Fall 2010

Kurt had just about had enough. He liked to pride himself on having a level, logical head on his shoulders. But this whole thing in Glee was beginning to get to him. Once again, Mr Schue had decided to do a competition, which was fine, but he announced it was “Boys against Girls”. To further upset Kurt, he said, without even turning to look at the students, “Kurt, you are with the BOYS, not the GIRLS”. Kurt was fine with a bit of gentle kidding, and he was very at home with Mr Schue ad the other members of Glee, but this just irritated him. Okay, they accepted that he was gay, but why did it have to be the punchline of every joke?  Maybe Kurt was overreacting. He reigned in his irritation and went to join the boys.

After the fiasco of his presentation of ideas about what to sing, he decided to go to Dalton and see what they were up to. And there he found something he never dreamed he would find: Blaine Anderson. And his life made a new start, turned a new leaf, rounded a new corner…..wow.

Ring, ring  “Mercy!”

“Kurt.”

“Come over? Meet me in the tree house?”

“Wow…what’s up? The tree house? The one in your backyard? Is it still standing?”

“Of course. My DAD built it. It will stand ‘till the end of time. Now, get over here..I need you!”

“Is there…..?” but Kurt had already hung up his phone.  Mercedes thought many things all at once. Was there something wrong in his family? No, he would have said if Burt was sick. Was this about the new joined family? No, she knew Kurt adored Carole and that he and Finn had made up their differences. Actually, Kurt hadn’t sounded upset or sad. Maybe it was a good thing? OH, maybe Mr Schue had offered Kurt a solo? Yes, that might be it she told herself. But deep down, she knew that was no reason to meet at the tree house.

Mercedes walked into the backyard at the Hummel house. She was a little scared to climb up into the tree house, she was heavier than she had been years ago – the last time they met here was when Kurt told her he was gay. The wood might not be in good condition, Kurt always thought his dad hung the moon and might not realize if it was actually in disrepair.

But when she got to the boards nailed to the tree to afford access, she saw there were two new boards and all were sanded and painted a soft shade of green. Kurt had been keeping the old tree house up to standard; which made her wonder how many times he had needed to come here in solitude to drink in the nostalgia when his life got too much for him. She heaved a great sigh and began climbing the boards, steeling herself for the worst.

Mercedes stepped through the doorway into the old place, first realizing how different it was: pale green walls, white curtains, soft forest green pillows to sit on. But after a minute to see all the changes, those faded into the background and it was the same place she had spent so much of her childhood, sharing everything from chocolate cupcakes to grief at the loss of a loved one with her best friend. She closed her eyes and sighed. Where was Kurt?

“I thought you might like a bit of tea and some muffins?” Kurt called as he juggled the tray while climbing into the tree house. He was very agile and didn’t drop a thing. But he’s had years of practice.

Kurt placed the tray on a low table, setting out plastic cups and plates, pouring the tea from the thermos and offering Mercedes her choice of muffins. She wanted to throttle him and force him to SPILL why he had called her here, but she knew he liked his rituals and she wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. He was practically buzzing with his information, but he would wait for the right time to share.

“Well, you’ve certainly been busy. The place looks so different. But kind of the same, too.” She started slowly.

“Yeah, I kinda let it fall into disrepair for a while, then last summer I started coming up here to gather myself when the bullying or having my dad so sick got to me. It was such a refuge. Then today I was here thinking and I knew something was missing. It was you, Mercedes. I can’t think of this place without thinking of you, and so I rang you up and here we are. I hope you don’t mind?”

“For pity’s sake, Kurt, why would I mind? We’re best friends. I missed coming here, too," she said as she took a bite of the almond-poppy seed muffin. Wow, Kurt still baked the best muffins. She looked into his eyes, but couldn’t decipher what she saw there. It didn’t look like hurt or grief, not quite like being proud of an accomplishment. She was puzzled, this was a new look.

Kurt started to blush under her scrutiny.

Now, that really was new. He rarely blushed in her presence. Okay, her patience was gone. She nailed him to the wall with her glare. “Spill.”

“Ah, Mercy, I know we haven’t had any close time lately…with school and Glee and all…”he stammered. She blew out a breath through her nose, like an angry bull in a ring. He winced. He knew what that meant. Mercedes was patient, kind, generous to a fault. But when she reached the end of her rope, she could be a freight train. Kurt didn’t want to get run over.

“I’m in LOVE," he said and turned his face away, not wanting to see her laugh.

But Mercedes didn’t laugh.

“Tell me more.”

“His name is Blaine and he is a dreamboat. And he sings like an angel. And he goes to Dalton.” Kurt stopped to catch his breath, looking up through his long lashes with those liquid blue eyes at his friend, and she could see the hope in them. It really mattered to him that she approved of this.

“Blaine Anderson, the lead singer of the…Warblers??” she remembered seeing him at one of the competitions.

“Yeah,” he ducked his head in that way he had been doing it since he was a little boy. Mercedes heart melted at the gesture. He must be really head over heels about this guy.

“Oh…he is just sex on a stick! I heard him sing some love song in Italian at King’s Island. Then shift into the song from Little Mermaid. He was great," Kurt enthused.

"How did you meet him?” she asked.

And he told her about the spying trip to Dalton, the serenade, the coffee afterwards. She had known about Karafsky and his bullying, so was relieved to hear about Blaine’s offer to help Kurt. This looked like a good thing for Kurt, and nobody else deserved a break more than her friend. Life had dealt out some hard things in his life, but those things had served to make him stronger. She saw this new development as a step forward, a respite in the sea of storms.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing, lounging on the pillows in the refurbished tree house, almost as carefree as it had been when they were children. Little did Mercredes know that was the last carefree moment she would have with her Kurt for a very, very long time to come. She left when the sun went down, hugging Kurt and leaving a kiss on his cheek as she walked out the gate.

“You just have to TRY it!!” Kurt laughed, pulling Blaine into the kitchen. He gave Kurt a doubtful look, shaking his head to say, “No.”

“Aww, Blaine…are you not adventurous AT ALL??” Kurt opened his eyes wide and innocently, then batted his eyelashes at his new friend, a smile dimpling his rosy cheeks. This look always got results with Mercedes, it might work on Blaine.

“Well, my good sense tells me absolutely no….but I can’t let the challenge of being called non-adventurous be unanswered. Okay, Kurt. Do your worst,” Blaine gave in, letting Kurt pull him into the Hummel kitchen. He thought Kurt was cute and the whole seductive eyelash batting, although meant to be flirtatious and fun, actually hit a nerve that traveled warmly down Blaine’s back into his  jeans. Yikes, he’s have to be careful of his thoughts around Kurt.

Kurt and Blaine had been going out for coffee for a few weeks, Blaine had come to McKinley to try to help Kurt with the Karofsky situation and taken him to lunch. Today was Saturday and when Kurt sent him a text with an invitation to come to his house for ‘a sensuous experience’, Blaine wasn’t sure what to expect. But the slightly shy boy didn’t seem like some sort of deviant, so Blaine accepted.

“Have a seat here at the breakfast table and I’ll get started,” Kurt motioned to the rock maple chair at the side of the kitchen table.

Blaine looked out the window, then glanced at the newspaper sitting on the table. Kurt was busy with a pan of water on the stove and glassware and things in the freezer. Taking a minute to set placemats on the table, setting spoons and napkins, and giving Blaine one of his heartwarming smiles, Kurt moved around the kitchen looking so much at home.

He had confided in Blaine, telling him a bit of his history, how his mother had died when he was eight and Kurt had taken over the cooking duties; the events leading up to Burt’s second marriage. Blaine knew why Kurt was so adept in the kitchen.

“Here we go,” Kurt said, placing a cut glass dish in front of Blaine.

“Ice cream? This is what you consider an adventure, Kurt?”  Blaine liked ice cream, but it was hardly a new treat.

Kurt laughed. “Just try it.”

Blaine took a scoop and put it in his mouth.

“Wow!!”

Kurt smiled, so happy his favorite treat had made an impression on his new friend.

“What is it? I can’t figure out the flavors..?

“Well, I heated up the butterscotch sauce and poured it over peppermint ice cream. Sounds simple, but it just does something to change the flavors. I usually mix the sauce into the ice cream to sort of homogenize the flavors. You can get almost the same flavor if you put a starlight peppermint disc in your mouth at the same time as a butterscotch disc. The flavors meld together.” Kurt stirred his bowl of ice cream into a slurry, and Blaine followed suit.

They talked away the afternoon, Blaine leaving for his own house right before Kurt’s dad and Carole were due home. Kurt smiled the rest of the day, thinking about those beautiful hazel-brown eyes and that melt-your-heart smile. Life seemed so full of possibilities now.