Chapter Text

"I'd like to speak with the manager, if I may." Blaine smiled at the maître d', sneaking glances into the restaurant to see if he could catch a glimpse of Kurt.

"Oui, Monsieur. One moment, s'il vous plait."The older man nodded and slipped off towards the kitchens.

An Italian man with a dark moustache appeared soon. "Hello, sir. My name is Luigi Gatti. You requested to see me?"

Blaine shook his hand and introduced himself. "Yes. I was here a few nights ago and had a lovely meal. Would it be possible to arrange for a private meal for two to be served in my suite? I was hoping I could hire the server I had before so everything would go smoothly."

The manager nodded, looking interested in the request. "When did you have in mind, sir?"

Blaine shook his head regretfully. "Tonight, if possible. I know it's incredibly short notice but I'm flexible on the time. It could even be when your restaurant is closing, so I'm not pulling away a server when you need him."

Mr. Gatti opened their reservations book, tapping his finger over the entries. "I could spare someone at 8:00 pm. Which server was it?"

"I didn't catch his name. It was on Thursday night and I sat at the second table by the window, if that helps. He was a fairly young man with brown hair and blue eyes. He speaks English quite well." Blaine had no idea what name Kurt used while working here. Nicky? Kurt?

The manager smiled and nodded. "Oh, it must be Marcel. Yes, that can be arranged. Now, would you like to select the items from the menu?" He held one towards Blaine.

"Actually, my father and I followed Marcel's wine and menu suggestions and we both loved his choices. Could you ask him to select for me again? Just tell him it's a romantic dinner for two, and to go all out." Blaine grinned, looking forward to what Kurt would pick. It was sure to be delicious.

Mr. Gatti was too professional to show any surprise at Blaine's requests. He simply nodded. "As you wish, sir. This can all be done for you." He took all the details from Blaine.

"Perfect. Please make sure he includes a bottle of Champagne." Blaine smiled and took an envelop out of his lapel pocket. "Here's a little something extra for you for arranging this for me on such short notice. Please bill everything to my room, of course."

After shaking hands again, Blaine left to get ready for the night. The generous amount of cash he'd given Mr. Gatti would practically guarantee the dinner would be lovely.

---

At precisely 8:00 pm, there was a knock on his door. Blaine smiled as he strode over to it, throwing it open quickly.

It was just as he imagined it. A trolley heaped with domed dishes, with Kurt standing behind it. "Bon soir, Monsieur. I am Marcel, your server for the night." His tone was cool and distant, professional. His light French accent was back.

Blaine was so surprised on hearing that that he just stepped back and waved Kurt in.

Kurt pushed the loaded trolley inside, and then surveyed the room quickly. "Would it be acceptable, sir, if I moved this table to the center of the room? It will be easier for me to serve the meal in that position."

"But, you...ah..." Blaine started, but stopped when Kurt shot him an impatient glare, his eyes practically smouldering. Oh, Kurt was mad at Blaine. Furious. Was it because of what happened in the steam room that morning? Blaine hadn't had a chance to talk about it with Kurt after, with having to get ready for the lunch and then Kurt working all day. "Um, sure, Kurt. Whatever you think is best."

Kurt's actions stilled. Without looking away from his trolley, Kurt said in a low tone. "While I am here as your server, Mr. Anderson, please call me Marcel."

He worked fast, moving the table and chairs into position, and then set the table elegantly with a tablecloth, china, silverware, cloth napkins and even two roses in a tiny vase. It was a perfect romantic setting.

Blaine nodded in approval. "This looks lovely, Ku-Marcel." He looked over to a side table and picked up a silver candlestick, adding it to the table.

Now, how could he get Kurt to talk to him? He was outwardly composed, looking every bit the role of the professional server. But Blaine knew him well enough to know he was livid. And Blaine had no idea how to handle this.

"Will your guest be arriving soon, sir? I wouldn't want the food to get cold." Kurt said stiffly, opening a bottle of wine.

Blaine turned to Kurt in surprise. "Guest?"

Kurt's eyebrows drew down slightly. "Yes, sir. You ordered a romantic dinner for two to be served in your private suite. So insistent that it would be tonight, and with Champagne."

"Oh, I see. Yes, that is what I asked for." Suddenly he understood why Kurt was so angry. He was jealous. "And who do you think my guest will be? Who could I possibly invite to a private romantic dinner like this? It must be someone quite special to me."

Kurt's eyes held Blaine's for a couple heartbeats, and then he looked away, staring at the wall. "There has been talk of you dining with Miss Wilde a few times. Including lunch today."

"Really? People talk about me? About Miss Wilde?" Blaine was actually a bit surprised at this.

Kurt rolled his eyes, breaking out of his Marcel role and giving Blaine an exasperated look. "Of course we do, Blaine! There are only 300 first class passengers on board and you eat three times a day in either the first class dining hall or Cafe Parisien or The Ritz." He shrugged. "The servers all eat together and share stories. Speculation about what the unattached adults are up to is always the juiciest gossip."

Blaine nodded. It made sense. There weren't that many single women on board and he eaten with all of them at least once. He'd eaten with Kitty four times, if you included afternoon tea.

"It's true that I've dined the most with Kitty, and that we had lunch today. It's also true that my father is pushing the match between us...," Blaine could see Kurt was tense, almost flinching when Blaine used her first name with such familiarity. "But she isn't my guest for this meal."

Kurt turned away, swearing in French softly. At least Blaine thought it was French swearing. He could make out the word'merde' a few times. He got the feeling he didn't want to know the rest of the words.

"That's hardly professional, Marcel." Blaine drawled, sitting down at the table and putting the cloth napkin across his lap with flourish. "Would you pour out the wine, please?"

"Two glasses of wine?" Kurt bit out, sloshing the white wine into Blaine's glass, and thumping the wine bottle down on the table.

Blaine calmly picked up the wineglass, holding it up to the light, and inhaling the delicate aroma. He took a little sip. Mmmm... delicious. He looked over at Kurt, still so angry beside the table, and decided to put him out of his misery.

"Kurt, don't you see yet that YOU are the other guest? How else could I get to eat a lovely meal with you? How else could I get you into my suite without causing undue attention?" Blaine gave Kurt a level look, letting him see he was totally serious now.

Kurt was stunned, the anger draining out of him as he turned the idea over in his mind. "Me? This meal is all for me? For us?"

It took a few moments, but eventually, a small smile curled the corners of his mouth.

Blaine stood up and pushed Kurt into the other chair, poured out a glass of wine for him, and sat back down. He held up his glass. "To us."

Kurt picked up the glass and clinked it against Blaine's, and took a sip. He still looked a bit stunned.

"Did you bring soup? I'm a little hungry and everything smells so good." Blaine smiled, loving how much he'd thrown off Kurt's usual composure.

Kurt nodded and jumped back into server mode, putting out rolls with butter and the soup bowls. He was ladling it into the bowls when he suddenly froze.

"Um, actually we should probably skip the soup course. There's plenty of other food, so we won't be hungry." Kurt said quickly, looking a little guilty and reaching for Blaine's bowl.

"But it smells so good." Blaine clamped his hands on the sides of the half-filled dish to keep Kurt from taking it.

Kurt just shook his head, still trying to get the dish. Finally he let go and looked up at Blaine. "I, um, did something to the soup. Because I was mad at you. We can't eat it."

Blaine let out a laugh. "Really? What did you do to it?" He stirred the soup with his spoon, half expecting to see spiders in it or something.

Chuckling, Kurt just smirked a little. "I spat in it. Twice." He shrugged his shoulders.

Blaine chuckled back and mirrored Kurt, shrugging his shoulders too. And then he took a big spoonful of soup and ate it.

"Blaine!" Kurt yelped out, completely shocked and looking disgusted as Blaine kept eating the soup.

"Kurt!" Blaine joked back, and put the spoon down in his empty bowl. "I've probably kissed you for a solid hour or more, if you add it all up. I'm not exactly scared of your spit."

Scrunching his nose up slightly, Kurt picked up the empty soup dish and put it back on the trolley. "OK, I see your point but it's still a bit gross. Let's move on to the next course, OK?"

Standing up, Blaine moved in front of Kurt and gave him a good hello kiss. "Let's start this whole thing over and just enjoy this whole wonderful meal. I'll help you with the food. Are you comfortable? You can take your jacket off if you want. It's just us here."

About twenty minutes later, they were both just wearing their dress shirts with the top two buttons undone. No ties or suit jackets. Kurt was using a nutcracker to get the last bit of lobster meat out of its shell. The bottle of wine was empty.

The meal had been just as delicious as Blaine had expected, but Kurt's company made it even better. They discussed books, music and European politics, and Blaine felt his feelings for this incredible man deepening as he gazed at him over the elegant table, soft candlelight dancing over his features.

"I've been meaning to ask you about something, Kurt. How do you afford things like that beautiful suit you wore this morning, or the good wine and cheese we had last night?" Blaine played with his napkin, feeling relaxed and so happy.

Kurt gave a little pleased grin. "I haggle and barter."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up. "You trade kisses for those things too?"

Laughing hard at that comment, Kurt shook his head and used his napkin to wipe at his eyes. "No, no...but you can usually trade things to get what you want. I bought the suit at a consignment shop in Paris, hardly worn at all. I traded English lessons for getting it expertly tailored by my next door neighbour. When I heard they need servers who spoke french and English for the restaurant here, I knew it was a way I could finally afford to get back to the US. But I still haggled to get a good bottle of wine and some cheese each day as part of my wage."

"It was very tasty wine and cheese." Blaine smiled, charmed by Kurt inventiveness. And feeling a twinge of arousal as he remembered what Kurt had done with that wine. He shifted a little in his chair.

Kurt shrugged. "I've lived in Paris too long to go without it."

"Mmmm...I'm so full. Want to cuddle on the chaise while we drink the champagne? Will dessert keep until a little later?" Blaine put his napkin down beside his plate. He needed to feel Kurt close.

Kurt nodded and gathered the dishes onto the trolley. He removed the dessert things, and slipped his jacket back on. Within a few minutes he was back looking perfect again.

"I'll take the trolley away and be back soon." Kurt composed himself before opening the door and pushing the trolley into the hall.

Looking around the room, Blaine thought how he could make it nicer for them when Kurt got back. By the time he was done, the chairs were back against the wall, the chaise lounge pulled out to be closer to the table, where the dessert and champagne were within easy reach. Candles were gathered on the side of the table, emitting a softer glow than the electric lighting. The curtains from the corner of the bed were drawn, creating a private little space inside with fluffed up pillows. If only he had his phonograph here, as he knew Kurt would enjoy listening to some records.

This wasn't a seduction. He wanted Kurt to relax and feel special. Wanted to talk about the future. It was scary, but Blaine had to make some big decisions soon. And he needed to know if Kurt was going to be in the picture or not. And he was as nervous as hell that Kurt would say it was the latter.

----

There was a soft knock on the door, and Blaine answered it, relieved to see Kurt there. Taking the tray from his hands, he motioned with his head for Kurt to come in.

“I brought some coffee for us.” Kurt said, slipping off his suit jacket and tie, kicking off his shoes and undoing a couple buttons of his shirt. Blaine liked seeing him making himself comfortable.

They settled onto the chaise lounge with their coffees, sipping the fragrant brew slowly. It was a nice reclining angle, and they fit together well, bodies touching along one side.

“So, what happened in the steam room after I left?” Kurt asked softly.

Blaine chuckled drily. “Well, it’s the third time my father has seen you now, and he hasn’t made any connections to your different incarnations. I think it was steamy enough he didn’t get much of a look at you before you covered up with the towel.”

Taking a sip of his coffee, Kurt gave a small smile back. “That’s good news, at least. Did he yell and scream at you though?”

“Well, he definitely saw enough to know I was up to something. He said that boys might ‘explore’ things a bit when they are in school, but adult men should only have relations with their wives. And he told me I had to get engaged by the end of June.” Blaine looked down into his coffee cup.

Kurt’s eyebrows went up. “That’s only ten weeks away! Do you know women in New York who are possibilities too?”

“Nope.” Blaine took a long sip. “And then I had to go for lunch with Kitty and her mother. That was quite something, let me tell you.”

Kurt nudged his shoulder. “And when, exactly, did you start calling her ‘Kitty’?” There was a twinge of jealousy in his tone.

Blaine just shook his head. “After I tell you what she said to me on the Promenade, you’ll be calling her Kitty too.” And he filled Kurt in, almost laughing at the shock on his face.

“So, she’s going to live in a country house and basically living in sin with the stable boy? While you live in town, living in sin with me?” Kurt chuckled, trying to picture if it would actually work. And ended up just shaking his head.

Blaine shrugged. “Well, at least I’d get away from my father and have more freedom. I like Kitty and would enjoy her company when we need to spend time together to keep up the image of being a happy couple.”

“That seems rather cold.” Kurt remarked, putting his empty coffee cup on the table.

Blaine shrugged. “You know what life is like for men like us, Kurt. In a perfect world, we could marry a man we love and live openly together. But the choices are limited in reality. I just want to be with you, Kurt. If I marry Kitty, we would have the most freedom to be together.”

Turning on his side, Kurt looked at Blaine. “This is so crazy, Blaine. We haven’t even known each other a month, and you are making life choices based on this, this….whatever we have. We don’t even know each other very well.”

“I hardly know Kitty either.” Blaine shrugged.

Kurt shook his head. “Don’t commit to anything until you know her better, Blaine.”

Blaine sighed. “What she’s offering might be my best chance at a happy life. If I wait, she may find someone else.”

Kurt scoffed. “There are other choices, Blaine. Other ways to have a happy life.”

“Like your life, Kurt? Are you happy? You seem to love your job, but it must be hard to travel so much. Are you going to go back to Vaudeville when you are back in the states?” Blaine had been wondering about this for a long time.

Taking Blaine’s empty coffee cup to put it on the table, Kurt snuggled against his side. “I’m not totally sure yet, to tell you the truth. I got a bit homesick and really felt the urge to see my father. We write letters to each other constantly, but it’s not the same as giving him a long hug and seeing his eyes twinkle as he teases me.”

“But after a long visit with him, you will probably go back to Vaudeville, right? I get the feeling that performing is in your blood, Kurt.” Blaine said softly.

Kurt pushed his face against the bare skin of Blaine’s neck. “You’re probably right, Blaine.” He sighed. “And it’s practically impossible to have a relationship with someone when I travel all the time. We’d never see each other.”

“There’s got to be a way, Kurt. What if I marry Kitty and I get an apartment for you in the city? Maybe you could perform in New York more and tour less.” Blaine suggested, grasping at straws.

Kurt sat up and looked down at Blaine, scoffing. “So, I’d be your kept man? I’m not a caged bird, Blaine. I need to be free.”

“Don’t you want to be with me at all, Kurt? Don’t you feel this connection between us? Is it only sex and some fun for you? You never ask me any questions. Don’t you want to get to know me at all?” Blaine said softly. It hurt to ask those questions, but he had to know.

Kurt sighed. “I’m not sure, Blaine. I do feel the connection between us, and it’s more than just sex and fun. I was in a right snit all day, thinking that I’d be serving dinner to you and your future fiancée. Fearing I'd have to stand politely to the side as I watched you propose to her and pour out the champagne when she accepted. Even though I know you don’t like women that way, I was jealous. Me. Jealous. Maybe just jealous of her place in your life. That she is allowed to be with you in public, while I have to run and hide.”

Blaine knew Kurt was referring to what happened earlier in the steam room, and hugged him tight. He was happy to know Kurt had some feelings for him, but something wasn’t right.

“I know I’m always the one who asks the questions, Kurt, but you mentioned moving to England with a close friend. He was more than that, wasn’t he?” Blaine asked, running a hand along Kurt’s arm, back and forth.

Kurt sighed, and pressed his face into Blaine’s shoulder. Before, he’d always seemed so confident and strong. But tonight, he seemed so young and vulnerable. Blaine’s heart went out to him.

“His name was Paul. He was in our company, and sang comedic songs in a lovely tenor voice, a real fan favorite. We were inseparable. But eventually, he wanted to return to England so I went with him and we did the Music Hall circuit. England isn’t that large, and he was able to go home to see his mother fairly often. She worked on him, and within a year he was engaged to a local girl, and getting a day job.” Kurt said softly.

“You really loved him, didn’t you?” Blaine asked.

Kurt nodded slowly. “And I never wanted to feel hurt like that again. He loved me too, I know he did. But what we had wasn’t enough for him. He wanted a normal life, or at least the appearance of one. He threw away everything we had, threw me away.” His voice broke a little at the end, and Blaine knew it was a very painful memory for him.

Wrapping his arms tight around Kurt, Blaine hugged him, rocking him. “He was a stupid man then. Do you know when I first saw you singing in Paris, dressed like a woman, singing about the man you were yearning for, I thought to myself that man was an idiot for not being with you.”

Kurt made a sound that was halfway between a sob and a laugh.

“The truth is I have feelings for you, Blaine. But I’ve really resisted it, tried to avoid getting involved. I was hurt so bad by Paul, that for ages I’ve kept it light and playful. Sex and some flirting. But lately it has felt kind of empty. And then you came along, and you snuck under my skin somehow. I find myself smiling as I remember something you said, and looking at the clock far too often, calculating how long until I get to see you again.” Kurt leaned closer, and when his lips touched Blaine’s, it was a different kiss than they had ever shared before. Light, exploring, asking instead of taking.

It reached down and squeezed Blaine’s heart. He was helpless to do anything but kiss Kurt back, soft and slow. When Kurt eventually pulled back, he looked shy and younger somehow. Blaine cuddled him close.

“How many questions do I get?” Kurt asked, playing with Blaine’s shirt button.

Blaine chuckled. “Eleven.”

Grinning to himself, Kurt glanced up at Blaine. “Tell me about your family.”

“Hmmmm…. ‘tell me’ requests are worth five questions, you know.” Blaine teased, pushing the hair back off of Kurt’s forehead.

Kurt nodded, and snuggled down against Blaine’s chest.

“Well, I don’t come from a big family either. My only brother is eight years older and he moved out to California years ago. We write occasionally, but we haven’t been that close since he left.” Blaine shrugged. “You probably got a good idea what my father was like when you served him at the restaurant. A good businessman, successful, but I haven’t been around him much the last ten years. The same goes for my mother. I always felt more duty and expectation than love from them.”

Kurt nodded. “You mentioned an Irish nanny. What was her name?”

“Fiona.” Blaine said. He still wrote to her, even though she was nanny to some other children now.

“She was more of a parent to you than your parents were, wasn’t she?” Kurt reached over to the table, and took out a strawberry. Holding it out to Blaine, letting him take a bite of the juicy berry. He popped the rest of the fruit into his own mouth.

Nodding his head in agreement as he chewed and swallowed, Blaine thought back on Fiona. He really should see her more often. She was such a loving, fun woman with a big heart. “I think I get my love of music from her. She always sang with such unreserved joy. I took piano lessons for years to please my parents, but it was always much more fun to learn to play the guitar and sing the traditional songs she had taught me.”

Kurt chuckled. “I was just picturing what would happen if you ran away to join a Vaudeville company. If you got on stage every night with your guitar to sing those old songs. Would Fiona come out to see you perform and feel proud?”

Blaine’s lips twitched at the thought. What if he just ran away from everything and lived simply with Kurt? No worrying about being polite and proper. No trying to find a suitable wife to fit the life his father had envisioned for him. Leaving everything behind for love, like Denis and Mary had.

“That’s a crazy thought, but I think she would be pleased and proud of me.” Blaine nodded, and smiled broadly.

“What about your father?” Kurt laughed, delighted at Blaine’s playing along with his crazy ideas.

Blaine shook his head. “He doesn’t need me. He’s healthy and loves running the hotel.”

“My Rebel Prince. Wanting to run off from the kingdom and live with the peasants.” Kurt leaned forward, planting a loud kiss on Blaine’s mouth.

Chuckling, Blaine grabbed the back of Kurt’s head to hold him in place for some deeper, hungry kisses.

Kurt was giggling by the time he pulled away. “Quit trying to distract me. I still have six more questions.”

Shifting, Blaine pushed Kurt to lie back on the chaise as he opened the champagne and filled the glasses. “Ask away. I think we should drink champagne and feed each other dessert as you do that.”

Chuckling, Kurt accepted the glass from Blaine. “Yeah, because that won’t be distracting at all. Hmmmmm…. Tell me about school, and all these boys your father says you were ‘exploring’ with.”

Picking up a bunch of grapes, Blaine tossed one in the air and caught it with his mouth, chewing it as he thought. He pulled off another grape, and brushed the smooth, cool fruit over Kurt’s lips until he opened his mouth to accept it.

“It was a good school. They were strict, making us work hard for our grades, but they really encouraged us to play sports and have a good school spirit. College was pretty similar.” Blaine shrugged a shoulder, catching another tossed grape to chew while he thought. “There weren’t that many boys...” The confession made him blush a little, and duck his head.

Kurt grinned. “Ha! You can’t even say that with a straight face, excuse the bad pun. I demand more details.”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Mostly just normal fumbling around. But in my prep school, it was really hard to find a place to be alone for it. There was this old chapel building, and the priest was quite elderly, so he wasn’t there much. So, most of my first encounters were in there. Sometimes, I’ll be in church on Sunday, and something will trigger an old memory and…”

Kurt chuckled. “You’ll pitch a tent?”

Nodding, Blaine was still blushing a bit as he reached over and scooped up some whip cream with his finger, licking it off.

Kurt groaned at the sight.

Blaine gave him an innocent look. “What? You want some too?” He scooped up some more whip cream and held it near Kurt’s mouth.

Grabbing Blaine’s hand, Kurt stuck his tongue out and took his time licking the cream off Blaine’s finger, letting out little moans of pleasure. When the cream was gone, he took Blaine’s finger in his mouth, giving it a little suck as he circled his tongue around his fingertip. When he let go of his hand, he just smirked up at Blaine.

Shaking his head, Blaine downed the rest of his Champagne and poured them both another glass. It was the end of the bottle. Had they already finished off the rest?

Giggling, Kurt sat up to take the glass. “I could drink Champagne every day.”

“Come with me, and be my love. I’ll give you Champagne and roses every day.” Blaine pulled Kurt closer to kiss his neck, right below his ear. He tasted the best right there, Blaine decided.

But Kurt pushed him away. “It feels kind of hot in here, don’t you think? Let’s go outside and get some air for a bit.”

Getting off the chaise lounge, they both had wobbly legs and realized just how easily that Champagne had gone down. But with a giggle, they headed out the door and Blaine locked up behind them.

----

-Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-A/N: -More of their evening in the next chapter....

-First class passengers ate in the main dining saloon. They also had the option of eating in at Café Parisien or the restaurant referred to as ‘The Ritz’, with a la carte options, for an additional cost. These two restaurants were not managed by the White Star Line. Luigi Gatti ran it as a concession and his 68 staff were not part of the regular crew. Kurt was part of this group of workers.

I think there will 10-11 chapters total.  (Not a very long fic for me!)  Thx for reading this far.  :D