‘THE RETURN’

Five weeks later, Kurt was more than ready to return to California. Don’t get him wrong, he loved spending time with his parents, but he’d also gotten used to life in L.A, and in comparison, Lima had little to offer. He was still not going out much, because the news cycle in Lima moved slower than it did in L.A. Since his departure, a lot had happened in Hollywood. A teen pop star had gotten pregnant, a Hollywood power couple divorced and a well known actor was sentenced to do jail time fore tax evasion. People moved on from Blaine and by extension Kurt when neither of them was spotted anymore. TMZ had last reported the day Blaine flew out of LAX and was caught on camera by the paps, but now that he was in Ohio, only his fans were talking about him online, speculating about his whereabouts. When he and Blaine went out on dates, they always stuck to Columbus and always went out either early in the morning, when kids were in school and regular people at work, or late at night. Neither of them had a nine to five job - though Kurt helped out in the garage daily - so they had more liberties. Still, Kurt thought it was a miracle that he and Blaine never were caught when they were out in Columbus. Because when Blaine’s fans did recognize him, they usually didn’t believe it really was him, because why would their idol be in Ohio of all places? When they weren’t together, Blaine worked on his music and Kurt focused on his writing. He wrote three spec scripts while in Lima which he sent to the studios producing the shows he wanted to write for. Unfortunately though, no-one had gotten back to him so far. Blaine kept begging him to let him read some of his stories, but Kurt refused because what if Blaine thought they sucked? Likewise, Blaine wouldn’t let him listen to anything he was working on, because his boyfriend was also self-conscious about his unfinished and unpolished work.

A few days before they were set to return to L.A, he and Blaine were snuggled up on Pam’s living room couch together - they had plans to attend another midnight screening at the Revival Cinema. Kurt handed Blaine his iPhone back after checking his emails.

“Any replies?” Blaine asked and Kurt shook his head.

“I’m gonna have to try and find a job as a waiter,” he groaned. “And I’m a horrible waiter. The one job I had in college, I kept dropping plates and trays left and right.”

“You want me to call Ari?” Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt’s middle and pulled him closer. “I can tell him I’ll fire him if he doesn’t take you back.” Kurt again shook his head.

“No, I knew I’d get fired when I left the way I left and it just wouldn’t be fair. I also wouldn’t want it get out that the only reason I got my job back is because I’m dating Blaine Anderson.” He paused for a moment before voicing another concern. “And I guess I’m not ready for him to find out we’re dating for real now. He’d probably take credit for that too and find a way to use it to his advantage.”

“Okay,” Blaine said before he brought out the big guns and used his famous puppy dog eyes on Kurt. “Can I at least read your script then? The one Ari used to get you to agree to the deal.  I still haven’t found my next project and maybe this could be it.”

Kurt had refused to let Blaine read his baby again and again because he was afraid Blaine felt obligated to help now that they were in a relationship and would continue to do so even if he thought Kurt’s work was crap.  But if he was honest with himself, he wanted his boyfriend’s opinion, who at the moment, read and rejected multiple screenplays a week.

“You promise to give me your honest opinion? Even if you think it sucks?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you,” Blaine was quick to promise.

“And you won’t make any decision before Wes hasn’t read it too. He has great instincts.”

Blaine nodded again.

“Alright,” Kurt finally agreed. “I’ll email it to you when I get home.”

Blaine beamed at him before he cupped Kurt’s cheek and pulled him into a deep kiss. It didn’t take long before they were making out on the couch like two teenagers, their kisses getting progressively more heated. When Blaine slipped a hand under his shirt, Kurt pulled back however.

“We’re on your living room couch,” he pointed out, not willing to admit that he was nervous about the new development. Because what if he allowed Blaine to take his shirt off and Blaine thought that meant Kurt was ready for sex.

“Sorry,” Blaine apologized immediately. “I should have asked first.”

Kurt groaned. If he wanted to avoid more situations like this, he’d have to bite the bullet and talk to Blaine about the things he was and wasn’t ready for.

“Can we talk?” he asked, wincing when Blaine put even more space between them. “Nothing bad, I promise,” he added quickly. Blaine relaxed and Kurt forced himself to get the words out. “I find you incredibly attractive and when you took those shirtless pics for People Magazine I thought Christmas had come early,” he admitted, causing Blaine to blush. “And I had such a hard time not staring at you when you took your shirt off at the party,” he continued, his own cheeks heating up as well. “So in conclusion, I have absolutely no problem with losing the shirts, but I’m not ready to have sex with you,” he blushed.

“So I can take your shirt off,” Blaine focused on the most important part of Kurt’s little speech. “Like, if we go upstairs, right now?” he waggled his eyebrows.

“I’m glad to know you got your priorities straight,” Kurt deadpanned, but when Blaine held out his hand, Kurt didn’t protest and let Blaine pull him off the couch and up the stairs to Blaine’s bedroom.

Once they were inside, Kurt stalled though, because now they were in a room with a bed and lots of privacy compared to the living room couch where Pam could walk in on them at any time.

“Hey,” Blaine took both of his hands and looked deep into Kurt’s eyes. “I heard what you said, okay. And I promise I won’t try anything. We can go back downstairs if that would make you more comfortable.”

Kurt shook his head. He’d fantasized about Blaine taking his shirt off more times than he’d care to admit and while he didn’t have abs like his boyfriend, he knew he didn’t have to be ashamed of his body either.

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of this,” he winked and grabbed the hem of Blaine’s shirt. “If I can’t hang those posters in my room anymore, you’ll have to show me the real thing.”

===========

Kurt was certain people were staring at him as he boarded a plane for L.A with Blaine. Or rather, they were staring at Blaine and by extension, Kurt. Two college aged girls were debating rather loudly whether it could really be Blaine Anderson and which of the two should come over to ask. Kurt was grateful when the fasten seatbelt sign appeared and they taxied out onto the runway.

“You ready for this?” Blaine asked quietly, also aware of the fans in the row behind them. He made sure not to lean too closely because he wouldn’t put it past the girls to snap pictures of them and putting them online as soon as they landed.

“As I’ll ever be,” Kurt whispered back. The girls behind them had come to the conclusion that they really were Blaine Anderson and that Kurt guy and were talking about them excitedly either not realizing that he and Blaine could hear every word they were saying or not caring. ‘I wish there was internet on this plane,’ one sighed. ‘I could tweet about them straightway before someone else spots them and gets there first.’

Kurt, on the other hand, was very grateful that only a few airlines offered wifi, because he wanted to make it back into L.A without everyone knowing about it the moment he landed. He had about a week of relative anonymity left before Blaine went on Ellen to confirm his relationship with Kurt. They’d decided that they needed to get control of the narrative again and Santana agreed that Blaine telling his story on TV would at least stop the speculations about his relationship with Kurt.

With the two fangirls behind them, there wasn’t much they could do during the five hour flight. Knowing that their every move was being watched, they didn’t dare to hold hands or sit close together. And the girls just wouldn’t shut up. Kurt was tempted to get up and ask how the hell two twenty year olds had ended up in business class anyway. He didn’t care in that moment that he only sat in business class because his wealthy boyfriend had paid for the upgrade. When Blaine excused himself to the bathroom after a second round of cocktails, Kurt got out of his seat as well and addressed the girls, trying his best to act friendly because he didn’t want the girls to tweet that he was a bitch.

“Hey there,” he said sweetly. “I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about my friend Blaine. How about I get you a photo with him so you can stop discussing whether it’s really him. We still have a long flight ahead of us and I’m sure you have better things to do than talk about Blaine Anderson.”

The girl in the window seat, a pretty blonde with her hair tied in a pony tail turned an interesting shade of red before she glared at her friend, a brunette, her hair cut in a bob.

“I told you we were being too loud. But you said planes were like cars; that people in the front couldn’t hear what people in the backseat were talking about.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt told them because they seemed genuinely embarrassed.

“Everything okay?” Blaine, who had returned from the bathroom, asked.

“Those two lovely ladies would love to take a picture with you. Would you?” Kurt turned to Blaine who nodded and sat down on the brunette’s armrest.

Kurt took both girls’ cell phones and snapped a picture of them with their idol before he and Blaine returned to their seats. Behind them the girls were now talking to one another quietly and Blaine gave Kurt a thumbs up.

“Sorry about that,” he whispered though. “Usually people leave me alone when I’m on a plane.”

“It’s okay, compared to some fans of yours those two were actually real nice,” Kurt said, remembering the stories Blaine had told him about his more ‘enthusiastic’ fans and those that had led to him deleting his twitter account.

The rest of the flight passed without any incidents and once they landed in L.A, Kurt hunted down their luggage while Wes whisked Blaine away to the waiting car. Nick joined him at baggage claim and collected Blaine’s bags and suitcases while Kurt took care of his own.

“So,” Nick drawled. “I heard congratulations are in order.” Kurt just rolled his eyes.

“I saw you two weeks ago at Dalton,” he reminded Blaine’s friend as they pushed their trollies through the throng of people at LAX. “So thanks, but you don’t have to tell me every time you see me.”

Nick stopped in his track, causing Kurt to bump into him. “Wait, you mean that was real?” he asked surprised. “I thought this was just Blaine continuing his coming out tour after he got you back on board.”

Kurt nodded. “We’ve been together pretty much since Blaine flew out to Ohio.”

“Wow,” Nick replied. “What did you do, never leave his bedroom? Wes has a google alert for Blaine, he would have known if you were seen with him.”

“Sorry, Nick, I don’t kiss and tell,” Kurt winked, because no one needed to know that he and Blaine weren’t sleeping together yet and probably wouldn’t for the foreseeable future.

They were lucky that day, as their arrival coincided with the departure of a rising pop star who the paparazzi at the airport were focusing on. Kurt climbed into the backseat of Blaine’s car where he joined his boyfriend and Wes. Blaine handed him his phone.

“I don’t know what you said to those girls, but they were nice enough not to mention you,” he said.

The girls had already tweeted the picture Blaine had taken with them and were gushing about how nice Blaine was.

“Yeah, but they told everyone they met you on the way to L.A. So much for keeping your return under wrap until you went on Ellen,” Wes frowned.

Nick snorted. “As if that would have happened. Someone with a smartphone always recognizes Blaine at the airport no matter what he does with his hair.”

Blaine pouted and removed the baseball cap and sunglasses he’d donned before leaving the plane. “It was worth a try.”

“I’ve made an appointment with a realtor for you this afternoon,” Wes switched to manager mode. “The house is on the market and there’ve been some offers but so far not as much as you’re hoping to get for it.”

Blaine nodded before he addressed Nick and Jeff. “You know that you have a job with me for as long as you want it, right. I’m not kicking you out and firing you.”

“It’s cool,” Nick replied. “I’ve been wanting to try my hand at producing music and maybe this is the push I needed.”

“Jeff?” Blaine turned to his other friend.

“Well, I have to admit that I’m not too happy about us not living together anymore, but I get it. Fortunately, I’m hot so I’ll still get girls without your help,” his friend winked.

Blaine knew he didn’t have to worry about Wes and David. Even if they didn’t work for him anymore, they would have no problem getting another well paying job. And for the moment they had no plans to leave him.

  The rest of the drive to Santana’s apartment, Wes updated Blaine on what had happened during his absence. Ari wanted to see him the next morning to discuss the scripts he’d sent Blaine’s way which worked for Blaine because he wanted to discuss Kurt’s screenplay with Ari. Blaine had loved it and was relieved to discover that Wes liked it too and was supportive when Blaine told him he wanted it to be his next project. On Monday, he would start rehearsal for Bare and on Friday he would tape his appearance on the Ellen Show. He tried not to think about it too much, because knowing what he had to do made him quite nervous even though he knew Kurt was on board.

=====

Santana greeted him in front of her apartment building and Kurt wasn’t surprised to see that Brittany was with her. During Kurt’s absence the two girls had grown close and Santana had warned him that he would see a lot of the dancer if he moved in with her. It was a temporary solution but until Kurt found a new job he couldn’t afford to rent a new apartment. Blaine had offered to help him out financially but Kurt had declined. Enough of Blaine’s fans already thought he was a gold digging whore and he didn’t want to give them more ammunition by letting Blaine pay for his apartment. It was easier to ignore that fraction of Blaine’s fans now that he had deleted his twitter account and had turned off the messaging function on his Facebook page. Before he’d returned to L.A, he’d also changed his phone number and email address so that now he was relatively safe from nasty comments. He couldn’t do anything about people accosting him in public, but since the L.A Times article, a few girls had come up to him in Lima and apologized for believing the things the media had written about him.

“Thanks again for letting me stay with you,” he told Santana after they hugged.

“It’s the least I can do,” she shrugged. “If I hadn’t come up with the deal you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kurt assured her. “No one forced me to take the deal, it’s my own fault for thinking I could date Blaine without people digging up dirt about me.” He’d been naive in thinking people would only snap a few pictures of him and Blaine and that would be it.

Blaine stayed in the car while Kurt unloaded his bags, mindful of Santana’s neighbors milling around the front door. Kurt didn’t want his picture back in the papers while he was still looking for a job the days leading up to the Ellen interview because he was afraid that some people would only hire him because of his rumored relationship with Blaine or that others wouldn’t if he kept getting negative press. Kurt had finally gotten a reply from one studio inviting him to interview for a position as a writer’s assistant and he didn’t want anything to jeopardize his chances.

While Nick and Jeff carried his luggage upstairs to the apartment and Wes talked to Brittany and Santana, Kurt said goodbye to Blaine in the car. For the past five weeks, they’d seen each other nearly every day but now that they were back in L.A, things were going to change. Blaine was starting rehearsal and was looking for a new place to live and Kurt had to focus on getting his own life back on track. They’d made plans to meet for lunch on Friday before Kurt would come with Blaine to the taping of his interview but other than that they wouldn’t get to see one another the coming week. That didn’t mean that they wouldn’t talk daily but yes, things would be different now that they were back in Hollywood.

==========

“So how do you feel about being back?” Santana asked as she poured them a generous glass of wine. She was holding hands with Brittany with her other hand and Kurt smiled because it had been a while since he’d seen his friend this happy.

“Nervous,” he confessed. “I just hope things won’t get crazy again after Blaine’s interview. The only upside is that there just isn’t anything left the media could discover about me. I just have to learn to ignore the haters if I want to be with Blaine because not everyone’s going to like it. I told him once to surround himself with positive people and I guess it’s time I start living by my own advice.”

“Those people who say bad things about you, they’re probably just jealous because Blaine’s dating you and not them,” Brittany added. “Sometimes people say mean things to me too when I’m with Santana. But I’d be jealous too if she was dating someone else.”

Kurt had been so wrapped up in his own misery that he’d forgotten that he wasn’t the only victim of homophobia and that Santana had first hand experience with cyber bullying.

“There will always be people who hate us for being gay, but if we hide who we are, nothing will ever change,” Santana shrugged. “And I’d rather be hated by some than spend my life in the closet. It took me a while to get to that point, but I wouldn’t go back now.” She smiled at Brittany.

Kurt knew that Blaine felt the same. Even though his boyfriend had been confronted with some hate following his coming out, Blaine was much happier now that he didn’t have to hide who he was anymore. He raised his glass.

“So screw the haters. I’ve let them have way too much power over my life for too long, but this ends now. Anyone who spends so much time and energy hating on other people can’t be a very happy person. So let them have their hate, I’m choosing happiness.”

“Cheers,” Santana exclaimed and they clinked their glasses together.

=======

“Good to have you back, Blaine,” Ari greeted him in his office. Outside, Blaine had briefly met Kurt’s replacement, a young man named Lloyd who was over the moon about his new job. Santana said he was okay, which coming from Santana seemed like a compliment.

“Good to be back,” Blaine shook Ari’s hand and took a seat on the couch flanked by Wes and David. “Did you get my email with Kurt’s script?”

Ari nodded. “I did, but let’s talk about your next project first. How did you like the scripts I sent over?” his agent asked, his face giving nothing away about whether he’d really read Kurt’s screenplay or not.

Blaine had come prepared for a fight, knowing that Ari was angry with his former assistant and probably not in the mood to help Kurt.

“Sidelines is my next project,” he told Ari.

“Did you even read it?” Wes added and Ari sighed.

“I did, and you were right, it’s good. But it’s not going to be your next project.”

“Why not?” Blaine challenged him. “You think it’s good and I know you know people who can make it happened. You wouldn't be my agent otherwise.”

Blaine had the upper hand here because he was certain Ari didn’t want to lose him to another agency. But Ari chose to ignore Blaine’s veiled threat.

“You know why Brokeback Mountain was popular?” Ari asked before he answered his own question. “Gyllenhaal and Ledger, they’ve both been in at least one hugely successful movie before they shot Brokeback. They had massive fan bases and they only played gay so when the movie was over, their female fans could still fantasize about sleeping with them. You, on the other hand, in the grand scheme of things, are known to only a small group of people. The ones who watched your show and the ones who read gossip magazines and found out who you are through them. You need at least one commercial success before you can play the lead in a gay love story,” his agent explained. Blaine turned to his friend and manager.

“Wes?”

“I agree with Ari,” Wes said and Blaine tried not to show that Wes siding with Ari hurt. “You want more than your LLM fans to see the story Kurt wrote, right but I’m not sure the general audience is ready for a gay love story with a happy ending if they don’t know the lead actor. The studios wouldn’t go for it. I’m sure Ari could find a buyer for Kurt’s script but I’m afraid they would go with someone more famous. You need to do a commercial movie first to show people you are more than a TV actor whose show got cancelled because of low ratings.”

Blaine knew it wasn’t easy for Wes to be this brutally honest, but they’d talked about it before Wes became his manager. That Wes would only take the job if at the end of the day they were still friends even if Wes had to tell Blaine things he didn’t necessarily want to hear. And his friend was right. He didn’t just want his LLM fans to see Kurt’s story. Kurt’s story showed that it didn’t matter whether you were gay or straight, that when you fell in love, love was love. And he wanted as many people as possible to see that. 

“So what movie do you think I should do?” he turned back to Ari, deciding to at least hear his agent out. Ari smiled.

“I just got a script by Aaron Sorkin. It’s about the guy who invented Facebook and the studio would love you for one of the co-founders of Facebook.”

Aaron Sorkin was a screen writing god in the industry and movies he wrote rarely flopped. Blaine knew he’d be stupid to say no to an offer like that. And a movie about Facebook had to interest people, right?

“You’ll still have to come in and read for them, but Dana told me you’re on top of their list,” Ari continued selling his pitch, but Blaine was already sold.

“And if I get this role, you’ll help me get Kurt’s screenplay produced?” Ari nodded. “Alright, set up the audition.” His agent grinned.

“I knew you'd make the right decision. One thing I’m curious about though. Why are you helping Kurt after he bailed on you?”

Blaine smiled sweetly. “It’s a great script. Whatever my personal feelings about him, I think he should get a chance to tell his story.”

He left it at that and walked out of Ari’s office with a smile on his face. His agent would find out soon enough what his personal feelings about Kurt were, but at the moment he liked that Ari was in the dark and thought his brilliant plan had failed.

==========

“My next guest is best known for portraying Parker Sinclair on the musical comedy Loser Like Me. Please welcome Blaine Anderson.”

Upon his cue, Blaine took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage. His palms were sweaty and he hoped Ellen wouldn’t notice. He’d never really gotten used to giving interviews in front of a studio audience even though he loved to get up on stage to perform. He’d stuttered badly the first time he was interviewed but fortunately people thought his nervousness was cute. Now, five years later and having gone through media training, he was expected to act like a pro. So he put on his most charming smile and shook Ellen’s hand before taking a seat on the guest sofa.

“It’s nice to see you again, Blaine. It’s been what, two years since your last visit?” Blaine nodded.

“It’s good to be back,” he smiled easily, hiding his nerves behind a well crafted facade. Of all the talk show hosts, Ellen was his favorite because she always managed to calm his nerves a little during the course of the interview.

“You’ve had a tough couple of months,” Ellen began and Blaine grimaced.

“You could say so,” he agreed.

“But let’s start with the positive. You are back at the Hollywood Bowl this summer with a production of Bare: A Pop Opera. Tell me what it’s about.”

This was easy to answer. “It’s about two boys, Jason and Peter, who attend a catholic boarding school together and are in a secret relationship. Jason’s very popular at school and all the girls want to date him. Peter’s fed up with being in the closet and tries to convince Jason to come out with him. It’s very angsty because they’re not only afraid of what their friends and family would say if they knew, but also how the priests and nuns who run the school would react.”

“You came out to the public a few months ago to overwhelming support from your fans.” The crowd roared.

“I did,” Blaine smiled. “I’ve been nervous about my fans’ reaction, but they’ve been amazing. If I’d known they would be this supportive, I would have gone public much sooner. Every day I get messages from teens telling me how much my coming out has helped them. It’s humbling to know you are seen as a sort of role model all of a sudden.”

“Is that why you wanted to do the show?” Ellen asked.

“The story line has resonated with me since I first came across it. Because in a way I was Peter. But I was also lucky I had a group of friends in school who I could be open with. Without them - and I don’t want to give away too much here, but if you watch the show you know what I mean - I could have easily been Jason.”

“There was some backlash following your coming out?” Blaine nodded.

“I got some pretty nasty tweets and was called a pervert and a pedophile by conservative papers who advised their readers to keep their kids away from me. That hurt.”

“Well they are wrong,” Ellen smiled at him. “But before we talk more about your coming out, let’s get back to Bare real quick. Your co-star is Sebastian Smythe, right?” Blaine nodded. “Who you’ve been seen with together a lot lately.” Blaine nodded again. There was no use denying it. “So your fans asked me to ask you if you and Sebastian are dating.”

In the audience, two young girls were holding up a heart shaped sign that had Seblaine 4 ever written on it. Blaine laughed.

“I’m sorry to disappoint, but Sebastian and I are just friends. We’re doing a show together so we thought we should get to know each other a bit first. Two guys can hang out at a gay bar together without it meaning they’re sleeping together,” he winked.

“So Sebastian is not the boyfriend you mentioned in the live Q&A where you revealed you are gay,” Ellen summed up and Blaine nodded.

“He’s not.”

Okay, so let’s talk about your coming out. The way you came out, that wasn’t your original plan, correct?”

“I never planed to give an interview or come out on twitter. I’d just started dating someone new and I wanted us to have a normal relationship. I wanted us to go out on dates and hold hands instead of pretending I was just grabbing dinner with a friend. I just wanted what my friends had and at this point I didn’t care anymore who knew about it. Keeping my personal life private had turned into hiding  who I really was and I didn’t like it anymore. If being honest about myself meant letting people know stuff about my private life, so be it. But I didn’t plan to make an announcement and I definitely didn’t plan to let the media know who I was dating.”

“But you did end up making an announcement,” Ellen interjected. Blaine nodded.

“I introduced my boyfriend to my LLM family, and my co-star, Rebecca Quinn, she wasn’t happy about it. She threatened to out me to the public by exposing things about my past that painted me in an unflattering light if I didn’t break up with my boyfriend and dated her instead. My team and I agreed that it would be best if I came out on my own terms before she could out me.”

“I think we all know how that turned out.”

“As an actor you know that nothing you do will ever be really private and I was prepared for the fallout in case Rebecca released what she knew about me and my past. A couple of auditions I had lined up were cancelled after she leaked the pictures of me in bars but all in all, her reveals didn’t really hurt my career. So she went after my family and my boyfriend and that’s were I drew the line. Kurt didn’t deserve what she did to him. He wasn’t trying to get famous, he was a nice regular guy with a sort of normal job. Rebecca outed him to the media and they dragged him through the mud without confirmation that he was actually my boyfriend. And I gotta say, even if I had confirmed that he and I were dating, that didn’t give them the right to drag his past out into the open. What they did to him was horrible, so now I’m asking them to give us space. You owe us that.” Blaine turned to face the cameras directly. “You severely violated his right to privacy and now you can make it up to him by giving it to him. If we’re ever at a public event together, we’re fair game. But if he’s just going to work or shopping or whatever, you’re going to leave him alone. Take as many pictures of me as you like because I knew what I signed up for when I took my first acting job. He didn’t ask for any of this, so as long as his only claim to fame is dating me, I’m asking you to leave him alone.”

“I’m guessing the same goes for your fans?” Ellen asked.

“I’m always happy to talk to my fans,” Blaine smiled at the audience, “and as long as they don’t sell the pictures they take to the media, it doesn’t bother me as much.  Though I gotta tell you guys, you’ll always get better pictures if you ask me first,” he winked.

“We’re nearly out of time, but are there any projects your fans should look out for?” Ellen started to wind down the interview.

“There are some things in the works, but nothing I can talk about at the moment. But if you follow me on twitter, you’ll know the moment I have any news.”

“And that’s it for tonight’s show. Loser Like Me Season 5 is out on DVD on June 5th and you can catch Blaine live at the Hollywood Bowl in August.”

The cameras shut off and Blaine headed into the audience to sign a few autographs and take pictures with his fans. After what he’d said during his interview no one asked him any questions about Kurt which he was grateful for. Once all his fans were happy, he caught up with Ellen backstage.

“You did great,” she told him. “If you hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have known you were nervous.”

Blaine laughed. “Thanks. Guess I’m not as bad an actors as my critics say. But I wanted to ask if you had a second to meet Kurt. He’s a huge fan of yours.”

“Lead the way.”

On the way to Blaine’s dressing room they ran into Ari who’d come to the studio with Shauna.

“Ellen, can I borrow Blaine for a moment?” Ari asked sweetly. Ellen nodded and told Blaine she’d meet up with him in his dressing room.

“You and Kurt?” Ari asked as soon as they were alone. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Should I,” Blaine feigned innocence. “Kurt isn’t working for you anymore and I haven’t had bad press in weeks. I didn’t know you cared.”

“If you want me to do my job I gotta know stuff like that,” Ari sputtered.

“Don’t worry. I told Shauna as soon as Kurt and I made it official. My public image was in good hands,” Blaine smiled before he left a gaping Ari behind in the hallway. Sometimes it just was too much fun to rile up his agent.

================

After Kurt got to take a picture with Ellen, he and Blaine left the studio together in Blaine’s BMW.

“You really think the media will do what you asked them?” he turned to his boyfriend.

“If we’re lucky, maybe for a week,” Blaine sighed, “but I wanted to call them out publicly.”

“And you’re sure that was a good idea?” Kurt asked because what if the gossip sites retaliated and started a smear campaign against Blaine.

Blaine shrugged. “It was something I needed to say. Because the same guy who claimed to have learned his lesson about not outing people when he explained why he didn’t out me, had no qualms doing it to you. None of them even considered that you might not be out when they wrote you were my boyfriend. And if no one calls them out on their behavior than who knows if they won’t do it again.”

Kurt wasn’t as optimistic as Blaine but he hoped his boyfriend was right. And they had a new media strategy. Once Blaine’s Ellen interview had aired, they would post pictures of the two of them on Twitter from time to time in the hope that paparazzi pictures would become less valuable if they supplied Blaine’s fans and the media with pictures. At least this way, they would have control over the kind of pictures that ended up online.

Blaine pulled up to a gate and rang the bell. He’d given his entourage the rest of the day off so he could show Kurt the house he considered buying once his old one was sold. At the end of the short driveway, they were met with the realtor. Compared to the mansion Blaine still lived in, the house was tiny. It had a three car garage and only two storeys.

“I want your honest opinion,” Blaine told him. “Because maybe one day you’ll live here with me,” he added, a hopeful smile on his face.

Kurt wasn’t surprised by the admission. Blaine had roped him into picking a new house and the way he included Kurt’s opinions in his decision making progress had suggested to him that Blaine was trying to find a house for the two of them.

“Alright, show it to me,” he replied. Their relationship was pretty new but if they managed to stay together it seemed only logical that they would move in together at some point. At least this house was a more normal size because he would have felt weird living in a mansion.

The realtor led them into the kitchen first. Thanks to the large windows it was flooded with light and a sliding door led to the backyard. Kurt admired the state of the art appliances and the marble countertops. The kitchen also had a breakfast bar and he could easily imagine him and Blaine sitting there side by side sipping their morning coffees.

The backyard wasn’t much smaller than Blaine’s old one. There was a pool, a hot tub, a gardening shed and a grill. A hammock hung between two pine trees, a perfect spot for lazy Sunday afternoons, Kurt thought. Back inside, the realtor showed them into the living room which was connected to the kitchen through the dinning room.

“There’s a game room in the basement and the previous owner also had a small recording studio down there. If you’re interested in keeping it, he’d be willing to sell you the equipment,” the realtor explained.

It was what had landed the house on the list, because initially Blaine had felt it was too small.

They finished their tour of the first floor by looking into the room designed as an office and inspecting the bathroom. On the second floor were the four bedrooms.

“There’s one master bedroom and three smaller bedrooms. All come with an en suite bathroom and have a balcony,” the realtor continued.

They looked into all of them and Kurt thought that Blaine would have to redecorate before he moved in. Judging by Blaine’s expression when he saw the decor, his boyfriend agreed. The tour ended in the basement, where Blaine inspected the equipment in the recording studio and checked out the game room. After the tour, Blaine told the realtor she should expect an answer within the next few days before he and Kurt got back into the car.

“So, what do you think?” Blaine asked.

“I love it,” Kurt told him honestly. “But I’d understand if it wasn’t big enough for you.”

But Blaine shook his head. “I love it too. And once we’ve redecorated, it’s going to be amazing.”

“You want me to help you redecorate?” Kurt asked. “What if we break up? I’m sure you wouldn’t want to live in a house that I helped decorate.”

“You’re right, maybe we won’t make it work. But I’m hoping that we will and that eventually, you’re going to live here too. I’d want you to feel like it’s your house as much as mine,” Blaine smiled. “And if we break up, I can just sell the house and move somewhere else.”

It was strange but sometimes when he was with Blaine he forgot that his boyfriend was a millionaire with fans around the globe. That he could buy a house without having a mortgage. If Blaine moved into a normal apartment, he could probably retire right now and easily live off the money he’d already earned for the rest of his life, while Kurt had to stay on Santana’s couch because he couldn’t afford an apartment while he was unemployed. He didn’t have enough savings for that and still had to pay off student loans. It wasn’t hard to understand why people wanted Blaine’s life. But Kurt was smarter now. He’d experienced first hand that Blaine’s life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows and that the prize of his wealth was the lack of privacy.

“So are you gonna take it?” he asked Blaine.

“I think so. I have to talk to my accountant to figure out if I can make an offer before the other house sells.”

On the drive to Santana’s apartment, they continued talking about how they would decorate the house if Blaine bought it. Kurt sent a text to Santana asking if she was home and when she replied that she was out with Brittany, he turned to Blaine.

“Unless you have other plans, do you want to come in? Brittany said the couch’s great for getting your mack on,” he added with a wink.

Before today, he hadn’t seen Blaine for a week and it was high time for another make out session.

=================

The next evening, Blaine picked Kurt up at seven so they could attend a Bare cast party together. The producers had postponed it a week after Blaine had informed them he would only return to L.A in time for the first rehearsal. Kurt was bouncing in his seat excitedly on the way to the Smythe’s home where the party was being held, not even the prospect of running into Sebastian dampening his spirit. Kurt hadn’t seen his friend Rachel, who had been cast as Ivy, for nearly three years. Her parents had relocated to New York when their daughter moved there for college, so she didn’t have a reason anymore to visit Ohio where Kurt lived until three years ago. Sure they’d stayed in contact through Facebook and Skype, but he was looking forward to seeing her in person again. She’d been a diva in high school, but when she moved to New York she had learned quickly that she wasn’t in Ohio anymore and that there were thousands of girls just like her in New York, all pretty and very talented. The last few times they saw each other in person, Kurt had been surprised by how much easier it was to talk to Rachel and it was when their friendship really had begun.

Blaine liked her too but he hadn’t spent much time with Rachel yet because she had most of her scenes with Sebastian. Who, according to Blaine, was also on his best behavior and hadn’t hit on Blaine once since the L.A Times article had come out.

The Smythe family lived in a huge house in Bel Air, similar to the one Blaine had just put on the market.

“You and Jeff can take the night off. Kurt and I can take a cab home,” Blaine told Nick who had driven them.

“Awesome,” Nick fist pumped the air. “Jeff knows someone who can get us into the party at Jessica Alba’s beach house.”

Blaine took Kurt’s hand as he rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a woman in a maid’s uniform who led them through an opulent foyer out onto the terrance where the party was already in full swing. They were heading for Jim Smythe when Kurt was nearly bowled over by a tiny brunette.

“Kurt, it’s so great to see you,” she exclaimed. “Oh, hi Blaine,” she added when she noticed Blaine next to Kurt.

“Hi Rachel,” Blaine greeted her. “Why don’t I get us some drinks so you and Kurt can catch up.”

Kurt smiled at Blaine gratefully. It really had been too long since he’d last seen Rachel.

Rachel led him to a plush white sofa and pulled him down next to her.

“So Blaine, huh,” she smacked his shoulder lightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry,” Kurt apologized. “But it all happened so fast and you were busy with your tour.”

“You told Mercedes,” Rachel pouted.

“And she was pissed because I didn’t tell her the moment I met Blaine,” Kurt laughed.

“But tell me about yourself. Have you heard if your pilot is going to get picked up?”

Rachel had filmed a pilot for a show called Glee which from what she told him about it, would follow in Loser Like Me’s footsteps, with the difference that it would be set in an Ohio public school.

Rachel sighed. “I don’t think it’s going to happen, because the studio thinks it’s too soon. If people wanted to see a high school show choir, they would have kept watching Blaine’s show. But my agent thinks I should stay out here for a bit and audition for other stuff.”

“I’m sorry. I’d love it though if you stayed in the city. All my favorite ladies in one place,” he smiled at her.

“I think I will. I met this guy in New York and he is based in L.A.”

“Who is it?” Kurt asked curiously.

Rachel leaned in closer and whispered into his ear. “Do you know Jesse St. James?”

“No way,” Kurt exclaimed. “I met him a few months ago and he made me think of you. Though I wasn’t sure if you would hate each other or fall madly in love.”

Rachel laughed. “We’ve only been on two dates so it’s definitely too early to talk about love, but so far we get along great.”

“It’s a small world,” Kurt observed. “Santana, you and I, we’re all dating people involved with LLM.”

“What? Who’s Santana dating. I thought she was dating a lawyer.”

Rachel and Santana hadn’t liked one another in high school, but after Santana had helped him after the OSU incident, Rachel had reached out to Santana. They’d been on friendly terms since, which Kurt was grateful for because he wanted all his friends to get along.

“Brittany Pierce, she was an assistant choreographer on LLM,” he told Rachel. “And she’s going on tour with Beyonce this summer.”

“You’re talking about Brittany?” Blaine asked and handed Kurt a glass of white wine. Kurt nodded and made space for Blaine next to him on the couch.

“I just told Rachel that she’s dating Santana. You wanna tell Blaine who you are seeing, Rach.”

Rachel blushed before she repeated what she’d told Kurt quietly. Blaine’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets before he smiled at her.

“That’s great. If you see him tell him congrats for getting the Hairspray gig.”

“And if you need any tips about what not to do when you’re dating a celebrity, I’m your man,” Kurt joked. Rachel was on her way to becoming a celebrity herself, so he wasn’t too worried about her.

They were joined by another cast member and Kurt forced himself to give Sebastian a polite smile. They were at his house after all and the last thing Kurt needed was cause a scene. To his surprise, Sebastian asked him if could talk to Kurt in private for a moment.

“Sebastian,” Blaine started, but Kurt interrupted him.

‘Sure,”he said, because he was curious to find out what Sebastian had to say.

He followed Sebastian into the house and took a seat opposite him on one of the living room couches.

“I wanted to apologize,” Sebastian surprised him. “I guess it wasn’t cool that I went after Blaine when I knew he was seeing you.”

“Thanks,” Kurt replied, unable to mask his surprise. “Why the change of heart?”

Sebastian seemed to collect his thoughts for a moment before he answered.

“I’ve been in your shoes you know. After I was outed by the press they also dragged me through the mud. I realized I was making things worse for you when I publicly went after Blaine. You had enough on your plate, you didn’t needed the added speculation that your boyfriend was already cheating on you.”

“So you’re not interested in Blaine anymore?” Kurt asked to make sure that Sebastian wouldn’t be a problem in the future.

“Oh I am,” Sebastian admitted freely, “but I also know I can’t force anything. He knows I’m interested if ever wants to dump you, but I won’t pursue him as long as you are in the picture.”

It was clear that Sebastian didn’t believe he and Blaine would be together long, but Kurt could live with the knowledge that Sebastian was interested in Blaine as long as he didn’t actively go after Kurt’s boyfriend.

“Thanks for your honesty. I don’t think we’ll see much of each other, but if we do, can we agree to be civil. At least while you and Blaine are doing the show.” He held out his hand for Sebastian to shake. After a beat, Sebastian took his hand and they shook on it.

“I’ll let you get back to your date,” the actor said and went back outside, Kurt following him more slowly.

Blaine looked up in relief when Kurt rejoined him and Rachel.

“You okay?” Kurt nodded.

“We’ve come to an agreement,” he summed up his conversation with Sebastian.

Blaine looked relieved. Neither Blaine nor Sebastian could afford negative press at this point, and if it came out that the two leads hated each other, well that wouldn’t be good.

When Rachel excused herself to take a call, Blaine made the rounds with Kurt and introduced him to the rest of the cast and Sebastian’s father Jim. No one even blinked when Blaine introduced Kurt as his boyfriend, a welcome relief after the last couple of months.

They left the party shortly after one, sharing a cab with Rachel who had rented an apartment in West Hollywood. After they’d said goodnight to Rachel, Blaine turned to Kurt.

“I’m not trying to pressure you, but would you come back to my place? We’ve barely seen each other all week, and I’d love to spend the whole Sunday with you.”

It wasn’t a difficult decision. He’d missed Blaine during the last week and while he wasn’t ready to have sex with Blaine - they’d only really been together six weeks - he was definitely ready to spend the night with his boyfriend.

“I’d love to.”

=================

Two weeks later, Blaine’s old house was sold and he gave his realtor the go ahead to close the deal on the house he’d picked together with Kurt. Kurt had made it clear that he wouldn’t move in with Blaine until they had been together at least six months and he could contribute financially, but Blaine still involved him in every step during the redecorating process. They only room they didn’t change was the kitchen, where Kurt showed him how to cook a few dishes so he didn’t order in every night. Wes and David had both moved in with their girlfriends, Cooper had moved into a penthouse apartment and Nick and Jeff were sharing an apartment in West Hollywood. After he moved into the new house, he had trouble sleeping at first, because he wasn’t used to being alone anymore. The house was just so quiet during the day without his friend’s constant presence, though he had to admit that sometimes it was nice to come home from rehearsal and not have to deal with anyone. Since the cast party Kurt usually spent the weekends with him so Santana and Brittany could have the apartment to themselves. Brittany was set to leave for Beyonce’s tour in a few weeks and Blaine understood why the girls wanted to spend as much time as possible together.

He was brought back to the present when a key unlocked his front door. Even though they’d only been together two months, he had given Kurt the code to the gate and a key, because it happened more than once that he was downstairs in the recording studio and didn’t hear the bell when Kurt arrived. It was just easier this way and Kurt had also promised to give him a key to the apartment he was set to move in the following week. Fortunately, Kurt’s job interview had gone well and he’d gotten the job of assistant to the head writer of a new TV show called The Vampire Dairies. Blaine knew that it wasn’t Kurt’s ideal job, but at least his boyfriend had finally made his way into the writers’ room of a TV show. Kurt had another three weeks before he started work and spent most of his free time writing, because the head writer had promised to promote Kurt to staff writer if the show got a second season and she liked Kurt’s writing and story ideas. Blaine had told Kurt about his meeting with Ari and while his boyfriend had been disappointed, he’d also understood Ari’s reasoning. Blaine had auditioned for The Social Network a few days ago and was now anxiously waiting to hear back from he studio.

He met Kurt at the front door and kissed him deeply, making Kurt drop is messenger bag.

“I take it you missed me,” Kurt quipped when Blaine had to break for air and Blaine blushed. It was weird but being with Kurt made him feel like a teenager even though he’d spent the last couple of years sleeping with every guy who showed the smallest amount of interest. He would be lying if he said he didn’t miss sex and if jerking off was an Olympic sport he could probably win the gold medal at this point. But Kurt was more important to him than just getting off and he had promised himself never to pressure his boyfriend. Their relationship progressed in a way Blaine assumed it would have had they met in high school and after what had happened to Kurt in Ohio, he understood why Kurt needed to take things slow. And on the upside, he also got to experience things he never had before. He’d lost his virginity his first summer in L.A to a guy he’d met in a bar and because he hadn’t wanted to admit he was a virgin had gone straight from never having done anything to third base. Before Kurt, he’d never just spent hours making out with a guy trying his best not to come in his pants. And with the tight pants Kurt usually wore, he knew that his boyfriend was just as affected by what they were doing.

Kurt kicked off his shoes, took Blaine by the hand and led him to one of the living room couches and pushed Blaine down onto it. His back had barely hit the couch when Kurt was already pulling on the hem of his shirt.

“I take it you missed me too,” he teased but raised his arms so Kurt could pull his shirt off before his boyfriend got rid of his own. Kurt didn’t bother with a verbal reply and kissed him deeply instead. Blaine was smart enough not to protest. Before long, Kurt was grinding against him and Blaine reluctantly wiggled out from underneath him.

“No,” Kurt whined. “Where are you going?”

Blaine sighed. “If you keep doing this, I’m going to come in my pants,” he admitted. Kurt blushed before he took a deep breath.

“Who says that wasn’t my plan,” he said and Blaine froze.

“Really?” he asked because he needed to be sure that Kurt meant what he was saying.

His boyfriend nodded shyly. Blaine held out his hand and pulled Kurt off the couch. When Kurt looked at him with confusion written over his face, Blaine was quick to assure him that he was totally okay with the plan, he just thought it would be better if they relocated upstairs.

“Is that okay?” he asked. Kurt mulled his proposal over for a moment before he nodded.

“Just one thing,” he said. “Underwear stays on,” Kurt blushed and Blaine nodded frantically, just the thought of getting Kurt out of his tight jeans driving him crazy.

==============

In early August, Blaine’s show premiered to rave reviews and Kurt accompanied him to the premier party. It was the first public event they were attending together and Kurt knew that someone would probably photograph him with Blaine. They’d released a few photos of the two of them together on Blaine’s twitter after his Ellen interview had aired which had also ended up on various gossip sites, but apart from that he’d miraculously been left alone by the press. Granted, he rarely went out in public these days. He’d just started his new job and when he met Blaine it was usually at either Blaine’s house or Kurt’s apartment. A few times, he’d been recognized when he’d gone to the store, but as far as he knew no one had taken his picture. These days, he tried to stay away from the gossip sites, knowing that if someone wrote about him and Blaine, Blaine’s publicist would let them know. He’d spent part  of his first paycheck on a new suit and had enlisted Santana as his hair stylist again. Santana had been grateful for the distraction as Brittany had left and she was bored without her girlfriend keeping her company.

When he and Blaine stepped out of the car driving them to the venue hosting the party, Blaine was immediately whisked away by Shauna so he could get his picture taken with his co-stars. Kurt watched from the sidelines as Blaine joined Rachel and Sebastian to pose for the photographers. He was joined by Jesse St. James who was Rachel’s date.

“I have to admit, I’m surprised you’re still with him. I thought for sure that the press had scared you off when you ran off to Ohio,” the actor said. “Kudos for sticking around. Blaine and I, we were never best friends, but he’s a good guy and Rachel thinks highly of you,” he continued.

It was a strange compliment, so he returned it in kind. “Rachel likes you a lot so I guess you have be a good guy too.”

Jesse laughed. “Most people would say I’m an arrogant jerk.” His expression sobered. “But I really like Rachel, so I hope we can all be friends.”

If someone had told him a year ago that Golden Globe Winner Jesse St. James would ask if they could be friends or that he would be dating Blaine Anderson he would have committed them to an insane asylum.

“As long as you treat her right, we’re going to be friends.”

A photographer called out, “Blaine can we get one with you and Kurt,” while another called for a picture of Rachel and Jesse.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Jesse said before he joined his girlfriend, his show smile in place.

Kurt slowly approached Blaine, trying his best not to grimace as lights went off around him. Once he reach his boyfriend, Blaine wrapped an arm around him and Kurt forced himself to smile for the cameras. Blaine let the photographers snap a few pictures of them before he took Kurt’s hand and lead him into the restaurant.

Okay?” he asked and Kurt nodded. He still didn’t like that people wanted his picture because he was dating a celebrity instead of because he’d just written an Oscar worthy screenplay but he knew that for the foreseeable future that was the only reason people would be interested in him. Hopefully, once he and Blaine had been together for a while, people would lose interest in them, because apart from the occasional party at Blaine’s house, they led a pretty boring life compared to other Hollywood couples.

Once inside, fortunately, the focus shifted back to the cast and Kurt spent a bit more time really getting to know Jesse. From time to time, they were interrupted by a reporter wanting to know about Jesse’s next projects. He also met Chris Snoop that night, one of the bloggers who’d been instrumental in dragging Kurt out into the spotlight. After introducing himself to Kurt, he tried to justify his actions.

“I’m not going to apologize,” the blogger said, “because if I hadn’t reported on you, someone else would have and well, I gotta pay my rent too. But here’s your chance to set the record straight. Let my readers know about the real Kurt Hummel.”

Maybe a few months ago, he would have jumped at the chance to tell someone the truth about the allegations against him, but now that his life was finally back on track it wasn’t a difficult decision to say ‘thanks, but no thanks’. If he ever got famous for something other than dating Blaine Anderson, he’d gladly give an interview about his work, but right now he liked the relative anonymity he’d regained after he’d move back to L.A. Sure, people who had an interest in Blaine’s life would be interested in him as long as he and Blaine were a couple, but as long as he didn’t actively try to end up in the news, he was sure he would be able to lead a relatively normal life apart from the occasional public appearance with Blaine. The last few weeks had proven that it was indeed possible.

They left the party shortly after two. Kurt had asked Blaine not to drink too much because he had plans for them and wanted both of them to be sober for it.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t spend much time with you tonight, but you and Jesse seemed to get along quite well,” Blaine said, his arm wrapped around Kurt in the backseat of the car.

“Don’t worry, I knew what I signed up for when you asked me to be your date,” he replied. “At least people were more interested in you and the show than who you’d brought as a date.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised I was only asked about you by a few bloggers. But I guess with Sebastian around, my private life must seem pretty boring,” Blaine laughed.

The driver dropped them off in front of Blaine’s house and Kurt followed Blaine inside.

“So are you going to tell me why you wanted us to stay sober tonight?” his boyfriend asked as they changed out of their suits in Blaine’s bedroom.

Kurt stopped unbuttoning his shirt and steeled himself for what he wanted to say. Blaine paused what he was doing as well and took Kurt’s hand.

“Hey, whatever it is, you know I love you. I know I haven't said it before because I didn’t want to rush you but I do.”

“I love you too,” Kurt replied. It was easy to say because his feelings for Blaine had never been an issue. “And I trust you. I trust that you won’t dump me once I sleep with you. I believe you when you say that you want us to have a future together. You’re not like the guys I met before I know that now. So what I’m trying to say is that I’m ready.”

“You are?” Blaine asked softly and Kurt nodded.

“Okay.” Blaine kissed him softly before he continued to unbutton Kurt’s shirt. “But if you change your mind, that’s okay too. I’m in this for the long haul so there’s no rush.”

He didn’t change his mind. When Blaine touched him it made him feel loved not dirty. He wasn’t afraid that he was just good enough for one thing because Blaine had proven again and again that he was into Kurt for more than just sex. He was ready to take that jump because he knew Blaine would catch him. And when all was said and done he was glad that he’d taken a chance on Blaine. Yes, his life had been turned upside down, but meeting Blaine had also led him to something he’d given up on a long time ago. Love. In the end, that was all that mattered.