Chapter 22: What's Good For Blaine

They planned to spend the whole of Saturday together. The weather was particularly pleasant for November, so they went out for brunch and a walk in Central Park before going back to Blaine’s in the afternoon, so he could get ready for his gig in the evening.

As Blaine was busy assembling his outfit – with Kurt throwing in a comment or a piece of advice from time to time – his boyfriend sprawled over his bed, watching him.

‘Hey, you promised me a first listen of that song you wrote,’ Kurt said at some point.

‘Did I?,’ Blaine asked playfully, glancing over his shoulder.

‘Not really, but I hoped I’d get it anyway.’

Kurt made puppy dog eyes at Blaine, forcing him to laugh. At the same time the thought of singing that song was nerve-wrecking. Even more so when it was just the two of them; a room full of people seemed much easier to please.

‘Just don’t be too critical, okay?’

‘I swear I won’t,’ Kurt told him, smiling encouragingly.

With the tiniest nod, Blaine started for the piano. Kurt sat up on the bed, his heart pounding excitedly. The first couple of soft chords filled the room, making his insides melt.

I have been waiting all my life
For this moment when you said
That you were staying here with me
I have been waiting all this time
For someone to never want to let me go
And here you are

Whenever you’re by my side
Whenever you hold my hand
It’s like the world could never be
A better place
It’s like I never want to leave
And not be myself again

I have been waiting all my life
For someone to take me as I am
I have been waiting all this time
For the moment when I finally see your face

If this is a dream, I never want to wake
If this is true, I never want to leave
And not be myself again

Reluctantly, Blaine took his fingers off the keys, and turned sheepishly to his boyfriend. Two shining tracks went down Kurt’s cheeks, but his face was beaming.

‘That was- beautiful,’ he choked out, completely blown away by having a song written for him.

‘Really?’

‘Really. No one has ever written a song for me,’ Kurt said. ‘It was for me, right? I’m not being too complacent, am I?’

Blaine cupped Kurt’s face gently in his hand.

‘Of course it was for you.’

‘Thank you, then. It’s an honour.’ Kurt tugged his boyfriend closer to kiss him lightly on the lips.

‘You’re welcome.’

***

Kurt had paid a short visit to the bar Blaine was playing at on Saturday earlier in the week to tell them there was a producer coming to see him. The staff was ordered not to mention it to Blaine under any circumstances and keep everything in order, so that some glitch wouldn’t mess things up for Blaine. They agreed to keeping the matter a secret, and seemed genuinely happy for the guy who’d been entertaining their guests on and off for years.

It appeared that everything was going to be fine. Santana and her friend weren’t supposed to arrive early enough for Blaine to see them before going on stage and so he could stay perfectly clueless, and thus – perfectly calm.

What Kurt could not anticipate, though, was a newbie bartender, who – apart from being in the dark about Blaine’s disorder – was a terrible blabbermouth.

‘Oh, hey, Blaine, good luck tonight,’ Jenny greeted him as they entered the bar an hour before the scheduled start of the gig. ‘That producer’s gonna love you.’

Kurt gasped in horror, his eyes darting to Blaine and the shock on his face.

‘What producer?,’ he asked, his heart rate skyrocketing.

‘Oh, nothing, never mind.’ She smiled all too brightly.

Taking advantage of the fact that Blaine couldn’t do much in the astonishment and sudden terror that hit him, Kurt tugged him to the tiny backstage area. There was still a chance Blaine wouldn’t be bothered by it, even though the odds weren’t in their favour.

‘Kurt, what producer?,’ Blaine demanded as soon as they were alone.

‘Santana got a friend of hers to come to listen to you. Apparently, they could be interested in getting you signed or something,’ Kurt explained as calmly as he could.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

Blaine’s voice was panicky, his hands were beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

‘This is why, I didn’t want you to get nervous, I didn’t want you to-,’ Kurt mumbled, terrified that his attempts could have had an end result entirely opposite to what he’d intended. ‘Please, Blaine, just breathe, you’re going to be great, there’s nothing to worry about, please-‘

Blaine pressed his hands to his temples. The situation was all he ever wanted professionally, all he ever wished for, but now all he could think of was how unprepared he felt, how completely inadequate. He kept on breathing deeply, trying desperately to relax and knowing it was all no good.

And the next second Liam was letting go of his head, stretching his muscles as Kurt watched him in horror.

‘Oh my god, Liam, this is not a good moment,’ he groaned frustrated.

‘Ugh, all of you, you can only whine,’ Liam said sarcastically. ‘I have no idea how Blaine puts up with all of you.’

‘He’s doing just fine, thank you, and now, if you could let Blaine back-‘

Liam chuckled, taking a couple of languid steps towards an exasperated Kurt.

‘You sure you want him back?,’ he asked in a seductive murmur.

Not reacting to the sound was impossible, and a shiver ran down Kurt’s spine.

‘Yes, I’m quite sure,’ he choked out. ‘He can deal with this on his own- I mean, not on his own, he’s got me-‘

Another bark of laughter very unlike Blaine’s escaped Liam’s lips. He ran his fingers playfully through Kurt’s painstakingly coiffed hair. Kurt could barely stop himself from slapping the hand away. He was too accustomed to holding that hand to do that, though.

‘You, huh? Kurt the liar. Uh-huh, somebody’s been a naughty boy,’ Liam said with a sneer. ‘Too bad it’s not the kind of naughty I like.’

This time Liam’s hand slid down, tugging at the belt of Kurt’s pants and making him gasp.

‘I didn’t lie, I kept it from him for his own good,’ Kurt defended himself, slipping out of Liam’s grasp.

‘How do you know what’s good for him?’

Suddenly both of them were seething. Kurt’s frustration with Liam, anger at the stupid bartender and his apparent complete helplessness and inability to get Blaine back melted together into rage. Liam simply seemed offended that Kurt believed he knew Blaine’s needs best.

‘I know him, I’m his boyfriend, I love him,’ Kurt said through his teeth. ‘I know what’s good for him.’

‘I thought I did, too, but apparently I was wrong about you,’ Liam spat out in response.

Kurt was ready to counterattack and was just beginning to shout back at the alter, when the implication in Liam’s words caught his attention.

‘You were- What?’

Liam snickered, casting him a look that most definitely said “you’re seriously this dumb?”

‘I wasn’t really into you, I gave you Blaine’s number for him, not for me.’

‘Why?,’ Kurt asked, frown lines on his forehead deepening.

‘Because you seemed like the type of guy he’d like. Boring,’ Liam added as Kurt raised his eyebrows questioningly.

‘And the bl- the almost blowjob?’

Liam shrugged.

‘I guess I just like sucking dicks, even if they belong to such boring boys like you.’

With just a couple of steps, Liam was back next to Kurt with a mischievous little smile, his hands dangerously close. It felt awfully familiar and terrifyingly strange at the same time.

‘Liam, could you please step back?,’ Kurt whispered, his feet fixed on the spot.

‘Don’t you wanna get a little dirty?’

‘No, Liam, not with you. You’re not Blaine, so no.’

Kurt’s voice began to tremble and that was something Liam could recognise, so he retreated with a sigh.

‘Thank you,’ Kurt breathed, trying to focus on his boyfriend again. ‘If you claim you know what is best for Blaine, why did you show up now? He didn’t need you.’

Liam rolled his eyes, throwing his head back dramatically.

‘Blaine this, Blaine that. Like I said, you’re fucking boring.’

‘Can you stop being an ass for a minute?,’ Kurt demanded.

‘Alright, alright. Because I’m not sure he can handle being a “star”.’ He put his fingers up in air quotes.

‘But this is what he wants. Let him have it and leave, please. Because unless you’re his uber-talented secret weapon, he’s gonna be screwed because of you!’

‘That’s quite a strong accusation, don’t you think?,’ Liam countered.

‘It’s still true,’ Kurt said. ‘He has a set to play, probably the most important one in his life, and maybe I did fuck up, but right now, if he doesn’t come out on that stage in,’ he glanced at the wall clock, ‘twenty seven minutes, it’s going to be your fault, not mine.’

They stood motionlessly opposite each other, both breathing and their eyes boring into the other’s. Seconds ticked by, and Kurt’s hands began to shake in frustration. He had to get through to Blaine, he had to make Liam leave, but pleading for him to go was the only thing he could come up with. The time was slipping away too fast, and Liam was still there.

‘He’s going to be fine, I promise you,’ Kurt pleaded one last time. ‘Just let him come back.’

Liam shrugged in response and it seemed like he disregarded the pleas. But when he blinked several times, just to finally open his eyes widely half a minute later, he was Blaine again.

‘Kurt?,’ he asked weakly. ‘Did something happen?’

Without answering, Kurt pulled his boyfriend into a tight embrace, sighing in relief.

‘Liam showed up,’ he said eventually, still not letting go of Blaine. ‘But you’re here now, that’s all that matters.’

Blaine untangled himself from Kurt to look into his face.

‘Wait, what was it about a producer?,’ he asked, bits and pieces from before the transition coming back to him.

‘There will be one in the audience tonight,’ Kurt said. ‘Just be your usual self and it’s going to be fine.’

Blaine breathed deeply and nodded. One transition per day as absolutely enough for him, and he’d be unable to go out on stage at all if Liam came back.

‘I’ll do my best.’ He smiled weakly as Kurt pulled him back into a hug.

‘I’m so happy you’re back.’