainties his personal life currently had to offer.
Once Kim stood back up from their ending pose, she kissed him on the cheek and smiled. Kurt whispered his thanks before walking away to start their music again.
Kim stuck close to him for the rest of the day, carrying the conversation when Blaine came by to chat like everything was normal. She was the one to offer feedback following their rehearsal, which had actually gone quite well, and she brushed aside Kurt’s apologies for being distracted. She told him she knew he’d be totally on the next night, and that was all that mattered. Then she invited him over for an evening pool party at her house so the kids could exhaust him. By the time he crawled into bed that night, Kurt felt like he had a decent shot at actual sleep and a good, focused performance the next day.
Monday morning he was up before the sun, as he always was on performance days. He dug his toes into the sand and watched first light brighten the beach all around him, contemplating how to respond to the text Blaine had sent at 3am about how the taco truck he’d found for a late-night snack was nowhere near as good as the one he’d taken Kurt to. “Guess you shouldn’t hunt for great meals without me” seemed a little too forward, and “what on earth were you doing awake at 3am on a show day?” was a bit too parental. He settled for “perhaps your taste buds were asleep and trying to tell you something,” which seemed like a decent cross between the two.
No more than five minutes later, Blaine replied, asking why Kurt was awake and managing pointed comments at barely 7am. Before Kurt could talk himself out of it, he scrolled through his contacts to find Blaine’s number and pressed send.
“The real question,” Kurt began, when Blaine answered with a sleepy hello, “is what you’re doing awake again not that many hours after you were out taco hunting.”
“I sleep strangely when I’m performing. I was exhausted last night, so I went to bed really early. And then I was awake and hungry at three. I took another nap after that, though, so I think I’m fully rested,” Blaine said.
“You think? Bitsy’s not going to be happy with you only thinking you’ve gotten enough sleep.”
“Oh, it’ll be fine. She already knows my methods are a little unorthodox.” Blaine yawned, but he was starting to sound more like his usual buoyant self. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you up? And where are you, anyway? It sounds like you’re outside.”
“I’m always up by this time on show days. And I’m at the beach. I like to watch the sunrise.”
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Blaine said, and Kurt could tell he was smiling. “Does your busy sunrise-watching show day ritual have any space in it for breakfast? Because I keep hearing about this amazing diner that we should test out.”
“How are you even hungry? Didn’t you just have tacos five minutes ago?”
“More like five hours ago, but that’s not the point. Breakfast?”
“I suppose,” Kurt said, grinning. He was glad they were on the phone and Blaine couldn’t see him.
“Excellent! I love breakfast.”
“I think you just love food in general.”
“That too,” Blaine said. “So I’ll text you the details and meet you there in half an hour, ok?”
“Sure,” Kurt said. They hung up, and Kurt sighed as he began to rearrange the schedule he kept in his head to account for unreasonably charming boys who insisted on having breakfast with him. Kim was going to give him such a hard time for this, and he would totally deserve it. Strangely enough, he didn’t really care.
***
Breakfast was delicious, as Kurt had come to expect from meals organized by Blaine. The diner was part greasy spoon and part vegetarian adventure, which meant that Kurt got something he could actually digest while stealing home fries off of Blaine’s plate. It was a compromise that seemed to work for them both, somehow.
Kurt gave over an hour and a half of his precious show day schedule to Blaine and breakfast, which Kim made note of - loudly and in Cedes’ hearing - when Kurt finally made it over to the hair and makeup trailer later that morning. Luckily, they were the only cast members in there at the time, so Kurt was able to suffer through their teasing without a big, gossipy audience.
“The thing I don’t get,” Cedes said as she curled Kim’s hair into long waves, “is why you’re not more stupid giddy over this whole thing. I get that your last relationship ended badly - trust me, I do - but still.”
“He should maybe be a little bit excited about a sweet, hot guy taking him out for meals and dancing with him and giving him precious little kisses on the cheek?” Kim asked.
“Exactly. So spill, K. What is your deal?” Cedes brandished her curling iron in his general direction.
“I…don’t know,” Kurt said, frowning over at them both. “Part of it is not being able to read him, at all. First I couldn’t figure out if he was gay or not, and now I can’t tell the difference between overly friendly and interested. I feel like something’s wrong with me.”
“You’re interested - that’s what’s wrong with you,” Cedes said. “You’re good at reading people when it doesn’t matter, but when you care? It’s like you can’t see or hear a thing.”
“So when it comes to Blaine, Kurt is Helen Keller and we’re his Anne Sullivan?” Kim asked.
“That is wildly inappropriate,” Kurt said.
“But not wrong!” Cedes said. “Seems like you can use a guide or two or three to get you through this.”
“And you two and Tina have signed up for the job, apparently,” Kurt said.
“You’re welcome, darling,” Kim said, winking at him. “But seriously, what’s holding you back? He seems like a really good guy, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No, I know he is. He seems kind of horrifically perfect, actually. But right now I don’t trust myself to judge that accurately.”
“Ok, I’m going to get serious for a little bit,” Kim said, waving Cedes into the chair next to her. “As someone who’s been married for a while, I know that trust is essential, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to build that part, day by day. So it’s ok to think he’s great, and it’s ok to take your time figuring all that out.”
“It’s also ok to enjoy the ride,” Cedes added. “Just because the last guy was an idiot doesn’t mean this one is. And if you’re that worried, you can always ask him.”
“Ask him what?”
“Well, what his intentions are, I suppose. Unless you’d rather we do it for you.” Cedes giggled.
“Oh, no thank you. I can handle that myself,” Kurt said, shooting them both a quelling look. “But not today. We still have to compete today, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“How could I forget?” Kim asked. “It’s dress-up day!”
“You’re four, I swear,” Kurt said. Just like that, the serious moment was over. He felt better, though, and he promised himself he’d man up and actually talk to Blaine soon, so he could stop mooning around like some love-struck teenager. “C’mon, Pretty Pretty Princess, let’s go rehearse.”
Kurt got up to drag Kim along to the ballroom, but first he stopped to kiss Cedes’ cheek and promise her that yes, he was fine, and yes, he’d take care of things before she had to take matters into her own hands. He knew her well enough to know that she meant business, which was a big motivation.
He saw Blaine numerous times during the course of the day, but Kurt steered clear with a wave and smile, intent on focusing on the first order of business, which was kicking ass on stage. He slowed down long enough to grab lunch with Finn and Rachel, letting their random chatter wash over him while he visualized a great performance. They were both used to him spacing out on them on show days, so lunch was remarkably peaceful.
The usual pre-show chaos kept Kurt caught up for the rest of the afternoon, and then somehow it was 5pm and Kim was standing next to him looking beautiful as Tom opened the show. They were going last, so Kurt had almost two hours to kill before he could focus on their performance. He took the opportunity to really study the other competitors, because over the next week or two, the competition would be getting increasingly serious. He wanted to be ready to pull out all the stops.
Puck and Lacey opened the show with a jive to Hot for Teacher, which was one of the more ridiculous things Kurt had seen. They made it work, though, and Lacey was all smiles when she got back to the Celebraquarium. She took the seat next to Kurt, facing the stage, so that they could compare notes.
They pronounced Quinn and Mark’s jive cute and fun, while Joe and Brit as well as Rory and Tina only got a couple of winces and a ‘thank god they survived that’ following their jives. When Brit and Tina joined them to watch, they could only agree with Kurt and Lacey’s assessments. It hadn’t been an easy week for either one of them. Matt and Chelsie’s waltz was forgettable, which was unfortunate for them but not unexpected. Matt seemed to fade into the background more often than not, which typically served him well as a character actor, but not out on the dance floor. Kurt and the girls agreed that his days were numbered.
Santana and Maks were up next with a startlingly beautiful waltz. Brit cheered loudly when they were finished, confiding to Kurt that she’d helped Santana with the finer points of grace and flow required to pull it off. Kurt made a mental note to confer with Maks to figure out what exactly Santana’s intentions were with Brittany. Santana seemed a little harsh and blunt for his Brit, but that didn’t necessarily mean a relationship wouldn’t work between them.
Blaine and Bitsy headed for the floor as Santana and Maks finished, Blaine pausing to smile over at Kurt before Bitsy pulled him away. All of the girls cooed audibly, but Kurt shushed them and focused on Blaine’s jive. Blaine looked adorable in his highwater pants with no socks and a bright white shirt with a sparkly bowtie. Even Kurt could admit that Bitsy was cute in her flouncy skirt and spectator-style jive shoes, which perfectly matched the tone of their song. The number was old-school jive, full of flicks and kicks and spins. Blaine was endearingly goofy and bright as he performed, his footwork light and his smile huge. Kurt could practically feel the entire audience falling in love with the dance and with Blaine. He couldn’t really fault them for the sentiment.
The moment their number ended, the whole place exploded with applause, and Kurt got up to grab Kim for some warm-ups. They’d be up as soon as Blaine and Bitsy got their scores and Lauren and Mike finished their waltz.
Backstage, Kurt and Kim stretched in silence, settling into the mental state required for performance. They came together briefly, as had become their habit, breathing as one and talking through the emotion of what they were doing without worrying about technique. Kurt took Kim on one quick turn around the space, checking for balance and frame, and then they walked back out to take the floor, hand in hand.
“How do you feel?” Kurt asked as their pre-performance video package began to play.
“Good,” Kim replied immediately. “Relaxed, in the moment, and ready to be graceful and expressive. How do you feel?”
“Happy that you can repeat what I’ve been telling you all week back to me,” Kurt joked, squeezing her hand. “But seriously, I’m great. This is going to be gorgeous. Just let the music and the movement take you away.”
“Absolutely.”
Kim twirled into him so that her back was to his front and they were cuddled together for their opening pose. Kurt rested his hands on her shoulders, ready to begin. He pressed his cheek against her hair and closed his eyes briefly. When the music began, he opened them again to see a space that only he and Kim inhabited. Nothing mattered but the two of them and the story they told.
Kurt looked at Kim as they skimmed across the floor, and she smiled back at him, her expression full of serenity and joy. He could tell she felt beautiful, and her footwork was flawless as well. Kurt knew this was a performance that would keep people talking, regardless of their actual scores. He grinned and then let himself sink back into the dance, soaking up the moment as it unfolded.
By the time the music ended, Kurt had been on a journey of a thousand mental miles, remembering his mother and his childhood and his love of dance with every step. He pulled Kim back up from their final pose, and he only realized he had teared up a little when she wiped gently at the corners of his eyes and rubbed his cheek with hers affectionately.
“You’re a true talent, sweetheart,” she said. “Thank you for that.”
“Thank you,” he said. “You were wonderful.”
“Only because you help make me that way.”
Kim took his hand and led the way to Tom and the judges. Kurt was sure that all three of them said insane and mostly complimentary things, but he didn’t really care. They had performed what they set out to, and that was what was important.
Kurt and Kim floated back up to the Celebraquarium for their scores, which were suitably impressive, and then let themselves be herded back down with the other couples to close out the show. Kurt slipped backstage after they were off the air, heading down a little-used corridor to give himself a few minutes alone before post-show press began. It had been a hell of a night - a hell of a performance - and he needed a moment to process it so he could make sense in interviews.
He was just walking into an empty lounge when he felt a familiar hand grab his.
“Kurt.” When he turned around, Blaine was there, staring at him with dark, intense eyes. Kurt’s breath caught and held, and he stared back, not sure what to say.
“Hi,” he finally managed, taking a step back as Blaine crowded him up against the open door, his hands settling at Kurt’s hips.
“I watched you dance,” Blaine said, as his thumbs rubbed distracting circles into the skin above Kurt’s hipbones. “I mean, I always watch you dance, but tonight…I don’t think I’ve ever been as moved by a performance as I was by yours.”
“Thank you,” Kurt breathed. His hands skimmed tentatively up Blaine’s arms to his shoulders, resting lightly there. He felt Blaine shift, moving closer.
“You captivate me,” Blaine said, the words like a prayer in the hushed stillness of the room. He released Kurt’s hips and brought his hands up to cradle Kurt’s jaw, holding his gaze for a long moment. “Please let me kiss you.”
Kurt’s eyes closed in reaction to the plaintive tone in Blaine’s voice, his hands reaching up to grip Blaine’s wrists and tug him closer in silent assent. He felt Blaine let out a shuddering breath, and then Blaine’s lips were on his. Everything was warmth and sensation and want, and Kurt willingly let Blaine drag him under.
Kurt had been kissed many, many times, but nothing had ever felt quite like this. Blaine kissed like he did everything - with total focus and joyful abandon, attending to every detail and losing himself in the moment. Kurt slid his hands back over Blaine’s shoulders and held on, letting the feelings and sensations wash over him. He never wanted this to end.
Rating: R
Pairings: Kurt/Blaine, with appearances by Burt/Carole, Tina/Mike, Mercedes/Sam, Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Finn
Spoilers: None, but assume that anything through 3.14 is fair game for inspiration.
Word Count: 3142
Summary: After five disappointing seasons on the show, professional dancer Kurt Hummel finally has his chance at ballroom glory. With actress and fan favorite Kim Schrodinger as his partner, Kurt vows to channel all his focus into winning that mirrorball trophy - distractions, including men, be damned. Enter Blaine Anderson, a gorgeous, confusing pop star who may turn out to be the biggest distraction of them all.
In This Chapter: Kurt and Kim discover the wonders of waltz therapy, Kurt makes room for Blaine in his show-day schedule, and Blaine finds Kurt's performance particularly moving.
Author's Note: This is a Dancing with the Stars/Glee crossover AU, in which Kurt grew up dancing and became a professional on the show in his mid-twenties, and Blaine is a pop star with a very private private life. Other familiar Glee faces, some actual DWTS pros, and a couple of OCs appear to round out the cast of characters. I'll be posting twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. I have a master glee post here, or follow my bff's tumblr for updates and some fun multi-media extras that will go along with many chapters. Thanks to
samzgurl,
wintercreek, and
gypsyangel25 for the beta as well as for general cheer-leading and fun times.
When Kim got to the studio the next morning for their final rehearsal before dress, she took one look at Kurt and opened her arms without saying a word.
“I’ve been here since six,” he said into her shoulder, not caring that he had to bend at an awkward angle to cuddle close. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Something happened,” Kim said, stroking Kurt’s hair back off his forehead. “What was it?”
In fits and starts, Kurt explained everything from the moment Kim had left him the previous night until she’d found him a few minutes ago. His mind was still a muddled mess, and he didn’t totally know why. To her credit, Kim didn’t try to fix it for him. She just listened and patted him and then suggested that they waltz it out. She truly was a quick study.
The piece they were performing on the show the next night was one of the best ones Kurt thought he’d ever choreographed. They were waltzing to Morning Has Broken, and he’d insisted on rehearsing to the version by Cat Stevens, which his mother had loved. They’d never been a particularly religious family, choosing instead to express their awe and wonder and joy through music and dance. When he was little, his mother used to dance around the living room with Kurt in her arms while his father watched from the couch. When Morning Has Broken came on, she would drag Burt up too so that they could all sway together. Looking back, Kurt realized that those moments gave him the same feeling that others got from worship or prayer. To this day, the song still made him feel grateful for all the wonderful moments in his life and offered him solace to survive the difficult ones. He’d tried to put a bit of that feeling into his choreography, and it felt like he’d succeeded.
Sunlight streamed through the large studio windows as they danced, and Kurt began to feel himself relax into the movement and the message he was trying to convey. Kim moved gracefully within the circle of his arms as they swept around the floor. Kurt could almost see the swirl of her costume’s skirt - a deep rose that faded into yellow, like the sunrise. He let himself go a bit, letting the motion carry them rather than worrying about the precision of their steps. When they came to the end, a quick series of steps followed by a long, fluid stretch with Kim’s head and arms reaching back toward the floor, Kurt focused only on the feeling of wholeness the dance gave him rather than the lingering uncertainties his personal life currently had to offer.
Once Kim stood back up from their ending pose, she kissed him on the cheek and smiled. Kurt whispered his thanks before walking away to start their music again.
Kim stuck close to him for the rest of the day, carrying the conversation when Blaine came by to chat like everything was normal. She was the one to offer feedback following their rehearsal, which had actually gone quite well, and she brushed aside Kurt’s apologies for being distracted. She told him she knew he’d be totally on the next night, and that was all that mattered. Then she invited him over for an evening pool party at her house so the kids could exhaust him. By the time he crawled into bed that night, Kurt felt like he had a decent shot at actual sleep and a good, focused performance the next day.
Monday morning he was up before the sun, as he always was on performance days. He dug his toes into the sand and watched first light brighten the beach all around him, contemplating how to respond to the text Blaine had sent at 3am about how the taco truck he’d found for a late-night snack was nowhere near as good as the one he’d taken Kurt to. “Guess you shouldn’t hunt for great meals without me” seemed a little too forward, and “what on earth were you doing awake at 3am on a show day?” was a bit too parental. He settled for “perhaps your taste buds were asleep and trying to tell you something,” which seemed like a decent cross between the two.
No more than five minutes later, Blaine replied, asking why Kurt was awake and managing pointed comments at barely 7am. Before Kurt could talk himself out of it, he scrolled through his contacts to find Blaine’s number and pressed send.
“The real question,” Kurt began, when Blaine answered with a sleepy hello, “is what you’re doing awake again not that many hours after you were out taco hunting.”
“I sleep strangely when I’m performing. I was exhausted last night, so I went to bed really early. And then I was awake and hungry at three. I took another nap after that, though, so I think I’m fully rested,” Blaine said.
“You think? Bitsy’s not going to be happy with you only thinking you’ve gotten enough sleep.”
“Oh, it’ll be fine. She already knows my methods are a little unorthodox.” Blaine yawned, but he was starting to sound more like his usual buoyant self. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you up? And where are you, anyway? It sounds like you’re outside.”
“I’m always up by this time on show days. And I’m at the beach. I like to watch the sunrise.”
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Blaine said, and Kurt could tell he was smiling. “Does your busy sunrise-watching show day ritual have any space in it for breakfast? Because I keep hearing about this amazing diner that we should test out.”
“How are you even hungry? Didn’t you just have tacos five minutes ago?”
“More like five hours ago, but that’s not the point. Breakfast?”
“I suppose,” Kurt said, grinning. He was glad they were on the phone and Blaine couldn’t see him.
“Excellent! I love breakfast.”
“I think you just love food in general.”
“That too,” Blaine said. “So I’ll text you the details and meet you there in half an hour, ok?”
“Sure,” Kurt said. They hung up, and Kurt sighed as he began to rearrange the schedule he kept in his head to account for unreasonably charming boys who insisted on having breakfast with him. Kim was going to give him such a hard time for this, and he would totally deserve it. Strangely enough, he didn’t really care.
***
Breakfast was delicious, as Kurt had come to expect from meals organized by Blaine. The diner was part greasy spoon and part vegetarian adventure, which meant that Kurt got something he could actually digest while stealing home fries off of Blaine’s plate. It was a compromise that seemed to work for them both, somehow.
Kurt gave over an hour and a half of his precious show day schedule to Blaine and breakfast, which Kim made note of - loudly and in Cedes’ hearing - when Kurt finally made it over to the hair and makeup trailer later that morning. Luckily, they were the only cast members in there at the time, so Kurt was able to suffer through their teasing without a big, gossipy audience.
“The thing I don’t get,” Cedes said as she curled Kim’s hair into long waves, “is why you’re not more stupid giddy over this whole thing. I get that your last relationship ended badly - trust me, I do - but still.”
“He should maybe be a little bit excited about a sweet, hot guy taking him out for meals and dancing with him and giving him precious little kisses on the cheek?” Kim asked.
“Exactly. So spill, K. What is your deal?” Cedes brandished her curling iron in his general direction.
“I…don’t know,” Kurt said, frowning over at them both. “Part of it is not being able to read him, at all. First I couldn’t figure out if he was gay or not, and now I can’t tell the difference between overly friendly and interested. I feel like something’s wrong with me.”
“You’re interested - that’s what’s wrong with you,” Cedes said. “You’re good at reading people when it doesn’t matter, but when you care? It’s like you can’t see or hear a thing.”
“So when it comes to Blaine, Kurt is Helen Keller and we’re his Anne Sullivan?” Kim asked.
“That is wildly inappropriate,” Kurt said.
“But not wrong!” Cedes said. “Seems like you can use a guide or two or three to get you through this.”
“And you two and Tina have signed up for the job, apparently,” Kurt said.
“You’re welcome, darling,” Kim said, winking at him. “But seriously, what’s holding you back? He seems like a really good guy, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No, I know he is. He seems kind of horrifically perfect, actually. But right now I don’t trust myself to judge that accurately.”
“Ok, I’m going to get serious for a little bit,” Kim said, waving Cedes into the chair next to her. “As someone who’s been married for a while, I know that trust is essential, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to build that part, day by day. So it’s ok to think he’s great, and it’s ok to take your time figuring all that out.”
“It’s also ok to enjoy the ride,” Cedes added. “Just because the last guy was an idiot doesn’t mean this one is. And if you’re that worried, you can always ask him.”
“Ask him what?”
“Well, what his intentions are, I suppose. Unless you’d rather we do it for you.” Cedes giggled.
“Oh, no thank you. I can handle that myself,” Kurt said, shooting them both a quelling look. “But not today. We still have to compete today, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“How could I forget?” Kim asked. “It’s dress-up day!”
“You’re four, I swear,” Kurt said. Just like that, the serious moment was over. He felt better, though, and he promised himself he’d man up and actually talk to Blaine soon, so he could stop mooning around like some love-struck teenager. “C’mon, Pretty Pretty Princess, let’s go rehearse.”
Kurt got up to drag Kim along to the ballroom, but first he stopped to kiss Cedes’ cheek and promise her that yes, he was fine, and yes, he’d take care of things before she had to take matters into her own hands. He knew her well enough to know that she meant business, which was a big motivation.
He saw Blaine numerous times during the course of the day, but Kurt steered clear with a wave and smile, intent on focusing on the first order of business, which was kicking ass on stage. He slowed down long enough to grab lunch with Finn and Rachel, letting their random chatter wash over him while he visualized a great performance. They were both used to him spacing out on them on show days, so lunch was remarkably peaceful.
The usual pre-show chaos kept Kurt caught up for the rest of the afternoon, and then somehow it was 5pm and Kim was standing next to him looking beautiful as Tom opened the show. They were going last, so Kurt had almost two hours to kill before he could focus on their performance. He took the opportunity to really study the other competitors, because over the next week or two, the competition would be getting increasingly serious. He wanted to be ready to pull out all the stops.
Puck and Lacey opened the show with a jive to Hot for Teacher, which was one of the more ridiculous things Kurt had seen. They made it work, though, and Lacey was all smiles when she got back to the Celebraquarium. She took the seat next to Kurt, facing the stage, so that they could compare notes.
They pronounced Quinn and Mark’s jive cute and fun, while Joe and Brit as well as Rory and Tina only got a couple of winces and a ‘thank god they survived that’ following their jives. When Brit and Tina joined them to watch, they could only agree with Kurt and Lacey’s assessments. It hadn’t been an easy week for either one of them. Matt and Chelsie’s waltz was forgettable, which was unfortunate for them but not unexpected. Matt seemed to fade into the background more often than not, which typically served him well as a character actor, but not out on the dance floor. Kurt and the girls agreed that his days were numbered.
Santana and Maks were up next with a startlingly beautiful waltz. Brit cheered loudly when they were finished, confiding to Kurt that she’d helped Santana with the finer points of grace and flow required to pull it off. Kurt made a mental note to confer with Maks to figure out what exactly Santana’s intentions were with Brittany. Santana seemed a little harsh and blunt for his Brit, but that didn’t necessarily mean a relationship wouldn’t work between them.
Blaine and Bitsy headed for the floor as Santana and Maks finished, Blaine pausing to smile over at Kurt before Bitsy pulled him away. All of the girls cooed audibly, but Kurt shushed them and focused on Blaine’s jive. Blaine looked adorable in his highwater pants with no socks and a bright white shirt with a sparkly bowtie. Even Kurt could admit that Bitsy was cute in her flouncy skirt and spectator-style jive shoes, which perfectly matched the tone of their song. The number was old-school jive, full of flicks and kicks and spins. Blaine was endearingly goofy and bright as he performed, his footwork light and his smile huge. Kurt could practically feel the entire audience falling in love with the dance and with Blaine. He couldn’t really fault them for the sentiment.
The moment their number ended, the whole place exploded with applause, and Kurt got up to grab Kim for some warm-ups. They’d be up as soon as Blaine and Bitsy got their scores and Lauren and Mike finished their waltz.
Backstage, Kurt and Kim stretched in silence, settling into the mental state required for performance. They came together briefly, as had become their habit, breathing as one and talking through the emotion of what they were doing without worrying about technique. Kurt took Kim on one quick turn around the space, checking for balance and frame, and then they walked back out to take the floor, hand in hand.
“How do you feel?” Kurt asked as their pre-performance video package began to play.
“Good,” Kim replied immediately. “Relaxed, in the moment, and ready to be graceful and expressive. How do you feel?”
“Happy that you can repeat what I’ve been telling you all week back to me,” Kurt joked, squeezing her hand. “But seriously, I’m great. This is going to be gorgeous. Just let the music and the movement take you away.”
“Absolutely.”
Kim twirled into him so that her back was to his front and they were cuddled together for their opening pose. Kurt rested his hands on her shoulders, ready to begin. He pressed his cheek against her hair and closed his eyes briefly. When the music began, he opened them again to see a space that only he and Kim inhabited. Nothing mattered but the two of them and the story they told.
Kurt looked at Kim as they skimmed across the floor, and she smiled back at him, her expression full of serenity and joy. He could tell she felt beautiful, and her footwork was flawless as well. Kurt knew this was a performance that would keep people talking, regardless of their actual scores. He grinned and then let himself sink back into the dance, soaking up the moment as it unfolded.
By the time the music ended, Kurt had been on a journey of a thousand mental miles, remembering his mother and his childhood and his love of dance with every step. He pulled Kim back up from their final pose, and he only realized he had teared up a little when she wiped gently at the corners of his eyes and rubbed his cheek with hers affectionately.
“You’re a true talent, sweetheart,” she said. “Thank you for that.”
“Thank you,” he said. “You were wonderful.”
“Only because you help make me that way.”
Kim took his hand and led the way to Tom and the judges. Kurt was sure that all three of them said insane and mostly complimentary things, but he didn’t really care. They had performed what they set out to, and that was what was important.
Kurt and Kim floated back up to the Celebraquarium for their scores, which were suitably impressive, and then let themselves be herded back down with the other couples to close out the show. Kurt slipped backstage after they were off the air, heading down a little-used corridor to give himself a few minutes alone before post-show press began. It had been a hell of a night - a hell of a performance - and he needed a moment to process it so he could make sense in interviews.
He was just walking into an empty lounge when he felt a familiar hand grab his.
“Kurt.” When he turned around, Blaine was there, staring at him with dark, intense eyes. Kurt’s breath caught and held, and he stared back, not sure what to say.
“Hi,” he finally managed, taking a step back as Blaine crowded him up against the open door, his hands settling at Kurt’s hips.
“I watched you dance,” Blaine said, as his thumbs rubbed distracting circles into the skin above Kurt’s hipbones. “I mean, I always watch you dance, but tonight…I don’t think I’ve ever been as moved by a performance as I was by yours.”
“Thank you,” Kurt breathed. His hands skimmed tentatively up Blaine’s arms to his shoulders, resting lightly there. He felt Blaine shift, moving closer.
“You captivate me,” Blaine said, the words like a prayer in the hushed stillness of the room. He released Kurt’s hips and brought his hands up to cradle Kurt’s jaw, holding his gaze for a long moment. “Please let me kiss you.”
Kurt’s eyes closed in reaction to the plaintive tone in Blaine’s voice, his hands reaching up to grip Blaine’s wrists and tug him closer in silent assent. He felt Blaine let out a shuddering breath, and then Blaine’s lips were on his. Everything was warmth and sensation and want, and Kurt willingly let Blaine drag him under.
Kurt had been kissed many, many times, but nothing had ever felt quite like this. Blaine kissed like he did everything - with total focus and joyful abandon, attending to every detail and losing himself in the moment. Kurt slid his hands back over Blaine’s shoulders and held on, letting the feelings and sensations wash over him. He never wanted this to end.