The previous day was the spur of Kurt’s coffee proposition and the number upon the cup, and –little to Blaine’s knowledge –was the reason he was now occupied after work.

“I am not monotonous!” Kurt protested. As much as he loved Rachel Berry, she was a stubborn pain-in-the-ass. The very same stubborn pain-in-the-ass that had been his best friend for years; he tried to convince himself that time wasn’t the only virtue to why he was sitting in The Lima Bean sipping coffee with her.

“I’m not calling you monotonous” Rachel stretched the word in her usual actress-like character.

That word isn’t in your vocabulary? Kurt’s inner monologue quipped. Out loud he didn’t say a word and let Rachel continue, as always.

“I’m just saying that maybe you aren’t as spontaneous as you used to be!”

Kurt rolled his eyes. This was old news to him. The ‘maybe’ in Rachel’s sentence wasn’t needed. Kurt didn’t wonder whether he had become less animated; he knew his social life had gone down hill since he turned down the idea of college to stay at home and take care of his father. After his heart-attack-and-coma affair, and despite Burt’s insistence that he would be fine, Kurt decided to go to college closer to home. He studied European Literature and, admittedly, did turn out loving it.

What Kurt refused to admit to anyone –himself included –is that he would have preferred to have been in New York studying Fashion Designing or Musical Theatre or… anything really; anything to help him escape Ohio.

“Well, my life isn’t quite the same as it used to be, Rachel” he pointed out, taking a sip of his Non-Fat Mocha.

“I know that” she stressed again “I’m just saying that you have had three jobs in the past two months and keep dropping out of them. You over-work yourself and the last time you let me introduce you to any new potential love-interest, you came up with some poor-ass excuse about how you had to stay home and do stuff.”

“I did have to do stuff!” Kurt argued in annoyance. He wasn’t lying. On the specific occasion in conversation, Kurt had been helping at his Dad’s tyre shop. He had helped since he was only a kid and Burt had been running short of staff after one of his men had abruptly fallen sick.

Rachel sighed. “Kurt, I have a feeling you’re hiding behind all this” –she gestured with her hands around the coffee shop where Kurt had recently started work –“to avoid the matter of not knowing what to do with your life.”

Kurt bit his lip. Rachel was 100% correct as per usual. He had no idea what to do with his life. He wrote stories in his spare time, but he knew he could never be a novelist. That sort of thing required patience –a trait which Kurt had very little of.

“Rachel, in all honesty, what am I supposed to do?” Kurt’s voice was a little hoarse.

Rachel placed a hand over Kurt’s free one “honey, you have to figure that out yourself.” She smiled empathetically at him before removing her hand again.

“But you could at least try and meet people?” She suggested.

“This is Ohio, Rachel. There isn’t exactly a queue of willing gay men for me to pick-and-choose between.”

Rachel sat back in her chair. “Just promise me something.”

Kurt cocked his head; a promise to Rachel Berry? He regretted even asking –“Yes?”

“If you do meet someone… at least give it a go?”

Rachel looked pleadingly at Kurt. He knew she had his best interests at heart, but he also guessed he felt sorry for him. Almost everyone who saw the change in him after high-school did. He had condemned himself to a prison. He had to stay for his Dad. He had nowhere else to go. Rachel lived in New York with her partner, Brody. His friends from McKinley High School had all fled to a variety of different states. He had no one to go to –not without complications. He supposed at least attempting to find someone couldn’t hurt.

With another sigh, Kurt finally answered.

“Okay, Rachel. I promise.”

Nerves were new to Blaine.

He hadn’t been on a date in what you could call a lengthy amount of time. Basically, his work and teacher training courses and voluntary evening guitar lessons kept him busier than he hoped to be since he finished university and became a teacher.

He graduated from Ohio University, after taking classes in Musical Arts and, much later on, Teaching.

Teaching had kind of snuck up on Blaine. He had always volunteered at the local kids groups playing music and entertaining the kids in his charge. It was almost second nature to him.

It was one particular occasion with the smallest of the boisterous children in the club that started the clogs in his brain turning at a rapid speed.

He had ventured through to the back room to collect juice cartons and fruit for a short break, when he heard sobbing from nearby. He followed the sound, before tracking it to a narrow door down the end of the small corridor. He pushed the door open quietly to find the petite, fair-haired girl curled up on the floor, face between her small hands. Her sobs were spine-chilling and Blaine felt his heart being kicked.

“Amber?” Blaine remembered the girls name; who responded by alarmingly jolting up nd letting panic swarm her face.

“I’m so sorry, Mr Blaine, I just don’t feel well and it is quieter in here and-”

“Amber” Blaine repeated, silencing her. She let her gaze wander up to his face, so he lifted a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Her head fell down, almost in shame. Blaine knelt down next to her and let himself fall to being cross-legged on the floor.

“Are you mad at me, Mr Blaine?” The seven year old’s face held hope.

“Of course I am not!” Blaine responded. “Friends do not get mad at each other.”

Amber’s smile came in time and Blaine smiled back.

“I thought Grace was my friend,” Amber started “but she told me she didn’t like it when I tried to be in charge.”

Blaine pulled a confused face.

“Grace always has to be in charge.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Grace says it’s the rules.”

“Grace doesn’t make the rules, Amber” Blaine said softly. “Everyone can be in charge if they want; and if Grace says differently then Grace must not know the secret.”

Blaine whispered the last part of his sentence, hoping it would capture Amber’s interest.

Her eyes lit up. “Secret?” she whispered back.

Blaine nodded before acting out to look around to see if they were being watched.

“Can I know?” Amber asked in whisper.

“You have to promise not to tell a soul!” Blaine said, animatedly.

Amber nodded with enthusiasm.

“It’s the secretest secret of all secrets!” Blaine continued. “You have to pinky promise…” He trailed off as he saw Amber already sticking her pinky out, eager.

Blaine linked pinkies with the girl briefly before releasing and dropping his voice to its quietest point.

“The truth is Amber…” –Blaine watched as the girl’s eyes started intently –“nobody can really tell anybody what they can do. You can be whoever you want to be.”

Amber paused a few seconds. “… Does that mean I can be an astronaut?”

Blaine smiled. “Of course” he whispered.

“Good, because Grace is scared of the dark so she wouldn’t be able to come with me because space is dark.” Amber seemed pleased with the thought of being able to be in charge at last.

It was then that Blaine decided he wanted to inspire kids to be whatever they wanted.

It was also then that Blaine’s social life was put on hold. So many people told him he couldn’t be who he was –which, plainly put, was 100% gay –but he hoped to fill at least a few kids with the realisation that dreams are achievable.

It wasn’t as if Blaine had no friends. He still talked to a few college friends, but mainly they annoyed him. They were all so full of themselves.

So Blaine’s nerves could be understood. However, he did want to make an impression.

After finishing up at the school, and letting the children go home to their waiting parents outside, Blaine had time to sort his hair out in the small staff toilet before shrugging his jacket on and slinging his guitar, now in a case, over his back.

He reached the coffee shop a few minutes earlier than their set time, but gathered that it didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure what time Kurt’s shift ended but he figured he’d get himself a coffee whilst he waited. He wished he could get Kurt one, but he had no idea what the man liked, or whether he even wanted coffee as he spent nearly all day near it, so he bought a Medium Drip and settled down at one of the tables, stashing his guitar on the seat next to him.

The Lima Bean had always been Blaine’s favourite coffee shop; since he discovered what coffee was. He and his friends from Dalton Academy had always come here. He used to live in Westerville, but he found a school near The Lima Bean and couldn’t turn it down.

It was 10 minutes past 4 when Kurt entered the shop. He looked flustered and red-faced, Blaine could see his bike parked outside the door and figured he had been a tad late, and didn’t see Blaine at first.

“Kurt!” Blaine called out. The flushed man’s head swished round nd smiled s he saw the curly-haired teacher sitting in a booth by the window. He wandered over instantly.

“I’ll just be a second” he smiled, leaning over so Blaine could hear him “; I just have to deposit my stuff out back.” He gestured to the bag used for holding coffee before disappearing through a door behind the counter.

Blaine couldn’t help but let his smile follow the intriguing man through the door.

It was after a few short minutes that Kurt (minus the coffee apron and badge) returned. He wandered over wearing a smile that Blaine could only call breath-taking.

“I’m just going to grab a coffee; would you like a re-fill?” he asked, his tone light –making Blaine’s thoughts cloud over for a few seconds before he brought himself back to reality.

“Yeah, please” he began to bring his wallet out until Kurt’s protest cut in.

“It’s on me. Working here has privileges. Free privileges.” He beamed before turning to walk away. After 3 steps he paused and swung round again, his face distressed.

“Ugh, please forgive me. I basically just told you to let me get coffee because I get it free. That’s not what I meant.”

Blaine laughed heartily at Kurt’s grimace as he sauntered off to get the coffee. Blaine found his eye line fixed to his backside as he walked away.

Damn.

He had one fine ass.

Kurt returned with two cups of coffee, and settled one in front of Blaine.

“One Medium Drip for Mr B. Anderson” he beamed proudly.

“You remembered?” Blaine couldn’t help but laugh out.

“I’ll have you know my memory is impeccable.” Kurt said nonchalantly as he placed himself into the seat opposite Blaine.

“And, for the record, even if I didn’t work here, I would have bought your coffee. I mean, I was the one who asked you. Besides, I get very jittery and talk far too much when I’m nervous.”

“Ah, so you’re nervous?” Blaine asked with a slight raise of his eyebrows. He knew he was flirting, but he couldn’t help it. A pretty boy asked him out for coffee.

Kurt blushed. “Would you believe me if I said no?” he said, gaining another laugh from Blaine.

“So, Mr Blaine Anderson, cute teacher in Lima, coffee drinker, and guitar player by the looks of it” –he gestured to the guitar case lying to Blaine’s side –“I’m intrigued. In all honesty, I have never seen someone quite so charming.”

Blaine scoffed. It was his turn to glow red. He hadn’t been quite so obviously flirted with for so long.

“Charming?” he managed to question, his voice in a slight mocking nonchalance.

“Quite so” Kurt smiled. “You’re good with kids, you play guitar, you’re well-dressed” –Blaine raised his eyebrows again –“and you agree to go on coffee dates with strangers. That is rather charming.”

Blaine found himself smiling admiringly at Kurt.

“Less charming, more on the verge of early mid-life-crisis; you forget I’m in Ohio.”

Kurt propped his chin onto his hand, leaning his elbow against the table. Blaine noted his porcelain-coloured skin as the two body parts met.

“I think you mean stuck in Ohio.” Kurt sighed.

Blaine cocked his head. “You could look at it that way. I just never left.”

Kurt wore a momentarily fore longed expression before snapping out of it.

“How about you?” Blaine smiled at him as if he wasn’t trying to find out too much. He tried to remind himself he had known this man a matter of hours and being too invasive was not a good idea.

Kurt thought nothing of it.

“I always wanted to go to New York and study something brash and bold.”

“Never got there?” Blaine questioned.

“I had responsibilities here…” Kurt bit his lip and a silence creeped over the two of them.

“Sorry, I have a terrible concept of boundaries” Blaine apologised.

Kurt shook his head. “Its fine, you were making conversation.”

Blaine shrugged.

“Anyway,” Kurt briskly moved the conversation on, “I’m curious where you managed to get that jacket…”

The pair spent just over an hour chatting aimlessly. They realised they both had an interest in musical theatre. Blaine found out Kurt had an obsession with fashion. Or so Blaine insisted. Kurt protested.

“It’s not an obsession, it’s a lifestyle!” He exclaimed.

“Yes, and so is my interest in Ryan Gosling.”

Kurt had found out, on the topic of high school that Blaine had been in the rivalling Glee club, The Warblers, as he attended Dalton at the same time Kurt had been at McKinley and in the New Directions. He also would not leave the image of Blaine in the navy blazer with red piping and red and navy striped tie in the past.

They also found out they had been at Ohio University at the same time majoring in different degrees, and had attended similar events and knew the same people.

“But Sally West had always said I was her only gay friend!” Blaine protested.

Kurt shook his head

“She told me the same thing. I think we were both cheated into giving her more credit than she deserved.”

“Gay-friend whore” Blaine remarked, receiving a spluttering laugh from Kurt as he took a mouthful of coffee.

At 5:25, after at least 3 more cups of coffee each, Blaine checked his watch and sighed.

“I have to get going. I have lessons to prepare.”

Kurt threw a look of disappointment. “You mean teachers don’t just make it up as they go along?”

Blaine smiled, “we also don’t sleep in the cupboard of our classroom.”

Kurt giggled, despite himself. It seemed so easy with Blaine.

“As much as I wish you could stay so I could mock you a little more and stare at your enchanting features, I mustn’t keep you from your priorities” he teased, earning Blaine’s failed attempt at a displeased look.

Blaine stood, and so did Kurt. The two ended up looking at each other awkwardly and Kurt saw Blaine’s awkward squirm. He rolled his eyes.

“In order not to make this any more awkward, I’d like to say I want to see you again, Blaine Anderson.” He saw Blaine’s face light up. He noted how beautiful he was.

“You have my number?”

Blaine suddenly became bashful.

“You’re saved as Coffee-Slave Kurt” he mumbled.

Kurt’s laugh chimed out, making Blaine forget the blush creeping up on him.

“I like it” he smirked. He held his hand out asking for Blaine’s phone.

After receiving it he brought up his name in the contacts, muffling another laugh at the name, and erased it. He typed into the phone before handing it back.

“I think this might be more appropriate if we’re meeting again, Blaine.”

Blaine looked down.

Kurt Hummel

“You better call me, Anderson. I don’t give my number to just anybody.”

Blaine didn’t understand how true Kurt’s words were.

“Well, I don’t know…” Blaine teased, earning a light whack on the arm. Blaine laughed and attempted to dodge it unsuccessfully.

“Continue that way and I won’t answer your call.” Kurt huffed.

“You will” Blaine winked.

Kurt smiled fondly. “Yes, I will.”

The pair shared a short gaze before Kurt spoke up.

“To avoid an awkward parting…” he began. Then, to Blaine’s surprise, he walked round the table and stopped in front of him.

He kissed Blaine’s cheek sweetly, letting his lips linger slightly too long, before moving out of Blaine’s path.

“Until next time, Blaine.”

“Goodbye, Coffee Slave” Blaine said breathlessly.

It wasn’t until Blaine was out of the door that Kurt let himself squeal and skip up to the counter. Poppy, the college student who worked the evening shift behind the counter, smiled at him.

“Someone special?” she asked knowingly.

“Hopefully” Kurt couldn’t help but smile in response.

Kurt made a mental note to thank Rachel sometime in the future. The woman may be the definition of the word pushy, but it was times like these that Kurt remembered why he had befriended her in the first place.