Blaine stripped off his third attempt at a shirt and sat at the foot of his bed, staring at the moron in the mirror. If he never knew Kurt worked in the fashion industry, he’d have been dressed half an hour early and pacing the kitchen floor. Instead, he was still shirtless and nearing the you’re-going-to-be-late zone.

“This is stupid.” He reached back and blindly chose the D & G, then the Armani and after touching the Versace and reconsidering, wiggled his way into the D & G. He didn't even try to look in the mirror again because he’d quadruple guess himself and that was beyond ridiculous. Looking half as good as Kurt was not going to happen. But, seeing how Kurt looked so amazing all the time, half-as-good-as-Kurt wasn’t so bad.

With that acceptance, Blaine got in his truck and headed across town. He obeyed his GPS and took a left at the light, eyeing a shabbily dressed man selling flowers on the corner. He wheeled around through a gas station and pulled up next to the gentleman as his GPS voice beckoned him back onto the right path.

“How much?”

“How many do you want?”

Blaine hopped out of his truck and scanned the bucket of roses. “Don’t the colors have different meanings?”

“They do. Red’s for love, of course. Yellow is friendship, pink is grace, and orange is my favorite. Desire and passion. But! It’s a mix of red and yellow, so there’s affection there, too. The perfect trio, don’t you think?” The man grinned a toothless grin and held out a hand for his payment, long before Blaine made a choice.

“I’ll take a single orange one, please.”

“A lucky, lucky one, she is.”

Blaine pulled out his wallet and handed the man a $10 bill. “He. Is. And keep the change.”

***

Blaine and his GPS had a lovely conversation the rest of the way to Kurt’s, discussing the ins and outs of the two lunches he’d already shared with him.

“Surely he’s just being kind to the new guy in town. It can’t be that he’s the least bit attracted to me. I’m just a working stiff.”

“Proceed forward 500 ft. and turn left.”

“I know, one step at a time and all, but…he’s just so classy and elegant and…I’m me. I’m being absurd. And sweating enough to justify another shower.”

“Make a left turn onto Yoakam Road.”

“Yes. Absurd. I date regularly enough. I’m charming. He even said so himself. I can do this, right?”

“Your final destination is 750 yards ahead on your right.”

“I’m glad we had this chat.” Blaine clicked the device off and pulled into Kurt’s drive, not wasting an extra minute. Except that extra one where he checked his reflection in the rearview mirror to make sure he would pass the hi-I’m-not-freaking-out-like-a-prepubescent-teenager test.

***

“You did not get me a flower.”

Blaine offered the single rose as he stepped inside, smiling when Kurt took it and sniffed, peeking over the petals with a coy grin. “I probably shouldn’t mention that I got it from a bum on a corner.”

“No, you probably shouldn’t.” Kurt pulled the flower out of its tissue and told Blaine to make himself comfortable. “I’ll get a vase. I love this shade of orange.”

Blaine eased himself onto the couch and looked around at Kurt’s home – modern and sophisticated with whimsical retro accents throughout, many of them in shades of orange. He was a genius.

“There we go. Just right.” Kurt put the cobalt bud vase on a side table, rearranging a few other pieces to make it look like it belonged. “Is Thai okay for dinner?”

“That sounds great.”Blaine stood and bit his bottom lip. “Am I…am I dressed okay for that restaurant?”

“Yes! I was going to tell you I love that shirt…love D & G’s casual line.” He started to head towards the hall and stopped, turning to reach out for Blaine’s arm. “You’re a nervous wreck.”

“I am…”

“Why?”

Blaine blinked. Kurt really had no clue how gloriously stunning he was. “I just…I’m both lured and intimidated by you.”

“Oh for the love of…stop. Now, had we met in college, that would make sense. I was a pretentious queen, but…”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Oh honey...if you’re looking for a real angel in a red vest, we need to call this off right now.”

Blaine jerked his gaze up and smiled. “You remembered…”

“It was barely a week ago.”

“But, you kept it with you.”

Kurt reached out and squeezed Blaine’s arm. “It’s when my heart started racing.”

Blaine flushed and took Kurt’s hand, kissing a knuckle, willing himself to breathe. “Ah. Well. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes. Just give me one more minute.” He slipped down the hall to collect his pocket belongings and came back, lacing his fingers in Blaine’s as they headed out. “You really do look great. I’m thinking a uniform burning is in order.”

***

“I had some peaches left. You want to slice them on top?”

“Mmmm, yes.” Blaine scooped into the cold container and plopped rounds of homemade peach ice cream onto shortcakes while Kurt sliced and shared the juicy bits of fruit. All nerves from earlier in the evening had since vanished. Their conversation at dinner was comfortable and if nothing ever moved beyond this moment – the one with sliced peaches and already too-full bellies and great conversation – Blaine was content in the companionship. But really, he liked the idea being a little more than content.

Kurt offered a peach slice and Blaine sucked it in, watching Kurt slip a slice to himself, his tongue grabbing up escaping juice from the corner of his mouth. He hurriedly went back to scooping ice cream, lest his knees buckle on the spot.

“Don’t you wish we could eat peaches year ’round?”

“…well we can. They just taste like wet sand or tin cans.”

“Mmm, yummy. You should write ads.” Kurt splayed the fruit into the bowls and licked his fingers noisily. “Take these on in the living room. I’ll get some wine. Or…” Kurt opened his refrigerator and sighed. “Yeah, wine or water.”

“Whatever. I don’t care.” Blaine sat on the couch, peeling off a chunk of shortcake before Kurt came in, blushing when he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. “Sorry. It looks too irresistible to wait.”

They toasted nothing in particular as Kurt sat, tucking one leg under the other and grabbed his bowl, starting to take a bite. Blaine’s still sat on the table. “Are you staring or being a gentleman and waiting on me?”

Blaine cleared his throat and grabbed his bowl, digging into the ice cream. “I would be staring. Which isn’t very gentlemanly.”

“Hmm. I won’t say it bothers me though.”

“Good. You’re very nice to stare at.” Blaine tasted the ice cream and moaned, letting it slowly melt in his mouth. “So, I’m sure you spent your day hand cranking this.”

“Yes. That’s exactly how I spent my day. Blood, sweat and tears.”

“Have you ever hand cranked ice cream before?”

“Oh my god, yes. Which is why my Cuisinart and I are best friends. It was one of my dad’s hair brained ideas. What is it with dads and hair brained ideas?”

“My dad used to say it was from living with a woman.”

“That must be it. I never have hair brained ideas.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow. “I have entirely too many hair brained ideas to believe that one.”

“Mmm, maybe so, but when did hand cranking ice cream become a good idea with a 6 year old boy who liked tea parties and dressing up his G.I. Joe’s?”

“You seem to be very attached to your bitterness, my dear.”

“My arm almost fell off. And I got sent to my room for crying. And Mom and Dad fought – they never fought. And anyway, the ice cream was like soup. How is that a good Saturday?”

Blaine laughed and mockingly pet Kurt’s leg. “Poor baby. I bet you didn’t eat ice cream for a year.”

“No, I convinced Mom to go buy an electric machine like the Peterson’s had next door. You know, the normal family who had a picnic and ice cream right after, not 6 hours and an anxiety attack later.”

“You clearly had a very traumatic childhood.”

“Didn’t we all?” Blaine kept laughing between bites and Kurt huffed. “Tell me your dad did stupid shit, please. I could not have been the only kid in the late 90’s to have mental scars from hair brained fathers.”

“Day trips.”

Kurt gasped. “Oh my god, I hated day trips!”

“Throw two kids in a car for three hours to go to a place they never wanted to go in the first place – we were having fun with Legos, thank you – promising Native American relics ooh, ahh, and end up at a big green field with sort of snakey-looking three-foot hills. And? Not a tomahawk to be found.”

“Serpent Mound. I hated that place.”

“You were dragged there too? Are you kidding me? Literally. Hills I could ride my bike over. Although, hell that might have made the place fun. You couldn’t even climb on the stupid things. You got to look at them and read signs about…something.”

“And that gift shop? Dad tried to lure me there when he could tell I was trying to find sticks to stab him with. Shopping cured everything. Except the travesty that is Serpent Mound.”

Blaine cracked up again. “I don’t even remember the gift shop.”

“My point exactly. Come on Kurt, let’s see if they have any cool geodes or feathers. You love feathers… Nothing. Books. And statues of Indians and buffalo. And then? And then…”

“He’s pissed at you for the rest of day because you don’t appreciate that he’s trying to broaden your cultural horizons.”

“YES!!” Kurt lifted his hand for a high five and laughed when they missed. “You said two kids – sibling?”

“I have a brother, but he was no help. He loved that shit.” Blaine put his empty bowl down and smacked his lips. “That was divine, by the way.”

“It is good, isn’t it? You want more?”

“I’ll explode.”

“Not on my couch you won’t.”

“Of course not. But, my brother – he pretended to love it just to get a rise out of me.”

“Older? Younger?”

“Older – 9 years. Tormenting me was his life’s work.”

Kurt pet Blaine’s leg as he’d done it to him before. “Poor baby. Are you best friends now?”

“We’re close, yeah. He still gives me hell, but…”

“It’s his life’s work after all.”

***

Blaine shifted on the couch, trying not to break the position they’d been in, but numb buns were winning over the comfort of cuddling. Kurt sat up anyway and rolled his back forward, groaning at the pull. “Is it me, or is this movie a bit slow?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything, but…”

“Blaine…say something. I don’t want you to be miserable…”

“Oh, I was far from miserable. I just decided to focus on how cozy you were. But then my butt went to sleep. Besides, I probably should head out.”

“Okay. It is late, isn’t it?”

Blaine fetched his sandals and slipped them on, grinning at the smiling face waiting for him when he righted himself.

Kurt ran his fingers down Blaine’s arm, catching his hand and pulling him toward the door. “I had a wonderful time tonight.”

“I did too. Even though you’re still wrong.”

“Mmm?”

“Pride and Prejudice is Austen’s best work.”

“I’m not discussing this with you anymore. Besides, the movie for Sense and Sensibility trumps any argument you might put forth, so.”

“So? So is your final word?”

“Yes. Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson simply make your argu-…”

Blaine had been thinking about what it would feel like to kiss Kurt’s lips since he met him at the fire. They were soft like his voice, perfectly pink, lush and inviting. So when he finally did it, when his lips were interrupting Kurt’s silly argument, he couldn’t help but smile against them. And even chuckle with Kurt in the midst of it all. Because really, his imagination hadn’t even begun to skirt at how amazing it would actually be.

A little more of his lips sounded good too, so he cupped Kurt’s jaw in his hand and pressed in again, breathing in deep as if to draw him in even further. With a soft smack, he pulled back – only a little, their lips still brushing as he spoke, whispered, catching his breath. “I’ve wanted to do that all night.”

Kurt smiled sweetly, soft kisses dotting his words. “Then for god’s sake, why didn’t you?”

Blaine pressed forward again, parting his lips and tracing Kurt’s bottom lip with his tongue, tasting, teasing as their tongues met, a moan at how delicious it all was escaping from his throat. Another step back for a breath and he was grinning, a flush reddening his cheeks. “I just didn’t want to presume anything…”

But Kurt stepped forward, his eyes bright blue and searching. “You need to stop being so polite.” Kurt traced the blush on Blaine's cheek. “And just kiss me again.”

Blaine was nothing if not cooperative. With a soft groan, he pulled Kurt to him again, hot this time, their bodies pressing together, every slide of Kurt’s hands up his arms, down his back sending waves of heat to his core. Kurt tasted sweet of peaches and wine and the soft whispers of contentment he sighed swirled around his head telling him to never stop. That this space was the happiest space on earth.

They finally came up for air, smiling bashfully at each other, belied by their flushed cheeks and totally blown pupils. “I, um…” Blaine leaned in for one more soft kiss, tugging Kurt toward the door. “Walk me out?”

They stepped onto the porch, turning off the light to deter the gathering moths from intruding. As soon as the door latched behind them, everything shifted, Blaine gasping as Kurt pushed him back against it, his mouth hot and demanding more than the sweet Disney movie kisses they’d enjoyed inside. Blaine kept up, melting into Kurt’s touch, the hot press of his body, the soft slide of Kurt’s lips against his.

Blaine pushed in closer, walking a hand around Kurt’s back, breaking the kisses only to murmur stumbled thoughts, his brain misfiring at anything remotely coherent. “Jesus…Kurt…so fucking…” He dared to leave Kurt’s lips, trailing up his jaw line, licking and sucking and kissing at his neck, soft and lithe, vibrating whenever Kurt moaned and mumbled lovely words like you taste so good and kiss…more…soft…want.

When Blaine suckled at the tender spot underneath Kurt’s ear, Kurt’s knees gave a little and Blaine took over, grabbing at Kurt’s waist and rolling them, pushing him against the door. He pressed into him, his kisses more urgent, more demanding, his tongue sweeping into Kurt’s mouth before languishing with breathy brushes of lip against lip. Kurt wrapped his ankle around Blaine’s calf, pulling him in, breath heavy between them. They shared shy breathless smiles and sunk into another searing kiss, jolting when the doorbell rang, nudged by Kurt’s elbow.

“Shit! I’m so sorry.”

“That’s okay…” Blaine struggled to find his voice, never knowing the simple act of kissing to get him so fucking turned on, so riled, so completely wanting – at least not since hot make-out sessions in high school. “It’s probably…I should go anyway, so…”

Betraying his own words, Blaine slid his arm back around Kurt’s waist, caressed his face, pushing hair back that wasn’t in the way just for the excuse to brush, to gaze, to sneak in kisses and watch Kurt’s lashes flicker at every new touch. He took him again, unable to resist Kurt’s lips, parted and inviting, rolling his hips forward, peeking through his half-lidded haze when their erections pressed together through the fabric of their shorts. “Oh fuck…” He traced Kurt’s lips with his finger as if in awe of what they were doing to him…of what he wanted them to do to him. “This is not what I had planned for tonight…”

Kurt’s eyes flickered open, his tongue peeking between his lips to lick at Blaine’s finger as it passed, his breath still ragged. As if having a mind of their own, their hips pressed together beginning a slow, steady rhythm, to music only they could hear. “Me either, but…damn.”

Blaine rested his head on Kurt’s shoulder, the gentle push of their hips never stopping, slow and calculated, intensifying the longer they stayed. He swallowed thickly and lifted his head, pausing as Kurt kissed his temple, letting his lips linger, hot and moist on his skin. Reluctantly, he stepped back and closed his eyes in frustration, ignoring the soft whimper from Kurt, common sense making a very unwelcome visit. “I should probably go…”

But when he dared look into Kurt’s eyes again, finding him breathless and flushed, his lips swollen and his eyes bright and clear and beautiful and…pleading?...he had to question what in the hell common sense had to do with anything.

It had nothing to do with anything.

And so, he groaned in defeat, moving in for another kiss, hot and wet, working his lips down Kurt’s jaw again, tasting his salty skin, nibbling down the tendon, dipping his tongue in every valley as Kurt leaned back, letting him explore and savor every inch of his neck. Kurt pulled him in, forceful fingers at his waist, his leg wrapped around his calf, inching higher until the whole of their bodies were together moving, seeking slow and steady, more insistent, more eager, just…more.

Kurt slid his hands up Blaine’s arms and shoulders, finally cupping Blaine’s face in his hands, their erections slotting together again between hissed breath and stolen kisses. He broke free, his voice deep and broken. “Do you have to go?”

Blaine took Kurt’s wrists and kissed each pulse point curling them into his neck, still grinding, still breathless, control slipping away with each motion. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Yes.” Even Kurt blushed at his quick answer, covering it by dipping down to take Blaine’s neck, licking and sucking just under his t-shirt collar. He kissed his way back up to his ear, pulling his lobe into his mouth and whispered. “Please stay.”

Blaine’s answer came as a slow, sweet smile crowned with a kiss, almost chaste in its tenderness. As Kurt reached back for the doorknob, Blaine brushed his lips against Kurt’s one more time. “I thought you’d never ask.”