fic: thnks fr th mmrs (2)
pairing: Kurt/Blaine
word count: 2800 (this part)
rating: nc-17
summary: based of this AU gifset. Kurt and Blaine meet for the first time at Scandals... and then run into each other a second time in the place they least expect.
a/n first of all, thank you all for the positive response in regards to the first chapter, it really, really means a lot to me <3 I would have put this up last night but I ended up going out for New Years so I'm sorry for the wait. I've pretty much finished part 3 so that should be up pretty soon. Happy New Years everyone, and I really hope you like the chapter x
livejournal part
tumblr: part 1
--
Kurt didn’t really have any plans to celebrate his last day of freedom, so when Rachel messaged him, asking him if he wanted to catch up, he happily texted her back, agreeing to meet her at Starbucks in about an hour. It gave him just enough time to shower and change, and then toss his sheets in the washing machine.
He sighed to himself as he did it, thinking how differently today could have turned out if Blaine had of just stayed.
It could have been worse - it could have been awful and awkward and Kurt could have made a complete fool out of himself.
But well… Blaine was cute, and funny (from what Kurt could remember) and Kurt really wouldn’t have minded seeing him again.
(Later, Kurt would think that he should be more careful for what he wished for).
--
An hour later Kurt was sitting bathed in the warm glow of Starbucks’s coffee house, nestled in a private corner with Rachel, relaying the events of the night before. For all she was, Rachel was at least a good listener. She laughed and oohed and ahhed in all the right spots and was completely sympathetic right when Kurt needed her to be. But she would never lie to him. If she thought he was in the wrong, she would tell him so.
Today, however, she scrunched up her muffin wrapper with particular venom and told him she was imaging it was Blaine’s face.
“Although,” she reasoned once Kurt’s laughter had died down, “we really should be more sympathetic to him. If he can’t see how charming and completely gorgeous you are, there must be something wrong with him.”
Yeah, sometimes Kurt was just really glad he had Rachel.
--
His last hours of freedom wound by far too quickly, as hours tend to do when you wish they would stick around, and all too soon Kurt was waking to the sound of his blaring alarm and dragging his tired body out from under the covers and into the shower.
It was true, he missed his students - or at least some of them.
Getting up early, however, he definitely had not. It was one of those things he had loved so much about college - night classes, whenever he could.
High school taught him more about the real world than he would have thought possible.
Dalton was much better than the high school he went too, though. He didn’t really like to dwell on it, but he couldn’t help but think that if his school had been a little more like Dalton it would have been a much better experience.
But that was all in the past now. All he could do was make sure that his boys got the education and security that they deserved.
He made sure to grab himself a coffee on the way to work, sure he would need it to get him through the morning. When he arrived at school he took his usual park, waving hello to a few of the kids who were arriving to school at the same time. One of his homeroom students, Aiden, walked with him up the school, chattering away a hundred miles per hour about all the amazing ideas he had for the Warblers this year.
Oh yeah, The Warblers. Like Kurt could forget - his favourite part of his whole job.
When he had been in high school, the one thing that he kept him going was the afternoons at Glee Club. They were pretty good and won several competitions, but it wasn’t about the winning. It was about the music, about the performing, about being able to express himself - how to get people to actually pay attention to him.
He had always wanted to be a performer. Teaching other kids to do what he wanted to do had never exactly been an aspiration of his.
But seeing that same joy that had resonated in him all those years ago?
Well, somehow, it nearly made it all worth it.
He left the boy at the front of the school and made his way to the staff room to get the roll for homeroom. On his way he passed many a student who waved and said hello and asked him how his summer was.
He didn’t want to brag, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was one of the most popular teachers at the school.
He said hello to many a staff member, too (some he liked, some not so much). When he arrived at the staff room he smiled as he ran into Tina, a lady he went to high school with who coincidentally ended up teaching at the same school, too.
“Hey, Kurt,” she greeted him brightly. “How was your break?”
“Not long enough,” Kurt answered on auto pilot and Tina laughed sunnily.
“I think we can all attest to that,” she agreed. “Coffee?””
Kurt shook his head. “Just here for the roll…” his eyes scanned the room on habit and he raised his eyebrows as he made out a figure he didn’t recognize. Dalton Academy wasn’t that big a school - he prided himself on knowing most of the students but definitely all the staff. And he certainly would have recognized someone with the fashion sense awful enough to wear that sweater vest.
“New guy?” Kurt asked quietly, nodding in the direction of awful sweater vest.
Tina nodded, a shy smile suddenly spreading over her lips. “New English teacher,” she said. “He’s cute.”
Kurt raised his eyebrows at that. “Cute, hmm?” he repeated, delighting in the way Tina flushed. It was too long since he had seen her fawn over anyone. She had been completely devoted to her high school boyfriend but they’d gone through rocky patches, breaking up and making up throughout college and now they were finally through. She had had a tough time getting over him, but Kurt had always said she just needed a good rebound…
“Oh, hush you,” Tina chided as the bell rang overhead. “Get to class.”
Kurt gave her a mock salute, reaching for his class roll. “Yes, ma’am.”
--
It was as easy as anything to fall back into his old routine, and assuming the position of teacher felt easier than any other character he had played. His students never seemed to suspect that on the outside of everything he was just another one of them, a boy with lungs that heaved and veins that bled and a heart that beat at a reasonable pace.
It was good in a way, seeing everyone again, like he had suspected it would be. Some weren’t so happy to be back, but when he was their age he certainly wouldn’t have been, so he couldn’t exactly be too upset. He just went on teaching as always. It wasn’t his job to make them happy.
(No matter how hard he would always try).
Throughout the day one thing that was knew was all the snippets he heard about this new English teacher of theirs. He heard he wore a bowtie, told them to call him Mr A and recited Auden from heart.
Kurt was mildly impressed, but more curious than anything. It wasn’t often that students got too excited about new staff, but this one seemed to be a keeper - especially if Tina’s reaction was anything to go on.
It wasn’t until lunch, though, that he had the chance to meet him for himself.
He was chatting away with one of the science teachers on his way in when he was stopped by Tina who apologized to their coworker to pull Kurt away.
“Kurt,” she said in an overly friendly tone as she pulled him over to the coffee maker. Kurt noted the awful sweater from the behind and the gelled black hair and shapely ass and wow inappropriate thoughts but the way he held himself seemed familiar somehow. “This is Blaine, the new English teacher.” She put her hand on the man’s elbow and he turned around at the sound of her voice, meeting Kurt’s eyes with a friendly smile and oh.
No wonder he had seemed so familiar.
Staring back at him were the eyes of none other than Blaine Anderson, the word guy, the English teacher, the one who came home with Kurt Saturday night, let Kurt fuck him, fell asleep in his bed and then crawled away before Kurt could even wake up.
The friendly smile died on Blaine’s lips at Kurt’s expression of shock but there was recognition in Blaine’s eyes, too.
He remembered.
Kurt felt unease spread through his chest. Oh god it was him. He had never thought that he would actually see him again - and Blaine must have thought that, too. he thought he was just a quick fuck, not worth even saying thanks or that was good. Just falling asleep and then leaving without a note or a number. Mustn’t’ have been that good.
There was guilt in Blaine’s eyes and Kurt felt irritation prick at the base of his spine. Blaine was the one who had ran for it in the morning. Kurt didn’t know why he should feel bad about this at all. He clearly meant nothing to Blaine - so why should he let Blaine mean anything to him?
With that in mind, Kurt assumed a falsely polite smile and stuck his hand out for Blaine to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Blaine,” he lied, smile in place. “I’m Kurt - Hummel. Art teacher.”
“And Glee Club director,” Tina chimed in. Kurt shot her a friendly smile but it was false. Tina looked like she was just about to burst. Look at him! her expression screamed. Isn’t he gorgeous? Isn’t he perfect?!
Fucking perfect, alright.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kurt,” Blaine managed in an awkward, confused attempt at a smile. He looked even more uncomfortable than Kurt, which made him feel more triumphant than it should.
Kurt gave him a short nod. “I guess I’ll see you around…”
Tina looked surprised as Kurt shouldered his bag once more, looking about ready to leave. “Kurt,” she protested, “aren’t you going to have lunch with us?”
Kurt bit his tongue. He really didn’t want to, but he had planned to have lunch with Tina, and it would probably look a bit suspicious if he ran off.
Besides, he didn’t want to give Blaine the satisfaction of knowing.
Mustering another fake smile, Kurt dumped his bag once more and nodded towards a spare table where Tina took a seat happily. He turned to Blaine, smiling through his teeth.
“After you?”
--
Lunch was, if possible, even more awkward than he anticipated. Tina was drilling Blaine with endless questions and Kurt learnt more than he even wanted to learn about him. He knew that he decided that he wanted to be a teacher in high school and that he was bullied at his old school and that he came to Dalton and things got so much better. He said that he had wanted to be a performer for a while but his parents never approved and that he didn’t think he quite had the talent for it, anyway. He was in the Glee Club, though - the Warblers, in fact.
“Oh!” Tina exclaimed upon the admission. “They’re still running. Kurt’s the director, now. You should pop in for a rehearsal sometime. I’m sure Kurt wouldn’t mind.”
Kurt tried really hard not to stomp on her foot under the table, especially when Blaine looked up at him with hopeful eyes and a bashful smile.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding!” Tina insisted. “Right, Kurt?”
“Right,” Kurt said through gritted teeth, smiling tightly.
Kurt had never been so grateful when the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
Kurt was pretty quick to get out of there, telling them that he didn’t want to be late for class, but he wasn’t sure if he could stand it there another moment.
He knew it was silly, but the truth was that being around Blaine hurt more than it should. And not just for the fact that he left. Now, it was the knowledge that if he had of stayed he might have had the chance to know him better. Because the Kurt that woke up with him would have loved hearing all about his past. It would have endeared him to him even more. He would have thought he was cute, sweet, passionate about his job.
But that was before.
--
For the rest of the day, Kurt mercifully was able to ignore Blaine for the most part, avoiding him when he saw him coming in the halls and sending one of his students back to the staff room to take the roll. He knew it must make him a coward, but he really just wanted to go home and climb into bed with ice cream and a movie. He didn’t even care what that said about him.
When school was over, he quickly said goodbye to his students and slung his bag over his shoulder to race out to the parking lot. However, before he could, one of his students cornered him with a question about the art assignment he had given out that morning and they ended up talking for twenty minutes before Kurt was allowed to leave.
By the time he arrived in the parking lot, it was practically empty, most of the cars having gone home for the day. Kurt unlocked his door and got ready to climb in with a sigh, but he was only halfway there when he heard someone shouting his name in the distance. He looked up instinctively, but instantly regretted it.
Running towards him, brief case in hand, a coat over that awful sweater, was Blaine.
“Kurt!’ he was calling, sounding short and out of breath, his eyes wide. “Can you just - hold on a second!”
If Kurt hadn’t of looked up, he could have pretended not to hear him and driven off.
But he had looked up, and he turned to face Blaine with a resigned sigh.
“Yeah?”
Blaine came to a stop in front of him, looking quite flustered as he caught to catch his breath.
“Blaine,” Kurt said shortly, “can you make it quick, I was really looking to get home?”
“I’m sorry,” Blaine blurted out.
Kurt raised his eyebrows. “What for?””
Blaine huffed, brow furrowed, lip pulled between his teeth. “Are we really gonna do this now?”
“Do what?”
“Pretend it didn’t happen,” Blaine said and Kurt scowled.
“Well, I don’t see why not,” Kurt shot back. “I don’t see why anyone else needs to know what happened. It’s not like it meant anything.”
Blaine’s expression softened and Kurt felt anger bubble inside him on the realization that his eyes were shining with sympathy.
“Kurt,” he pressed, “I’m sorry I ran out on you-“
“It doesn’t matter,” Kurt cut him off. “It really doesn’t make a difference whether you stayed or not.”
“But I-“
“Listen, Blaine,” Kurt interjected once more. “I know this is awkward for both of us, but let’s just pretend it ever happened, okay?”
To his irritation, relief spread over Blaine’s features and his eyes were hopeful. “So we can start again?”
Kurt tightened his jaw. “Blaine, we work together. We don’t have to like each other. We just have to be civil.”
Blaine was silent for a moment and Kurt wondered what was running through his mind as he eventually nodded, expression blank.
“Yeah… sure.”
--
That afternoon when Kurt got home he kicked off his shoes and changed into more comfortable clothes. He dumped himself on the couch with a cup of tea and his favourite blanket and put on some awful TV show.
Then he called Rachel.
He spent about twenty minutes ranting about his day and for once she listened in complete silence.
“Kurt…” she ventured carefully when he was done, “have you considered that maybe… you were supposed to meet Blaine again? Like this is the universe’s way of handing him back to you? You know, if it’s yours it comes back to you-“
“Rachel,” Kurt cut in, really not in the mood for her philosophizing today, “he had the job before he even met. It’s just really bad coincidence.”
“Fate, Kurt-“
“Rachel,” Kurt said warningly as he usually did when she brought up the F word.
“Fine,” Rachel huffed. “I’m just saying, maybe you should give Blaine a chance. After all, it can’t be healthy for you to keep all that bitterness and bad thoughts locked up. You should just let them go.”
“You’ve certainly changed your tune since yesterday,” Kurt grumbled and Rachel laughed.
“That was before I knew, Kurt,” she said ominously and Kurt rolled his eyes before changing the subject topic onto her. And yet, as she rambled on about her day, his mind kept straying to what she had said before.
It can’t be healthy for you to keep all that bitterness and bad thoughts locked inside. You should just let them go.
She was probably right, of course. But for the first time in a while, he didn’t feel any better about it.
--
Part