Chapter 5

The Prince is still asleep in his parents’ bedroom when Kurt drags a blanket out onto the porch the next morning, the sun only just coming up. It’s his dad’s words that woke him up early and as much as he wants to go back to bed and have yet another round of spectacular sex, he knows that he needs to start thinking about the future. Also, he didn’t pack any condoms for their flight from the city and the Prince only had the one in his wallet. So maybe it’s for the best if they take a break from sex. Because they already know they are compatible in bed - drunk and sober. But if he’s going to date Prince Blaine, than great sex alone won’t be enough to make the relationship work. Because his dad is right, if he gets involved with the Prince, all eyes will be on them. They won’t be able to navigate the early stages of a relationship like a regular couple. There won’t be any dates in romantic little restaurants where they try to figure out if they like each other enough for a second or third date. That they’ve already slept together isn’t the issue - plenty of people meet through a hook up and manage to have fulfilling, long term relationships - but Kurt and the Prince, they will never be able to be just themselves in public. And until the media loses interest in Blaine’s scandal they won’t be able to go back to Kurt’s apartment either. Maybe he’ll even have to move. He’ll definitely have to change his phone number because he’s sent his contact info to every theater in the city and by now, someone willing to make a quick buck will probably have sold it to the press already. His Facebook account is limited to close friends only and even if someone betrayed him there shouldn’t be anything on there that he’s ashamed of. Mostly because his dad and Carole have guilt tripped him into adding them as friends so they could be a part of his life in the city. The same goes for his twitter account. Kurt rarely tweets himself and when he had it was mostly retweeting Broadway videos. He’s made a point of keeping his social media clean - never posting any political opinions or drunk party pictures - because what if he did manage to becoame a well-known actor and then someone hacked his Facebook account? Not even his sexuality is on Facebook because while he’s always been open about it, it makes it harder for him to get auditions when people know he’s gay before they’ve even met him. Ben could talk to the press, but Kurt did nothing wrong in that relationship. It wasn’t him who was unfaithful. And he waited almost five months before he slept with his steady boyfriend for the first time. And any other guy claiming to have slept with him, Kurt could sue for slander.

It’s not unreasonable to think about those things because every time Prince Cooper had a new girlfriend, the yellow press interviewed everyone from her elementary school teachers to the guy she was dating before the Prince. And the press has already shown up at his dad’s house so it’s only a matter of time before they try to dig up dirt on Kurt if they haven’t already. Unfortunately, he’s pretty sure that both his and Blaine’s phones are being tracked by the Palace so he can’t go online to see for himself how bad it is.

“Can’t sleep?” the Prince joins him on the porch wrapped in another blanket. Kurt shakes his head.

“I’ve been thinking. What will happen to me if we decide that those last two days were fun, but that’s it. Would you release a statement? Or would I be allowed to do so?”

“Sue would probably blackmail you to sign a NDA, but yeah, If my dad permits it I’d probably release a statement apologizing for my ‘lapse in judgment’, admit to the one night stand, record some PSA about the dangers of sleeping with strangers and ask the public for forgiveness. I assume the press would lose interest in you quickly, but probably not before writing a few articles about the guy who hooked up with the Prince. Because unless I was recorded giving you a fake name, everyone will assume you knew who I was when you hit on me at Scandals.”

“I didn’t hit on you,” Kurt protests and Blaine shrugs.

“It would make a better story. ‘Young actor seduces prince and gets dumped after one night together.’  Don’t tell me you wouldn’t read that.”

Kurt wants to deny it, but yeah, he’d read a story like that. It’s not Rachel’s name on their Royal News subscription.

“And if we start dating, what would it be then? ‘Wannabe actor seduces prince in hope of scoring parts.” Kurt asks bitterly, because this is what it will come down to.

From now on, any role he gets offered he’ll always wonder if it’s because he’s earned it or because he’s sleeping with the Prince.

Blaine hangs his head in shame. Because Kurt’s right, the press will treat him so much worse then Blaine. First of all, because Sue will make sure nothing bad will be published about him and secondly, because Kurt’s a commoner, not even a rich one from what he knows about Kurt’s family. He’ll be accused of dating Blaine for financial gain or to advance his career. It’s happened with all of Cooper’s non royal girlfriends and was usually the reason why his brother’s relationships have ended in the past. You need an incredibly thick skin to read garbage about yourself every day and not throw in the towel.

“Great,” Kurt says, eyes downcast. “And that doesn’t even factor in yet that I’m a guy. I can see the headlines - ‘Meet the man who turned Prince Blaine gay.’”

Blaine sighs. So much for staying in their little bubble for a few days.

“That sounds like you’ve changed your mind.”

Which is okay. Kurt’s nice and funny, and very easy on the eyes, but he’s also a guy Blaine met only a little over twenty-four hours ago and to be honest, had no intentions of seeing again. Not because he didn’t enjoy Kurt’s company before they hooked up, but because it would have been too risky. Blaine Anderson - he doesn’t really know why he told Kurt Blake - only has one night stands because he can’t get attached and blow his cover and it would have been no different with Kurt. If he hadn’t been so drunk and tired, he would have left Kurt’s apartment immediately after they had sex and maybe he would have gotten away with it. He wouldn’t be hiding from his father in a cabin in Ohio with a guy he barely knows, but whose dad he already met. So it’s not going to break his heart if they go their separate ways when they are back in the city. It would be nothing more than a few rounds of great sex with a guy he met in a club. Not the first and probably not the last though it will be much harder for him to meet guys now that he has to do it as himself.

“I didn’t say that,” Kurt shakes his head. “We don’t know yet if it would even work, but my dad said I should really think this through before I do anything and this is me thinking it through.”

“So I guess that means you’re not coming back to bed - how about a shower then,” Blaine tries to lighten the mood but Kurt shakes his head.

“I don’t think we should have sex again until we figure out what it is that we’re doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really enjoyed it, but I’m not interested in just sex. That’s okay for a one time kind of thing, but if you’re looking for someone to just have casual sex with I’m not that guy. I like romance.”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it yesterday,” Blaine teases not knowing what else to say since he doesn’t have much experience with sex within a committed relationship.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly yesterday,” Kurt gives the Prince a lopsided smile, before he pushes himself to his feet and offers Blaine a hand to help him up.

“So how about I’ll heat up the stove and make us some breakfast so we can start getting to know each other.”

He gets Blaine to cut the bread his dad brought them while he puts firewood into the stove and heats up a pan of water so they can have some coffee. Without electricity there isn’t much he can offer the Prince in terms of breakfast, but Blaine doesn’t complain when Kurt hands him a mug of black coffee and puts a jar of Carole’s raspberry jam onto the kitchen table. “So tell me about yourself, Blaine,” he says to the Prince after a sip of coffee that’s too bitter for his taste, but beggars can’t be choosers. It still feels a bit weird to call the Prince by his first name even after all they’ve done in bed, but Blaine’s offered and Kurt knows what a privilege it is. “If this was a normal first date, what would you tell me about yourself?”

The Prince swallows down a piece of bread before he answers.

“Well, I’m twenty-four and I’ve got a brother who’s five years older than me.” The Prince takes a sip from his coffee before he continues. “In this scenario do you know who I am?” Kurt nods. “Okay. I grew up in the Palace even though my dad only became King when I was eight. When I was  eleven, I was sent to boarding school first in England until I was fourteen and then in France till I finished my high school education. I got into Harvard which my father hated because the men in my family have gone to Yale for centuries but I kind of fell in love with Boston when my mom took me a few years ago and luckily my dad couldn’t openly say that he thought Harvard wasn’t good enough for his youngest son. I studied history like my dad and Cooper and the plan was for me to get my bachelors degree before I started my military training but I got caught kissing a boy in my second year. Dad took me out of school and sent me off to South Africa to train at a base we have there. I somehow made it through and now I’m back.”

“I knew all that minus the kissing a boy thing,” Kurt points out. “Your wikipedia entry tells me all that.”

The Prince frowns. “Then what do you want me to tell you? I wouldn’t tell a first date any personal stories. It would be much too risky.”

“You didn’t tell your girlfriends any personal stories when you started dating?” Kurt frowns as well.

“Well, I didn’t actually go on dates with them since they ran in my family’s circle. As soon as I started at Harvard I was introduced to a French princess who also went there and after escorting her to a few social functions, our families sort of decided that we were now a couple. The same with Charlotte. It was before my family knew I’m gay so they weren’t trying to force me into anything, it’s just how things work.”

“See you just told me something I didn’t know,” Kurt smiles at the Prince. “But I gotta say, that sounds very antiquated. Very Downton Abbey like.”

“Our footmen were never that hot,” Blaine sighs dramatically and Kurt laughs so hard he nearly snorts coffee all over the table.

“So what was it like growing up in the Palace?” Kurt asks when he has his laughter back under control. “Rachel and I went on a tour our first year in the city when it was open to the public over the summer. Isn’t it nice living right in the middle of Central Park? Don’t get me wrong, the north part is nice too, but you get the best part of it. It looked so pretty with the fountains and the lake.”

The Prince smiles at him, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“It is beautiful and if it were up to me, I’d open up the whole park to the public because no one in my family really uses it. My mom and Cooper don’t like horses and my dad’s too busy to ride them. I always felt guilty when I went for a ride and had this huge amazing park to myself since I didn’t have any friends I could have invited over.”

Kurt takes their empty mugs and plates and gives them a quick rinse in the sink.

“Sounds like you were kinda lonely,” he says over his shoulder.

The Prince doesn’t deny it.

After putting the plates and mugs away, they shower separately before dressing in the swim drunks Carole’s packed in with the food. Kurt only saw them this morning because otherwise he wouldn’t have gone skinny dipping with the Prince.

Back outside, they help each other put sun screen on their backs before sitting down in the shade of the cabin on Kurt’s insistence because his skin burns so easily. He tries not to stare at Blaine’s body because they are supposed to be talking, but it’s difficult because the Prince is incredibly hot. If they call it quits after a few days at the cabin it won’t be because Kurt’s not attracted to the Prince, that’s for sure.

“It doesn’t say online where you went to school before you went to England,” Kurt picks up the threads of their earlier conversation.

“I didn’t. Cooper and I had a tutor because the only school that offered the kind of security that was required for us is in DC and my mom refused to send us away when we were still young. So I didn’t any friends. Sometimes I got to play with other princes and princesses when theirs parents visited but I spent most of my time growing up with my dog and the horses since Cooper didn’t have much interest in his baby brother. And when I was six he left for school. We didn’t really have a relationship before I started at Harvard because we only saw each other for Christmas and a few state’s functions when Dad thought it would look good to have the whole family together.”

“Your room at the Palace?” Kurt asks. “Is it like the rooms they show on the tour, you know with old furniture.”

Blaine laughs. “Everyone always asks me that - and I always say living in the Palace was like living in a museum. It was always ‘don’t touch this, Blaine, it’s 18th century’ and don’t play in there, Blaine, ‘your father is having a meeting with the Queen of Norway’. But my room was a bit more modern, I even had twentieth century furniture,” the Prince winks, “and Cooper and I had a Playstation in our playroom.”

“Do you have wifi?” Kurt asks, looking to get answers to questions their tour guide couldn’t or wasn’t allowed to answer.

“Not when I was growing up, but we do now. But my Internet access was severely restricted until I was eighteen and even now I’m not supposed to have social media accounts.”

The Prince smiles mischievously and tells Kurt to try to find him on Facebook when they can use their phones again.

It’s fascinating listening to Blaine talk about his life, a life so different from Kurt’s own upbringing.

“Your official title is His Royal Highness Prince Blaine of Virginia, right?” Kurt continues his interrogation. “Did people call you Your Highness when you were a child?”

Blaine rolls his eyes. “I’ve been called Your Highness since I was born and even though I told the Palace staff to just call me Blaine they never dared to because my parents wouldn’t have considered it proper. But I have to call my own father Your Majesty during official events so it isn’t weird for me. It’s just how I was raised.”

Kurt mulls that over for a moment. “So if we were dating, would I have to address you as Your Highness in public?”

“You could get away with calling me Prince Blaine, but no, it couldn’t be just Blaine. Never in public.”

“So if you had married Lady Charlotte, she couldn’t do so either. It’s not just because I’m not royal.”

The Prince nods. “Only I would have to address her as Lady Charlotte but I can call you Kurt.”

“Well, duh,” Kurt smiles. “Last time I checked I didn’t have any titles.”

Blaine’s silent for a moment starring out onto the lake where sailboats are cutting across the water.

“Even if we got married you wouldn’t get a title because the Church would never bless a same sex marriage and without a blessing no title can be conferred and that’s not fair. If Cooper marries a commoner, she’ll probably be made a Duchess or a Countess and once he’s King, she’ll be his Queen. If I marry a commoner, he wouldn’t get a title, and if I was made King, my husband wouldn’t even be made King Consort. And if we had kids, they wouldn’t be considered legitimate heirs because they have to be born from two married royals no matter if one of them was a former commoner. Even if I married a prince it wouldn’t change anything, because last time I checked, I can't have a biological child with another man.”

“You’re right it’s not fair,” Kurt agrees, “ but times are changing, right. Just fifty years ago, a royal couldn’t marry a commoner and now everyone’s doing it,” Kurt points out because it’s true. It’s been at least ten years since the Crown Prince of Sweden married the Crown Princess of Japan and since then, there hasn’t been a ‘proper’ royal wedding in the northern hemisphere. “Maybe your brother can change the laws when he becomes King.”

“As King, Cooper will be the head of the Church, he won’t be able to change any laws restricting the influence of the Church. And parliament couldn’t do it without the King’s approval so unless I take it to the Supreme Court and win, it’s not going to happen. Not in my lifetime. But enough about my sob story. Tell me what it was like growing up in Ohio,” Blaine changes the subject because he doesn’t want to think about what Cooper may or may not do when he’s King when it’s going to be years until his brother is crowned King of America. His father is only fifty-eight - he could easily rule another thirty years if he inherited Blaine’s great-grandmother’s genes who at ninety-two is still fit as a fiddle.

“That’s more like third date material, Blaine,” Kurt teases the Prince because if he tells Blaine about growing up in Ohio, he’ll have to tell him about his mom, and he doesn’t tell just anyone about his late mother.

“I told you I was lonely growing up in the Palace which I’ve never told anyone before. So I think we’re past a first date anyway,” Blaine says before he takes Kurt’s right hand and looks deep into Kurt’s eyes. “So Kurt, would you go on a second date with me?”

“Italian okay?” Kurt jokes, thinking about the pasta in the cupboard, before he nods. “Yeah, a second date sounds nice.”

The Prince convinces him to take a break from talking in the lake and together they work up an appetite by playing water ball with a ball Blaine ‘borrows’ from their neighbors who are luckily not using the cabin yet. It feels different than the previous night where they started making out in the lake before Kurt fucked Blaine in his parents’ bed because the Prince begged him so prettily and Kurt wasn’t strong enough to refuse even though he knew they should talk and not hook up again. It doesn’t mean that the urge to kiss Blaine is suddenly gone or that he doesn’t want to follow the drop of water running down the Prince’s toned chest with his tongue, only that this, just hanging out and splashing the other with the ball, is fun too. This proves that they get along well enough that they can also have fun together without sex.

Kurt tells Blaine the story of his mother over lunch which consists of pasta covered with tomatoes from a can but again, the Prince who grew up with chefs catering every meal doesn't complain and even complements him on his cooking.

“My mom and dad, they were so in love,” Kurt says, a wistful smile on his face. “My dad only told me a few years ago, but they got married three months after they met. It didn’t not involve a pregnancy scare - I asked. They just didn’t want another minute to pass where they weren’t married. They were our age when they got married. My dad had just started working as a mechanic and my mom was in her last year of college, but somehow they made it work. And then they had me two years later and my parents were so happy. They spoilt me rotten. I was inseparable from my mom, but I didn’t care so much for my dad because he always wanted to play catch or football with me and I wanted tea parties or draw pictures of pretty princes, but he never told me that it wasn't okay that I liked tea parties and princes. They wanted to give me a sibling but my mom had two miscarriages. When they finally went to see a doctor, my mom was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of cervical cancer. I was five when she started her first round of chemo,” Kurt stops mid sentence when the Prince’s thumb wipes a stray tear from his cheek. He didn’t even realize he started crying, but then he’s never made it through telling this story without crying. Not a lot of people know the full story - all his friends know his mom died when he was seven, but only Carole, Rachel, Santana and Ben know all of it.

“And I didn’t understand why my mom was losing her hair and didn’t have the energy to chase me around the house anymore. And why I wasn’t getting the sibling they’d promised me,” he continues after taking a sip from his glass of water.

“And then she got better. The doctors said the chemo was working and that they could operate on the tumor and then all of a sudden she was in remission. What it meant for me was that my mommy could play with me again and my parents started talking about adoption because my mom couldn’t have any more children after the operation. My parents were happy again and it made me very happy.”

“Did the cancer come back?” Blaine asks. “Because you said you have a stepmom.”

Kurt wipes another stray tear from his cheek and shakes his head.

“They got a call from the adoption agency that there might be a baby for them. My dad didn’t have his own shop back then and he couldn't leave work for another two hours so my mom told him she’d go to the meeting and he could join her later. I remember telling her the whole drive that I wanted a little sister because boys were mean and my mom was laughing and then she wasn’t. I didn’t have a single scratch on me, but my mom, they told me she died instantly and I want to believe it’s true. That she didn’t suffer. All I remember was that one moment she was laughing and the next there was this incredibly loud bang and the car spun. We’d been hit by a woman who ran a stop sign. She died a few days later in the hospital and we never found out why she ran the stop sign. She wasn't drunk, she wasn’t on the phone, her eyesight was good and she wasn’t a new driver. She had a husband and a little girl and I could never hate her as much as I tried. Because she wasn’t some drunk driver. She was a mother like my mom. I met her family once a few months after when dad and I went to grief counseling and they were just as devastated as my dad and I were. It would have made it easier if I could have hated that woman, but I couldn’t. My dad stopped going to church after because he couldn’t listen to the priest saying God had a good reason for taking this woman who had beat cancer and leaving him behind with a heartbroken seven year old whose whole world had collapsed. It’s when I stopped believing in God too, because if there really is someone out there supposedly watching over us, then this person wouldn’t have taken my mom from me.”

As soon as Kurt stops talking, Blaine pulls him into his arms his own eyes a little wet from Kurt’s heartbreaking story.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” he tells the silently crying young man in his arms.

He’s not sure he’ll even shed a tear when his father dies, but his mother, despite her shortcomings, has always made sure Blaine and Cooper knew they were loved and even at twenty-four, her death would hurt him terribly. Just thinking about what it must feel like to lose your mother, any parent really, so young makes his heart hurt and he wishes there was more he could do than just hold Kurt. Who’s been right, of course, this is not first date material. Kurt’s bared his soul to him, and Blaine knows he’ll have to do the same if they want to move from a casual sex encounter to being in a real relationship whatever that means. He’s never been this honest and open with any of his girlfriends, not even Charlotte who he’s known for many years and wouldn’t hate having as a friend because they do get along well when they just hang out and he isn’t forced to act like a proper boyfriend.

“It was a long time ago,” Kurt pulls himself from Blaine’s arms and wipes his face with the hem of his t-shirt. “My dad remarried six years ago and Carole’s really lovely. She had a son my age, but, he, uh, he died. He had an undiagnosed heart condition and one day during football training our senior year he just collapsed.”

“Holy shit, Kurt,” Blaine exclaims because he didn’t see that coming. “Were you close?”

“Not really. We shared a house because our parents were married but he was a jock and I was a choir geek and we only ever talked during family dinners, but his death affected me more than I thought it would. Neither of us had made much of an effort to get along but he was family at that point. It brought up a lot of feelings from when my mom died because Carole fell apart. Her husband had died when her son was a baby and then she lost her son too. Next to my dad, she’s the strongest person I know.”

“I hope I’ll get to meet her some day. She sounds like an amazing woman,” the Prince smiles at him and Kurt pushes himself to his feet.

“Okay, enough crying. Put the dishes in the sink we can take care of them later. I think it’s time for a fun getting to know you game.”

He retrieves the bottle of Scotch his dad left behind and two shot glasses while the Prince takes care of the dishes.

“Is that wise?” Blaine eyes the bottle in Kurt’s hand.

“Probably not, but I need a break and you need to tell me a few of your secrets. So, Your Highness,” Kurt says teasingly as he walks back outside. “Let’s play ‘Never have I ever’. If you’ve done something I haven’t done you drink, if you haven’t done it either, I drink.”

Blaine tries to remember the last time he played this game but it was probably at boarding school in France when the game was mostly used to figure out who of his friends had already had sex and Blaine had to consider very carefully what things he could reveal to his classmates during J’ai jamais. Oddly, he doesn’t have those concerns when he’s with Kurt and he decides then and there to trust that Kurt won’t use what he’ll find out against Blaine no matter what will happen to them.

“Alright, I’ll start. Never have I ever gone to public school.”

Kurt rolls his eyes and drinks. “Never have I ever gone to private school,” he retaliates and Blaine takes a shot.

“Okay, never have I ever fooled around in the back seat of a car.” When Kurt doesn’t drink, the Prince looks at him in surprise. “Not even once in high school?”

“I was the only out gay kid in school, there was no one I could have fooled around with.”

Blaine takes the shot and Kurt decides to give him an easy one that will guarantee that Kurt will take the next shot.

“Never have I ever had sex with a girl.” His eyes widen in shock when the Prince downs another shot.

“You have?” he sputters. “Like actual sex sex?”

Blaine sighs. “Princess Michelle had no interest in being Queen, unfortunately. She wanted to have sex. For months I told her I wasn’t ready but she became suspicious and accused me of arranging this relationship because I needed a beard. She wanted to talk to my dad about it, so I slept with her to make sure she kept her mouth shut. I guess I was pretty bad at it because she dumped me after we did a few times.”

“Wow,” Kurt stares at the Prince open mouthed, because he can’t imagine ever having sex with a woman. He’s kissed a few, one at a party before he came out to his dad and a few on stage but actually going as far as having sex with them, he wouldn’t be able to do it.

“I’m not sure I’d even get it up,” he confesses and predictably blushes and the Prince squirms as well.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t her I was thinking about and I refused to do it with the lights on claiming I was shy about my body. I was really surprised when she wanted to do it again after the first debacle. But my turn. Let’s find your skeletons.”

“I’m an open book,” Kurt smirks because nothing will beat this admission. Then he softens his expression for a moment. “Thanks for telling me. You could have just let me take the shot.”

“I trust that you’ll keep the things I tell you to yourself.”

For a moment, they just smile at each other before Blaine clears his throat.

“Alright, never have I ever been in love.”

Kurt doesn’t drink.

“I thought I was but I’ve come to realize that I was more in love with the idea of finally having a boyfriend than in love with my boyfriend. I never said ‘I love you’ and neither did he.”

The Prince takes another shot.

“Never have I ever, um, been arrested.”

The Prince takes yet another shot.

“Yeah, um,” he rubs his neck sheepishly. “There’s a reason I didn’t stay in England for school. It was supposed to be a prank. Take the headmaster’s car and move it from the parking lot to the stables. He’d left the keys in the ignition and I said I’d do it because I was fed up with being called His Boringness. I took a left where I should have taken a right and suddenly I was off school grounds and to make matters worse I drove on the wrong side of the road and nearly crashed into a car. Before I could turn around and drive back to school, a police car stopped me and took me to the station. They let me off with a warning though as soon as they found out who I was. My dad took me out of school and sent me to France instead.”

“You are just full of surprises,” Kurt giggles, the Scotch already taking effect even though Kurt barely had any shots compared to the Prince. Blaine’s next words sober him quickly though.

“Never have I ever been told by my dad that he’s proud of me.”

Kurt forgoes the shot and hugs the Prince instead.

“I know I’m not to supposed to say something like that, but your dad is an asshole. Why wouldn’t he be proud of you?”

“Don’t worry,” Blaine gives him a watery smile. “We don’t arrest people for badmouthing the King anymore. Though I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be opposed to reinstating that law so he could arrest some dissidents.”

Kurt decides it’s time to abandon the game because it feels like they’ve run out of funny ‘nevers’ and maybe they shouldn’t be too drunk for some stories.

“What are your friends like?” he asks instead.

“They are private school boys. Grew up with a lot of money but they are fiercely loyal. You’re not just friends when you are at boarding school together, your friends are your family. And my friends were super sneaky. They told their parents that I was leaving school because my father thought it wasn’t good enough for a prince anymore and so they got to join me in France which was funny because my dad took me out of school not just to avoid a scandal but also to remove me from my friends’ bad influences. Suffice it to say that I didn’t tell my dad about that development.”

“That was really nice of them,” Kurt observes. “I couldn’t do that. I don’t speak French well enough to go to school in France.”

Blaine laughs. “Well, neither did I when I started but it it’s not actually a French school, Kurt, it’s an international boarding school so we had most classes in English. I do speak French and  Spanish fluently and conversational Chinese though.

“Wow,” Kurt exclaims, but Blaine shrugs.

“It’s just common curtesy that you converse with the Kings and Queens of the neighboring King- and Queendoms in their native language. And since the Kingdom of China is an important business partner my dad decided that Cooper and I had to learn the language.”

“Is there anything you can’t do?” Kurt asks, still in disbelief that the gorgeous man next to him has never been told how amazing he is.

The Prince’s blushes. “My education was very extensive including anything from piano lessons to learning to ski in the Swiss Alps. Doesn’t mean I’m very good at it though. And it also wasn’t much fun until I made friends at Harrow who took me skiing to their parents’ chalets or sailing down the French riviera. I don’t see them much these days because they’re all British and have grown up jobs in their fathers’ companies now. Only Wes is based in New York but he’s on a trip through South America right now and was nice enough to lend me his car while he’s gone.”

“Very convenient,” Kurt smiles. “Too bad though that you don’t get to see your friends more often. Can’t you just fly over there.”

“Sure,” the Prince teases him. “I’ll borrow one of our fighter jets and fly it to a foreign kingdom - that won’t cause any trouble at all.”

“So you can’t fly regular planes?” The Prince shakes his head.

“I only have a private pilot license so I’m not permitted to fly commercial aircraft but if you wanted - and I don’t get exiled by my dad - I could fly you somewhere in our kingdom.”

Kurt considers the offer for a moment. It’s not that he doesn’t trust that the Prince is a good pilot, but he’s only been on a plane twice, always either driving to Lima with his roommates for Christmas or taking the much cheaper bus.

“You wouldn’t make fun of me if I got scared?”

“Course not. And it’s okay if you don’t want to.

“No, I want to. I’ve always wanted to see California.”

Their conversation is interrupted by a car pulling into the driveway and Kurt cautiously walks around the cabin to see who it is.

“Carole,” he smiles and rushes over to this stepmom’s Stationwaggon to help her unload two shopping bags.

“I brought you some more staff,” Carole says before she accepts a kiss to the cheek from Kurt. “And to be honest, I wanted to meet your guest,” she adds in a whisper. “How often in your life to you get to meet royalty. I even did what they do in the movies, you know, drove in circles to see if I was being followed.”

“Were you?” he’s only half joking. Carole shakes her head.

“I don’t think so.”

The front door is unlocked, so they walk into the kitchen first to unload the shopping bags before Kurt leads Carole outside to meet Blaine.

“Your Highness,” Carole curtsies. “I’m Kurt’s stepmother. It’s an honor to meet you.”

The Prince shakes Carole’s hand and tells her to call him Blaine. Then, Carole hands Kurt her handbag.

“I wasn’t sure if you want to know what’s going on, but I brought you a copy of every magazine they had at the supermarket.”

Kurt swallows around the sudden lump in his throat.

“How bad is it?”

“The local papers were pretty thorough and there are some things in there about McKinley your dad and I didn’t know about. I think I convinced him that you have bigger problems right now, but he wants to talk to you about it at some point.”

“You don’t have to look at them if you aren’t ready, but I need to know what people are saying about me,” Kurt turns to the Prince who’s turned pale as well.

“Go ahead,” Blaine tells Carole who pulls a stack of trashy magazines out of her bag. Mixed in are some respectable Ohio newspaper but even they have Kurt’s face on their front page.

‘Prince Blaine involved with local troublemaker’ is splashed across the front page of the Lima Chronicle. ‘Sources confirm Kurt Hummel was a regular in the principal office at William McKinley High School.’

“It says that you skipped a lot of school your junior year and were involved in an ‘altercation’ in a locker room,” Carole sums up the story for him, sparing Kurt from having to read it for himself.

Kurt snaps his mouth shut because he’s not talking about that. There’s a lot he’s willing to share with Carole and to an extent, Blaine, but there are things in his past, he'd rather not talk about unless he absolutely has to. And he is a college graduate, who cares if he skipped school years ago. He puts the magazine aside and picks up the Columbus Sun which leads with ‘The Prince and The Pauper.’ The whole article is about Kurt’s simple upbringing and ends with suggesting that Kurt is using the Prince for publicity because his father’s business is struggling.

“Is it?” he looks at Carole sharply and she sighs.

“We’ve had better years but it’s nothing you should worry about. I don't even know how that reporter got that information.”

Then there’s an interview with Kurt’s choir instructor William Schuester who’s saying that he always knew Kurt would make it big some day. Kurt ends up laughing a full minute, because nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Schuester hadn’t even written him a letter of recommendation because he’d thought Kurt had no chance in hell of getting into NYU’s musical theater department. Most magazines had his year book pictures in addition to a screenshot from the video, but there was barely anything about the Prince in any of them.

“The Palace probably made some deal with the media,” Blaine says as he flips through the magazines as well. It’s not worse than he expected but it’s a lot and he’s honestly surprised that Kurt hasn’t freaked out yet.

Kurt opens a copy of Royal News and it’s clear immediately that it was one of their reports who followed Blaine to Scandals.

There I was, minding my own business when suddenly I bump into my favorite royal. His hair was unstyled and surprisingly curly, but I’ve been reporting on the royal family for the past six years and he couldn’t fool me. Christmas had come early his year when after following the Prince for a few minutes, he walked into Scandals of all places. It’s a gay bar popular with Columbia University students, Kurt reads from the publication he himself was an avid reader of until a few days go.

Prince Blaine headed to the bar and before he could even order a drink, a young man already hit on him. I couldn’t hear what he said to the Prince, but after accepting a drink from the man we now know is Kurt Hummel, a NYU graduate from Ohio, Prince Blaine stayed at the bar with Kurt. They shared a few more drinks - I couldn’t tell who was paying - before they went out onto the dance floor. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wanted to yell ‘get a room’ because they got hot and heavy quickly acting like they were the only ones in the room. After Scandals they went to another bar and did shots. The whole time I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was my favorite prince - because lets be honest there is no cuter prince in our kingdom - and he had his hands all over a complete stranger. I would have been surprised if they hadn’t gone home together with the way they were acting at Rick’s Cafe. On the way to Kurt’s apartment, the Prince stopped and bought a few slices of pizza for a group of homeless before he followed Kurt all the way to 156th street. I decided to be charitable and called my friends at Good Morning New York  and an hour later we were a rather large group of people all waiting to get an interview with Prince Blaine. Unfortunately, the Prince left Kurt’s apartment through a back entrance but we’re currently working on getting an exclusive interview with Prince Blaine. Because we are all curious to know how long the Prince’s been going to gay bars and if his fiancée Lady Charlotte was in on it. I’ve also been kicking myself for not getting to the bar quicker because if I had I might have given you this exclusive from the Prince’s bed. But alas, Kurt got there first. Rumors are that he left New York and went to Ohio while the Prince is dealing with his family. Since the Prince’s tweets many have been wondering though if he plans to see Kurt again or if Kurt was just a nameless one night stand to him. Let me know what you think on Twitter while I pine after the Prince. @ChandlerKiehl

“I used to like this guy’s column,” Kurt says with a stunned expression on his face after he finishes reading, “but half of what he’s saying isn’t even true. Makes me wonder how many lies I’ve believed about your family over the years.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about Chandler Kiel. When Sue’s through with him, he won’t be writing for a long time. I’m surprised Royals News even managed to print this.”

“Well, I don’t know her but since he makes it sound like I was the one pursuing you all night, maybe she thought it wasn’t too bad. I mean there’s no denying you went home with me, maybe she thinks it makes you look better if it appears like I got you drunk and then seduced you.”

“You’re probably right. Again, I’m sorry.”

“Well, look on the bright side. Only two papers have called me a fame hungry gold digger so far,” Kurt quips because if he didn’t laugh, he’d cry. “And no one’s called my a dirty fag so that’s something.”

Carole looks away guiltily. “Better don’t go online for a while, Kurt. There’s some pretty nasty things out there. Kimmy showed me some stuff today at work - I nearly threw her phone against the wall.”

“I didn’t expect anything else,” Blaine’s eyes are downcast. “What are people saying about me online?” When Carole hesitates, the Prince looks at her imploringly. “Please, I can take it.”

“A lot of people say you’re a disgrace for the royal family and should cede your titles because you’re not worthy of them. Some people are demanding that the Church excommunicate you and that the King publicly distance himself from you. I only glanced at it, but the most vocal people online are either celebrating your coming out or demonizing you for it. The majority, the people who don’t vent their feelings online, seem pretty indifferent so far. The radio host when I drove here, summed it up this way. ‘Why should we care who he loves. He’s not going to be King. If it were Prince Cooper it’d be a very different conversation, but this is Prince Blaine we’re talking about. He’s no use to the Crown so let the LGBT community have him.”

“Gee thanks,” Blaine mutters, because no use to the Crown is pretty harsh. He often feels that way himself but it is different when other people see you this way.

It's not his fault that he can’t have a regular job which is bullshit anyway because he was allowed to go to college too and only had one guard with him when he went out as himself. Maybe he could get a commercial pilot license and fly people for a living. Flying is fun and if he stays in the cockpit people will never know he is flying them. Or maybe he could get a teaching degree and teach history at a private school. But parliament wouldn’t sign off on it because Blaine would require constant security at a level that would cost tax payers thousands of dollars each months and the members of parliament want to get reelected at some point.

“Well, we’ll gladly take you,” Kurt smiles at the Prince and gives his hand a brief squeeze. Then he turns back to Carole. “I totally forgot to ask, but are the guards still in Lima?”

Carole nods. “They are trying to be inconspicuous but they are watching the house and your dad’s shop. That’s why we thought it wouldn’t be smart for your dad to come here two days in a row. I need to drive back now too so they don’t get suspicious.”

Kurt wraps her up in a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispers in her ear before letting go and letting Blaine shake her hand.

“It was very nice to meet you Carole,” the Prince says politely and puts the magazines back into Carole bag. “I’d appreciate it if you could get rid off those. It’s all garbage anyway.”

They both keep it together until Carole’s car backs out of the driveway. Then Kurt walks back into the kitchen, grabs the bottle of Scotch and walks down to the water. After a moment’s hesitation, Blaine follows him and when Kurt doesn’t tell him to go away, takes a seat next to him on the ground and watches as Kurt drinks directly from the bottle. Then he turns and looks at Blaine with an unreadable expression.

“My junior year, I didn’t go to school for three weeks because I was afraid that if I did I would get raped and killed. I pretend to be sick so I’d get my homework from Rachel, but every day I drove to the library in the next town and stayed there until school let out so I’d be home before my stepbrother. We didn’t have any classes together so he didn’t even notice. To stay out of trouble, I faked a note from a doctor claiming I had mono and would be out for a while. No one checked up on me because I did all my homework. Rachel knew I wasn’t sick but I refused to tell her why I wasn’t going to school.”

The Prince is looking at him with wide shocked eyes and Kurt forces himself to go on, because if they start dating, Blaine can’t find out about the skeletons in his closet from the media. He didn't lie when he told Blaine he is in an open book because high school was fortunately over long ago and he’d shoved all the hurt and the pain to the back of his mind.

“I was bullied pretty badly for being gay, even though I never officially came out to anyone but a few friends. Everyone just assumed and let me know that they thought it was not okay, defacing my car and my locker, knocking down my books, throwing me into the dumpsters behind the school and slamming my into lockers and walls. I was constantly hiding bruises from my friends and family because I didn’t want to let them know how bad it was and that my stepbrother just stood by when it happened right in front of him. But there was one guy who was even worse. Because he would call me the most hurtful things while pushing me into lockers, but his hands would linger. He was always involved in throwing me into the dumpster and the worst part was his hands all over me. I told him to stop it once, and he smiled at me and said ‘who are you going to tell if I don’t. No one’s going to believe someone touched you willingly.’ After Christmas break he became even more aggressive. Every day after school he would follow me to my car and he started texting me all those awful things. He wasn’t stupid enough to sign his name. One day, I had enough and I ran after him into the guy’s locker room where I just screamed at him. And he grabbed me and kissed me. Pressed me against the lockers and groped me. I panicked and kneed him in the balls. A teacher came in just as he went down and hauled me off to the principal. I pretty much begged for a suspension. Instead I had to go and apologize to the guy who’d attacked me with a teacher present. When the teacher left, he leaned in really close and told me that if I knew what was good for me I would be less ‘feisty’ next time oh and by the way, if I told anyone, he’d kill me. I was a scared seventeen year old and I believed that he meant him. So I stopped going to school. If I hadn’t run into our school’s guidance councilor I might not have gone back at all, but she threatened to tell my dad if I didn’t tell her why I was in this library when I was supposed to be home sick. She got me to tell her and begged me to let her report what I told her but I refused. It would be my word against his, and I knew who people would believe. So she made me promise to tell a friend and ask that friend to always be with me while we were at school so I would be safe. Rachel shared all my classes so I told her and she even followed me into the bathroom just so I never had to be alone with him. Rachel and I, we don’t always get along, but I owe her a lot.”

Blaine gulped. “Why are you telling me this? You didn’t have to.”

“Because we can’t have any secrets if we want this, us, to work. We can’t find out potential deal-breakers from Royal News or someone’s blog. We’re gonna have to present a united front so whatever they throw at us won't touch us,” Kurt says calmly. He was oddly calm while telling Blaine about Karofsky too, like he was telling someone else’s story. He takes another deep drag from the bottle in his lap. “So tell me, Blaine, what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done.”

The Prince is quiet for what feels like forever. Then he says quietly. “I don't think you'll like me very much if I do.” He takes the bottle from Kurt’s hand and takes a drag himself as if to steel himself.

“Two years ago or so I was allowed a brief leave of absence so I flew to London to meet with my friends from school and we got pretty drunk. Wes’ little brother was there as well. He’d just finished high school and was already super drunk when I met up with them. He was also pretty cute and openly gay. And for some reason he latched on to me and started telling me all about how he was looking for romance because he wanted his first time to be special and not just a hook up like all his friends were doing. At some point my friends took off because they had to get up the next day and left me with Jamie. I was pretty drunk and it’d been forever since I had sex so I asked if he wanted to see the hotel I was staying at because it had a pretty spectacular view. And then I seduced him, promising that we’d talk on the phone all the time until I finished my education and then we could be together in California where he planned to go to school. Wes had introduced me as his friend Blaine from school and to his little brother that’s all I was. When we were done I snuck out of the room as soon as he was asleep and went downstairs to get another room. I told them to wake my guest before ten so he’d get out before check out and then I texted Wes that I’d put his brother into a cab to a friend’s place and that I hoped that was okay since he was supposed to stay with Wes in London.”

“That’s, that’s horrible Blaine,” Kurt’s looking at him with an expression that says I can’t believe you did that to someone, especially your friend’s brother. “He never told Wes?”

Blaine shakes his head, his eyes downcast. “I guess he was too embarrassed to tell his brother. We were both drunk as hell but if he had told me no I would have put him in a cab to Wes’ place immediately. Do you hate me now?”

Kurt shakes his head. “Only if you’d tried that with me but it does make me look at you differently. I didn’t think you could be such an inconsiderate douchebag.”

The Prince’s still not looking at him, but if that was Kurt’s story he wouldn’t be looking at him either.

“Do you think I should tell Wes?”

“I think it’s safe to bet that this story won’t ever come out even if Jaime’s realized since who you really were because then he’d have to admit that he lost his virginity to a guy he met the same night. And I’m guessing if he hasn’t told his brother yet, then he probably won’t tell him in the future either. But seriously, Blaine, that was terrible thing you did.”

They are quiet for a few moments before Blaine says, “so what’s your worst thing?”

Kurt’s still trying to wrap his head around the Prince’s confession. It’s not a deal breaker but he didn’t expect a story like this from Blaine. It shows that they really don’t know all that much about each other yet.

“I was auditioning to get into NYU. They were holding regional auditions on the OSU Campus and I’d just finished my audition and wasn’t sure if I’d done well. On the way to my car I bumped into a boy I recognized from a showcase I did with my school’s choir. He had an amazing voice and he’d told me at the showcase that he’d been doing community theater since he was eight. He was out of breath because he was running late for his NYU audition and they were only seeing students till noon. It was already 11:45. I panicked. I thought if he auditioned I would never get in and I needed to get out of Ohio. So I sent him to the wrong building. I never found out if he made the audition and they didn’t like him or if I made him miss it. Maybe he got into another school but he never got into NYU,” Kurt admits.

“It’s not your fault he didn’t plan ahead and got there on time. Who says he would have found the right building on time if he hadn’t run into you,” Blaine says. “But yeah, that wasn't nice either. But that’s good. Means we’re both not perfect.”

And then he leans in to kiss Kurt, giving him plenty of time to stop him. Kurt doesn’t.

It’s a soft kiss. A kiss one might share after a first date when everything’s still up in the air. But after a few seconds, Kurt deepens the kiss and nips on Blaine’s bottom lip before soothing the sting with his tongue. Blaine opens his mouth and sucks Kurt’s tongue into his mouth tasting the Scotch they’ve been drinking. They break apart briefly for air before Kurt dives back in, his right hand coming up to cup Blaine’s cheek. They are sitting on the jetty, their bodies turned toward each other, but for the moment, Kurt doesn’t need more, content to make out with the Prince like a teenager. And then out of nowhere, Blaine pushes him into the lake and jumps after him with a shriek.

“What the fuck!” Kurt exclaims when he comes up for air.

“You looked like you were getting a little hot there and you said no sex until we figured things out,” the Prince says innocently and Kurt grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him under.

When Blaine comes up, he shakes his hair like a dog, spraying water in all directions before he retaliates and pushes Kurt under. They wrestle with each other for a few more minutes before Blaine kisses him again, deep and dirty with lots of teeth and tongue. They’re lucky that it’s not officially tourist season yet and that the few swimmers further left don’t pay them any attention. They kiss until their skin starts to prune and Kurt’s stomach rumbles. Reluctantly, Kurt lets go off the Prince and swims to shore so they can figure out what to do for dinner.

They are dripping water all over the kitchen floor but for once Kurt doesn’t care because Blaine’s draped over his back as he gets a fire going again so they can warm up a can.

“Beans or ravioli?” he asks the Prince because there isn’t much they can do when Kurt can’t just drive to the local store for fresh fish or steaks for a BBQ.

“Ravioli now, beans for breakfast,” Blaine suggests and Kurt puts the can of beans back into the cupboard.

“I haven’t been on many dinner dates, but I never had food this bad,” he jokes as he pours the contents of the can into a pot and starts to stir while the Prince hooks his chin over Kurt’s naked shoulder and watches him with a content smile on his face.

“I’ve never been on dates that nice,” Blaine hums contently. “It was always a gala here or a gala there but I never had a nice sit down for a meal kind of date. Not that I wanted to with the people I dated but still. So this is very nice. No pressure to perform in front of other people.”

Kurt cranes his neck so he can share another kiss with the Prince.

“Keep talking,” he teases. “I might reconsider making us sleep in bunk beds tonight if you keep charming me like that.”

Okay, he doesn’t really plan to make them sleep apart because that would be just ridiculous after the last two nights, but he still thinks that maybe they shouldn’t have sex tonight. Though if Blaine’s keeps doing that thing with his tongue he doesn’t know how long he can stay strong.

Kurt drains the water from the pot before moving it to the table and Blaine follows with two plates and cutlery.

“So third date,” Blaine smiles and Kurt nods.

They eat in silence for a few minutes before Kurt returns to what woke him this morning.

“So, I still like you and unless I’m mistaken you still like me too.” He waits for the Prince’s nod before he continues. “So say your dad yells at you for the scandal but leaves you alone otherwise, how will this work in New York?”

“I don’t think we can do anything in public together, at least for a while, so I guess we could only meet up at my place for now. I don't think we could hide it from the press if you visited me, but no one gets into Richmond House without permission. I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed to go anywhere without guards anymore but as long as I would get to see you that’s okay. And if the press is too pushy, I might hire a bodyguard for you. I could only get you a royal guard if the Palace released an official statement concerning our relationship but I’d make sure you aren’t left alone with the press.”

“Do you think I should move? Rachel’s been itching to move further downtown since she got on Broadway and I know that Santana’s been thinking about moving in with her girlfriend. Now might be the best time anyway.”

The Prince doesn’t disagree. He takes Kurt’s hand instead.

“So if when we are back in New York I asked you out again you would say yes?” Blaine’s voice shakes a bit and the palm of his hand is slightly damp from nerves.

“Only because I’m curious what a forth date with Prince Blaine is like,” Kurt teases for a moment before he leans over his half empty plate and kisses the Prince softly, nearly upending his plate in the process.

After dinner, they watch the sunset together, talking softly about their plans for the future. They agree to return to New York at the end of the week when Blaine’s father returns from a visit to the Queen of Argentina. Blaine’s hope is that his father will have come to terms with the new situation by then and while Blaine expects to be yelled at in private, hopefully his dad will let him stay in New York and won’t force him to go through with the wedding to punish him for his insolence.

Later in bed, they kiss till they are breathless and both hard in the underwear, grinding against each other until Kurt shudders and comes in his pants like a teenager.

“No,” Blaine whines when Kurt rolls off of him. “Come back.”

Kurt takes off his underwear and uses it to clean himself up before he climbs back on top of the Prince and divests him of his boxers. Then, before he can feel self-conscious about it he licks the palm of his hand and wraps it around Blaine’s erection before he silences the Prince’s moans with his mouth. Blaine shudders through his own release and Kurt cleans him up with his discarded underwear before he pulls up the thin sheet and covers them with it.

“I thought we weren’t gonna have sex until we figure things out,” Blaine says, his breath still uneven.

“I thought we did,” Kurt gives a little shrug, because really, what more can they talk about?

They spent the whole day talking and they still like each other. As for the rest, they can talk in hypotheticals for another month and it probably won’t prepare him for the reality of suddenly being famous, or rather infamous. They won’t know if they can handle a public relationship until they are back in New York and until they are, why not enjoy themselves? Take advantage of the calm before the storm. He falls asleep soon after and it doesn’t take Blaine long before Kurt’s soft breathing lulls him to sleep as well.

It’s a strange noise that wakes them the next morning and it takes Blaine a few seconds to realize it’s a helicopter looking for a place to land. Which can only mean one thing. The Palace has found him and they don’t intend to go back without him. Kurt’s still half asleep when Blaine shoves his own clothes at him.

“Quick, the guards are here,” he hurries Kurt, frantically trying to get dressed as well because the last thing he needs is the guards reporting back to his father that he was found naked in bed with Kurt.

Kurt’s movements are sluggish as he struggles to pull a grey t-shirt over his head, woken abruptly from a good dream. He forces his legs in a pair of jeans while Blaine does the same on the other side of the bed. That’s all the time the get before there’s a loud knock on the front door. Ignoring his shoes, Blaine’s races out of the room, Kurt hot on his heel, and yanks open the door. He doesn’t come face to face with a guard as he expected.

“Cooper?”

There are dark circles under his brother’s eyes and he looks like he himself has been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night. And then Blaine’s eyes fall on the pin on the lapel of Cooper’s light summer jacket and he shakes his head while his eyes widen in shock.

“Dad?” he croaks, his throat suddenly feeling like it’s been treated with sandpaper.

“His plane went down over Bolivia late last night. There were no survivors.”

“Oh my God,” it’s Kurt’s voice who says it and it finally gets Blaine moving.

His breath rattling in his chest, he gets on one knee and bows his head, dressed in Kurt’s jeans and t-shirt. “Your Majesty.”

Besides him, Kurt follows suit while silent tears start rolling down Blaine’s cheeks.