‘Blaine, seriously, we’re gonna be late!,’ Kurt yelled, getting more and more impatient. They were supposed to leave the cottage for their so-called “family dinner” in less than a half hour and Blaine hadn’t even come out of the water.

‘Just a sec!,’ Blaine shouted back.

Kurt rolled his eyes and began to gather his things, muttering under his breath about his friend’s childish ways.

‘Your friend?,’ a girl’s voice asked from behind him, startling him.

He twirled around, still clutching a bundle made of his towel and blanket. They weren’t much used to being disturbed by anyone in their spot; it was too far away from most of the summer rentals and hotels, and few people ventured through the patch of trees that separated this part of the beach from the more crowded long stretch to the right.

The girl was slender, with brown wavy hair and sparkling eyes of an undetermined colour. Kurt decided she had to be around their age and deemed her quite pretty.

‘Yeah,’ he answered finally and sighed with relief as Blaine emerged from the water, shaking it out of his hair like a dog. The girl swiped her eyes over his body, her gaze lingering a little longer on his chest.

‘Is he like- um- Is he taken?,’ she asked, chewing on her lower lip in embarrassment. ‘Sorry, if I’m blunt.’

Kurt barked out a short laugh, shaking his head.

‘No, he’s not, but I wouldn’t bother if I were you.’

‘Why, is he a jerk?,’ she asked, lowering her voice, as Blaine was getting closer.

‘No, he’s great. But you’re a girl and that’s not really his type.’

‘Oh.’ She nodded with disappointment. ‘Are you two then…?’

Kurt raised his eyebrows; was he really that obvious? And was it really impossible for two gay guys to just be friends, without falling into a relationship or some sort of kinkiness?

‘Gosh, no, we’re just friends.’

‘Why? He’s a catch.’

And with a wink, she left, just as Blaine reached him.

‘Who was that?’ He threw his eyes over the girl’s back and flicked them back to Kurt. ‘Don’t tell me she hit on you.’

Kurt chuckled, going back to gathering his stuff.

‘Actually, she wanted to hit on you.’

‘Me? Seriously?’ Blaine’s eyes bulged in surprise.

‘Yup. But I told her you play for the other team. She looked just a tiny bit disenchanted. And then she asked if we were a couple.’

Blaine’s surprise mixed with amusement, as they giggled in unison.

‘Christ, maybe we should be boyfriends after all, at least we wouldn’t have to explain that every single time,’ he said, reaching for his towel.

He meant it as a joke, of which Kurt was perfectly aware. But the girl’s words combined with Blaine’s and he caught himself staring at his friend in a way he had never done before.

For a few fleeting seconds, it wasn’t his silly childish best friend, with whom he could talk about anything in the world, including his celebrity crush on Ryan Gosling; whose boners he’d seen more times than he could count, without it ever becoming anything remotely sexual. In this short moment the Blaine before him was an incredibly beautiful boy, with entrancing hazel eyes framed by long dark eyelashes, with his curly hair wet and messy, his muscles clearly visible under his tanned skin. And the chest… He didn’t have a defined six-pack, but there was something in his build that reminded Kurt of old Greek sculptures and he scolded himself for the cheesy simile.

‘Kurt?,’ Blaine’s voice jerked him out of his reverie.

‘Yes?’ His eyes snapped back up to Blaine’s.

‘You were kinda… staring.’

‘Was I? Um- sorry. I was just… thinking.’

Blaine frowned, studying Kurt’s face, which – despite Kurt’s best efforts – was turning a light shade of pink.

‘What about?’

Kurt shook his head and started forwards, not waiting for Blaine to pick his things up.

‘Nothing. Come on. We’re gonna be late.’

***

‘So, boys, how was the lake today?,’ Carole asked them when their server brought their drinks.

Kurt grabbed his diet coke hastily, sucking on his straw to avoid answering.

‘Fine,’ Blaine replied with a grin. It hadn’t taken long for him and Carole to hit it off, so he didn’t mind answering her questions.

‘Where do you guys go, anyway? You’re never on the beach when we’re around,’ Burt cut in, his gaze travelling between his son and Blaine.

Kurt raised his eyes to the ceiling. He was sure from now on there would be no sleepovers with closed doors at the Hummel house.

‘It’s this tiny stretch of sand behind the trees,’ Blaine explained. ‘Hardly anyone goes there.’ His words reminded him about earlier and he chuckled before he could stop himself.

Perfectly sure he knew what amused his friend, Kurt sent Blaine a murderous glare. It was enough that Burt would ask at least once a month if they were still just friends, they didn’t have to provoke him to do it again.

‘What’s so funny?,’ Burt asked curiously and Kurt was now absolutely convinced Blaine’s days on this planet were numbered.

‘Um, nothing, really, there was just this girl, nevermind.’

Finn looked up, Blaine’s words catching his attention.

‘Dude, wait, are you, like, switching teams or something?’

Kurt giggled into his coke, almost stabbing himself in the throat with his straw. If he were to point out the most flaming homosexual of all the gays he’d seen on TV and the few he’d met, Blaine would probably be second only to Kurt himself.

‘Nope, definitely not,’ Blaine said, equally amused. ‘Unfortunately for her, apparently.’

Finn nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face.

‘Was she pretty at least?,’ he asked Blaine.

‘Kurt talked to her.’

Finn’s gaze turned to Kurt, who raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Don’t you have a girlfriend already?’

The others chuckled at the sight of Finn’s kicked puppy face.

‘So, guys, you’re just friends, right?,’ Burt asked, perfectly aware of their annoyance whenever the question was dropped. He couldn’t, however, silence a tiny voice in his head that whispered to him that Blaine was probably the best candidate for a son-in-law he could ever hope for. And he sincerely liked the kid.

Kurt’s response was rolling his eyes one more time.

‘Just friends,’ Blaine assured Burt.

‘Seriously, Dad, if that ever changes, you’ll be the first to know,’ Kurt hurried to add, before checking what exactly he was about to say.

A moment of weird silence followed, until Burt raised his hands defensively and said, ‘Okay.’

And then their food arrived, making their mouths incapable of proper conversation.

***

‘Kurt?,’ Blaine’s voice rang in the dark room.

‘Mhm?’

It was past midnight and Kurt had just started to doze off. He wouldn’t give up on his attempt on sleeping just because Blaine wanted something from him. His eyes stayed closed, but he listened attentively.

‘What did you mean at dinner?’

That made Kurt’s eyelids fly open.

‘About what?,’ he asked, pretending he didn’t catch Blaine’s drift.

‘About the “if it ever changes” thing. If we ever are a couple.’

Kurt bit his lip as he put his thoughts together and watched his friend’s silhouette on the bed opposite.

‘I just wanted to cut the topic short,’ he said shrugging, even though Blaine couldn’t possibly see the gesture.

‘So you never- You never thought about- about us getting together?’ Blaine turned onto his side to look at Kurt, although he could only make out a slight glint of his eyes in the almost complete darkness.

‘No, not really.’

The hint of uncertainty in Kurt’s voice made Blaine frown.

‘Not really? So you did.’

Kurt shifted restlessly onto his back, which made it impossible for Blaine to catch even a glimpse of his expression.

‘Shit, Blaine…’

‘Tell me. It’s not like we don’t tell each other everything, Kurt. Even the awkward stuff.’ He paused, waiting in vain for a response. ‘Come on.’

Kurt let out a heavy sigh, fixing his eyes firmly on the ceiling, just not to allow them to drift back to his friend.

‘Alright, it kinda crossed my mind today.’

‘Today? Why today?’ It would have made more sense to Blaine had Kurt considered the question months ago, when they kissed the first and second times. Nothing of the sort had happened since, so why would Kurt think of that now?

‘It’s really stupid,’ Kurt mumbled. ‘It’s just that girl said something…’ His voice trailed off.

Blaine was still confused by Kurt’s explanations.

‘I know, she asked if we were boyfriends, you told me that… She wasn’t the first one to…’

‘No, it wasn’t that. She said- She said you were a catch and it kinda set me thinking that, you know, she was right.’

He could feel a wave of heat roll over his face and blessed the darkness for hiding his fierce blush.

Blaine chuckled under his breath.

‘You think I’m a catch.’

‘Yeah, I guess I do.’

Blaine’s mattress creaked as he stood up and tiptoed to Kurt’s bed.

‘Move.’

Kurt obeyed silently. There was nothing unusual in the two of them sharing a bed; they had done it multiple times in the last eight months. But somehow the topic of their conversation made it strongly awkward for Kurt.

‘Why do you think I’m a catch?,’ Blaine asked, settling on the pillow, his face inches from Kurt’s.

‘Seriously?,’ Kurt sighed. ‘You’re gonna ask me that?’

‘Yeah, why not? Spill.’

Blaine refused to look away, and the bed was too narrow for Kurt to lie on his back without pushing Blaine off, so he stared back.

‘Okay, so… You’re a catch, because you’re kind and clever. And funny. And-‘ He hesitated.

‘And?,’ Blaine pressed.

‘Andithinkyourekindahot,’ Kurt blurted out, slurring everything into one long word.

‘What?’

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut before speaking again.

‘I think you’re kinda hot.’

To Kurt’s immense surprise, Blaine stayed completely serious.

‘You do? Think I’m hot?’

‘God, Blaine, I thought you had a mirror. After all, where would you gel your hair if you didn’t.’

For a moment they stayed silent, and the corners of Blaine’s mouth curled up.

‘You’re a catch, too, you know,’ he said finally.

Kurt snorted. ‘Yeah, right. Don’t be polite, I have a mirror, too. I look like Justin freaking Bieber.’

Blaine failed to muffle a chuckle, and Kurt smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

‘Not funny!’

‘Well, first of all, it’s not true. You’re much prettier than Bieber.’ Kurt hit him again, harder this time. ‘Ouch! Alright, alright! You’re smart and handsome, and classy, and adorable.’

Kurt considered Blaine’s choice of adjectives for a moment.

‘Adorable? I’m not sure if that’s something any guy would want to hear.’

‘Adorable’s good, trust me!’

‘Trust you as my best friend or as another gay guy?,’ Kurt asked, starting to wonder where this conversation was going.

Blaine leaned forward and planted a kiss on Kurt’s forehead.

‘Your best friend and another gay guy. I’m both, in case you forgot.’

Kurt nodded shortly, his thoughts still in a muddle.

‘But we’re staying best friends, right? Just checking,’ he added hastily.

‘Sure. If that ever changes, I’ll let you know.’

With that Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurt’s shoulders. And it was still there when they woke up in the morning.