Fic: The Art of Romance (Kurt/Blaine)
Title: The Art of Romance
Characters/Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own Glee or its characters. I’m just borrowing them.
Word Count: ~1,950 words
Warnings: None
Summary: When Rachel tells Kurt that she doesn't think he's very good at romance, Kurt sets out to prove that he is.
Author’s Note: Written for kbl_reversebang's Hiatus Challenge, prompt #1. A huge THANK YOU to sweetiejelly for being my beta! ♥
Read on AO3
It starts, as it so often does, with a conversation with Rachel.
They’re going through a couple of boxes that’s been stored in her parents’ attic for years and are filled with things from her childhood and youth, and Kurt suspects that the only reason she brings this up is to move the attention away from all the embarrassing things they find there.
“So what you’re saying is that you don’t think I’m romantic person.”
Rachel sighs and rolls her eyes at him. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. What I meant is that you’re not very good at romance.”
Kurt tries his best to look indignant. It’s not very difficult because he feels indignant. “How can you say that? I love romance. I’ve been planning my own wedding since I knew what a wedding was.”
“I know that, and that’s not what I’m talking about. Loving romance isn’t the same thing as being good at it.”
Kurt huffs. This is ridiculous. “Kindly explain to me what you do mean, then.”
“I’m just pointing out what I see,” she says with her hands on her waist. “And I see Blaine serenading you on a regular basis, I see him buying you flowers, changing schools for you. Giving you the world’s most perfect proposal.” She sighs and looks wistful for a moment, her gaze lowering to Kurt’s hand. “That’s romance.”
“I’ve given him flowers,” Kurt protests.
“How many times?” She fixes him with a piercing look.
He sighs. “Once. But it was really romantic. It was at school, right after he got the role as Tony.”
“And how many times have you received flowers from Blaine?”
Kurt sighs again and throws his hands up. He’s getting defensive and he knows it. “I don’t know. Does it matter? What’s the point in comparing us? Blaine likes big gestures.”
“He’s good at romance,” Rachel points out. Kurt snorts and smiles momentarily to himself, vividly remembering the time that Blaine claimed that he wasn’t. “And you like being on the receiving end of it.”
“So? What’s wrong with that?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. But that’s what I mean. You love romance, but you’re not very good at it.”
“That’s stupid,” Kurt says, because it is. “And what do you know about it, anyway? You’re not the one I’m in a relationship with.”
“Like I said, I’m just pointing out what I see. And if someone were to ask me which of you would be most likely to bring flowers home on a regular weekday or draw hearts in the sand with your names inside of it, I wouldn’t hesitate to say Blaine.”
They move on to other subjects after that, and Kurt plans on forgetting about the whole thing because it’s ridiculous for Rachel to bring up things that she knows nothing about.
But unfortunately he’s not able to forget it.
The more he thinks about it, the more he wonders if maybe she has a point. He never really does anything romantic for Blaine. Giving him those flowers that one time and singing a song to him once is hardly anything to brag about, not compared to everything that Blaine has done for him. Is this something that Blaine thinks about? Is he upset about the fact that Kurt never gives him anything in return?
After pondering it for a couple of days he actually starts to worry, because this could be a real problem that he’s just been too self-absorbed to notice.
And then he makes the decision to once and for all show Blaine, and prove to Rachel, that he is good at romance. That he’s great at it.
So the next day he goes to the cozy little flower shop down the street and buys a big, beautiful bouquet of roses. Then he goes to the grocery store and buys all the ingredients he needs to make Blaine’s favorite Indian dish. Finally he buys a whole bunch of candles and somehow manages to carry all of his purchases back to the apartment.
Several hours later all the preparations are done and Kurt is just waiting for Blaine to get back from his last class. The dinner is done, music is playing softly in the background, the roses are in a vase on the table, and when he lights the candles he’s put up all around the living room, the picture he’s been aiming for is finally complete.
The room literally screams romance.
He looks around, pleased with his own work. It’s a little strange, and a lot exciting, to think that he and Blaine actually live together now, finally, after planning and talking about it for so long. It’s only been a few weeks since Blaine moved to New York and they could finally start their life together, and so far it’s been perfect.
Kurt wants to make sure that it stays that way.
Right before he expects Blaine to arrive, he impulsively grabs a few of the roses from the vase and pulls out the petals. He hurries into the bedroom and spreads them across the duvet on their bed. A thought hits him and he finds his phone and quickly takes a few pictures of the bed and the dinner table. If Rachel wants to see romance, he’ll show her romance.
Blaine is home a few minutes later. He comes to an abrupt halt right inside the door, staring at the room and the dinner table with wide, surprised eyes. Kurt grins in satisfaction and hurries over to him, taking his bag from him and giving him a quick welcome home kiss. Then he leads Blaine over the table, pulls the chair out for him and waits as Blaine slowly sinks down on it. All the while Blaine doesn’t say a word, he just looks stunned.
“Kurt, what’s going on?” he asks a bit tentatively once they’re seated across from each other and Kurt starts scooping food onto their plates.
“Nothing,” Kurt says, giving Blaine a bright smile. “I just thought I’d do something nice for us.”
Blaine considers him for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything. They start eating instead, while Blaine, who seems to have recovered from the initial surprise, starts telling Kurt about his day. He keeps sending Kurt these strange looks though, like he isn’t quite sure what to think.
Once they’ve finished eating, and Blaine has repeatedly told Kurt how amazing the meal was, Kurt gets up from his chair and moves around the table to stand next to Blaine. He holds his hand out.
“Dance with me?”
Blaine looks surprised again, but he takes Kurt’s hand, albeit a bit tentatively, and lets Kurt pull him out on the floor. Kurt wraps his arms around him, Blaine’s arms coming up around his back a few seconds later, and they sway slowly together to the soft music.
They dance quietly for a few minutes before Blaine speaks.
“Kurt, what’s this all about?”
“Nothing,” Kurt says again. “I told you, I wanted to do something nice.”
“And don’t get me wrong - this is nice. It’s very nice. It’s just that… you’ve never done something like this before and I’m kind of worried that something is wrong.”
“I can’t do something romantic without you getting worried that something is wrong?” Kurt giggles awkwardly. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s just…” Blaine sighs against Kurt’s shoulder and pulls back a little, making their swaying come to a halt. “Come on, Kurt, tell me the truth.”
He looks so earnest and downright worried, that Kurt doesn’t have the heart to be dishonest. So he shrugs and sighs.
“It’s Rachel,” he says, making Blaine raise his eyebrows in confusion. “She basically accused me of not being good at romance. She told me that you always do romantic stuff for me, while I never do anything for you. And I got mad at her, but well, she has a point. And then I started to worry that my lack of romantic gestures could turn into a real problem for us.” He shrugs again. “So I thought I’d do something for you for once, and prove her wrong at the same time.”
Blaine only stares at him. Kurt looks down, unable to look Blaine in the eyes. It all seems pretty stupid now. The dinner, the roses… everything.
After a while Blaine’s hand appears in Kurt’s line of vision, taking one of Kurt’s. He rubs this thumb momentarily over the ring that sits there, and Kurt slowly looks back up, right into Blaine’s warm, earnest eyes.
“Kurt… you know it’s not necessary, right? I mean…” He gestures around the room with his free hand. “This is amazing. I love it. But you don’t have to prove anything to me. I know you love me. I see it in your eyes every single day. That’s enough for me.”
“Yeah, but… it’s not really fair though, is it? That you do all these amazing things for me and get nothing in return? That’s not right.”
Blaine smiles a little. “You make it sound like it’s a hardship. And it’s not. I know my romantic gestures are a bit over the top sometimes and I suppose they’re partly a result of guilt. First for letting you go so long without noticing how amazing you are and then after the whole cheating thing. But mostly I’m doing it because I like it. Because I like surprising you. I don’t need anything in return. The things you do every day, like all the dinners you make and the way you keep the apartment spotless, that’s more than enough.”
Kurt snorts. “That’s not very romantic.”
Blaine shrugs. “It is to me. I’m a terrible cook, you know that. And the way you do so much to make sure that our life together is as good as it can possibly be… there’s nothing more romantic to me than that.”
Kurt isn’t convinced. How is cooking and cleaning even remotely romantic?
Blaine seems to notice his hesitation. “Kurt, don’t listen to Rachel. She knows nothing about our life. She doesn’t know how you hold me when I’m upset or how you kiss me until I’m dizzy sometimes. She doesn’t know how much you make me feel when you make love to me. Because that’s all about us. It’s nobody else’s business.”
Kurt looks at him for a long time. When Blaine puts it like that, it kind of makes sense.
“Speaking of… there are rose petals on our bed,” he says, shrugging apologetically.
Blaine huffs a little laugh. “And they say you’re not good at romance,” he teases.
Kurt has to smile too, relieved and glad to have this out of the way. He really just wants them to be okay. They’re engaged. They’re going to be married at some point in the near future. He wants to make sure there are no unresolved issues between them.
He looks intently at Blaine. “You’re sure you know though? You know that I love you? Because I do, Blaine. More than anything.”
Blaine smiles a little and wraps his arms around Kurt, pulling him into a hug. “I know, Kurt. Of course I know. I love you, too. And thank you for the flowers and the dinner. It was perfect.”
“I might do it again sometime.”
“I would love that. Just remember that you don’t have to. I won’t be disappointed if you don’t.”
“Okay.”
They start to sway with the music again, arms wrapped tightly around one another. And Kurt realizes that it really can be as simple as this. Just being together, holding each other, connecting. Knowing with such deep, overwhelming certainty that they belong together, that they’re going to face every day for the rest of their lives together.
That’s what it’s all about.
That’s romantic.
The End.
Characters/Pairing: Kurt/Blaine
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don’t own Glee or its characters. I’m just borrowing them.
Word Count: ~1,950 words
Warnings: None
Summary: When Rachel tells Kurt that she doesn't think he's very good at romance, Kurt sets out to prove that he is.
Author’s Note: Written for kbl_reversebang's Hiatus Challenge, prompt #1. A huge THANK YOU to sweetiejelly for being my beta! ♥
Read on AO3
It starts, as it so often does, with a conversation with Rachel.
They’re going through a couple of boxes that’s been stored in her parents’ attic for years and are filled with things from her childhood and youth, and Kurt suspects that the only reason she brings this up is to move the attention away from all the embarrassing things they find there.
“So what you’re saying is that you don’t think I’m romantic person.”
Rachel sighs and rolls her eyes at him. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. What I meant is that you’re not very good at romance.”
Kurt tries his best to look indignant. It’s not very difficult because he feels indignant. “How can you say that? I love romance. I’ve been planning my own wedding since I knew what a wedding was.”
“I know that, and that’s not what I’m talking about. Loving romance isn’t the same thing as being good at it.”
Kurt huffs. This is ridiculous. “Kindly explain to me what you do mean, then.”
“I’m just pointing out what I see,” she says with her hands on her waist. “And I see Blaine serenading you on a regular basis, I see him buying you flowers, changing schools for you. Giving you the world’s most perfect proposal.” She sighs and looks wistful for a moment, her gaze lowering to Kurt’s hand. “That’s romance.”
“I’ve given him flowers,” Kurt protests.
“How many times?” She fixes him with a piercing look.
He sighs. “Once. But it was really romantic. It was at school, right after he got the role as Tony.”
“And how many times have you received flowers from Blaine?”
Kurt sighs again and throws his hands up. He’s getting defensive and he knows it. “I don’t know. Does it matter? What’s the point in comparing us? Blaine likes big gestures.”
“He’s good at romance,” Rachel points out. Kurt snorts and smiles momentarily to himself, vividly remembering the time that Blaine claimed that he wasn’t. “And you like being on the receiving end of it.”
“So? What’s wrong with that?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. But that’s what I mean. You love romance, but you’re not very good at it.”
“That’s stupid,” Kurt says, because it is. “And what do you know about it, anyway? You’re not the one I’m in a relationship with.”
“Like I said, I’m just pointing out what I see. And if someone were to ask me which of you would be most likely to bring flowers home on a regular weekday or draw hearts in the sand with your names inside of it, I wouldn’t hesitate to say Blaine.”
They move on to other subjects after that, and Kurt plans on forgetting about the whole thing because it’s ridiculous for Rachel to bring up things that she knows nothing about.
But unfortunately he’s not able to forget it.
The more he thinks about it, the more he wonders if maybe she has a point. He never really does anything romantic for Blaine. Giving him those flowers that one time and singing a song to him once is hardly anything to brag about, not compared to everything that Blaine has done for him. Is this something that Blaine thinks about? Is he upset about the fact that Kurt never gives him anything in return?
After pondering it for a couple of days he actually starts to worry, because this could be a real problem that he’s just been too self-absorbed to notice.
And then he makes the decision to once and for all show Blaine, and prove to Rachel, that he is good at romance. That he’s great at it.
So the next day he goes to the cozy little flower shop down the street and buys a big, beautiful bouquet of roses. Then he goes to the grocery store and buys all the ingredients he needs to make Blaine’s favorite Indian dish. Finally he buys a whole bunch of candles and somehow manages to carry all of his purchases back to the apartment.
Several hours later all the preparations are done and Kurt is just waiting for Blaine to get back from his last class. The dinner is done, music is playing softly in the background, the roses are in a vase on the table, and when he lights the candles he’s put up all around the living room, the picture he’s been aiming for is finally complete.
The room literally screams romance.
He looks around, pleased with his own work. It’s a little strange, and a lot exciting, to think that he and Blaine actually live together now, finally, after planning and talking about it for so long. It’s only been a few weeks since Blaine moved to New York and they could finally start their life together, and so far it’s been perfect.
Kurt wants to make sure that it stays that way.
Right before he expects Blaine to arrive, he impulsively grabs a few of the roses from the vase and pulls out the petals. He hurries into the bedroom and spreads them across the duvet on their bed. A thought hits him and he finds his phone and quickly takes a few pictures of the bed and the dinner table. If Rachel wants to see romance, he’ll show her romance.
Blaine is home a few minutes later. He comes to an abrupt halt right inside the door, staring at the room and the dinner table with wide, surprised eyes. Kurt grins in satisfaction and hurries over to him, taking his bag from him and giving him a quick welcome home kiss. Then he leads Blaine over the table, pulls the chair out for him and waits as Blaine slowly sinks down on it. All the while Blaine doesn’t say a word, he just looks stunned.
“Kurt, what’s going on?” he asks a bit tentatively once they’re seated across from each other and Kurt starts scooping food onto their plates.
“Nothing,” Kurt says, giving Blaine a bright smile. “I just thought I’d do something nice for us.”
Blaine considers him for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything. They start eating instead, while Blaine, who seems to have recovered from the initial surprise, starts telling Kurt about his day. He keeps sending Kurt these strange looks though, like he isn’t quite sure what to think.
Once they’ve finished eating, and Blaine has repeatedly told Kurt how amazing the meal was, Kurt gets up from his chair and moves around the table to stand next to Blaine. He holds his hand out.
“Dance with me?”
Blaine looks surprised again, but he takes Kurt’s hand, albeit a bit tentatively, and lets Kurt pull him out on the floor. Kurt wraps his arms around him, Blaine’s arms coming up around his back a few seconds later, and they sway slowly together to the soft music.
They dance quietly for a few minutes before Blaine speaks.
“Kurt, what’s this all about?”
“Nothing,” Kurt says again. “I told you, I wanted to do something nice.”
“And don’t get me wrong - this is nice. It’s very nice. It’s just that… you’ve never done something like this before and I’m kind of worried that something is wrong.”
“I can’t do something romantic without you getting worried that something is wrong?” Kurt giggles awkwardly. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s just…” Blaine sighs against Kurt’s shoulder and pulls back a little, making their swaying come to a halt. “Come on, Kurt, tell me the truth.”
He looks so earnest and downright worried, that Kurt doesn’t have the heart to be dishonest. So he shrugs and sighs.
“It’s Rachel,” he says, making Blaine raise his eyebrows in confusion. “She basically accused me of not being good at romance. She told me that you always do romantic stuff for me, while I never do anything for you. And I got mad at her, but well, she has a point. And then I started to worry that my lack of romantic gestures could turn into a real problem for us.” He shrugs again. “So I thought I’d do something for you for once, and prove her wrong at the same time.”
Blaine only stares at him. Kurt looks down, unable to look Blaine in the eyes. It all seems pretty stupid now. The dinner, the roses… everything.
After a while Blaine’s hand appears in Kurt’s line of vision, taking one of Kurt’s. He rubs this thumb momentarily over the ring that sits there, and Kurt slowly looks back up, right into Blaine’s warm, earnest eyes.
“Kurt… you know it’s not necessary, right? I mean…” He gestures around the room with his free hand. “This is amazing. I love it. But you don’t have to prove anything to me. I know you love me. I see it in your eyes every single day. That’s enough for me.”
“Yeah, but… it’s not really fair though, is it? That you do all these amazing things for me and get nothing in return? That’s not right.”
Blaine smiles a little. “You make it sound like it’s a hardship. And it’s not. I know my romantic gestures are a bit over the top sometimes and I suppose they’re partly a result of guilt. First for letting you go so long without noticing how amazing you are and then after the whole cheating thing. But mostly I’m doing it because I like it. Because I like surprising you. I don’t need anything in return. The things you do every day, like all the dinners you make and the way you keep the apartment spotless, that’s more than enough.”
Kurt snorts. “That’s not very romantic.”
Blaine shrugs. “It is to me. I’m a terrible cook, you know that. And the way you do so much to make sure that our life together is as good as it can possibly be… there’s nothing more romantic to me than that.”
Kurt isn’t convinced. How is cooking and cleaning even remotely romantic?
Blaine seems to notice his hesitation. “Kurt, don’t listen to Rachel. She knows nothing about our life. She doesn’t know how you hold me when I’m upset or how you kiss me until I’m dizzy sometimes. She doesn’t know how much you make me feel when you make love to me. Because that’s all about us. It’s nobody else’s business.”
Kurt looks at him for a long time. When Blaine puts it like that, it kind of makes sense.
“Speaking of… there are rose petals on our bed,” he says, shrugging apologetically.
Blaine huffs a little laugh. “And they say you’re not good at romance,” he teases.
Kurt has to smile too, relieved and glad to have this out of the way. He really just wants them to be okay. They’re engaged. They’re going to be married at some point in the near future. He wants to make sure there are no unresolved issues between them.
He looks intently at Blaine. “You’re sure you know though? You know that I love you? Because I do, Blaine. More than anything.”
Blaine smiles a little and wraps his arms around Kurt, pulling him into a hug. “I know, Kurt. Of course I know. I love you, too. And thank you for the flowers and the dinner. It was perfect.”
“I might do it again sometime.”
“I would love that. Just remember that you don’t have to. I won’t be disappointed if you don’t.”
“Okay.”
They start to sway with the music again, arms wrapped tightly around one another. And Kurt realizes that it really can be as simple as this. Just being together, holding each other, connecting. Knowing with such deep, overwhelming certainty that they belong together, that they’re going to face every day for the rest of their lives together.
That’s what it’s all about.
That’s romantic.
The End.