CHAPTER ONE - FIRST LANDING

Blaine shrugged on his best blazer and glowered over at Cooper, who had arrived on the island only a few hours before just to make sure everything was in order for when the first official guest of  the Laiste Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast finally arrived.

“And for god’s sake shave off that stubble, Blaine.” Cooper had for the last 30 minutes been pushing Blaine to do something about his appearance. It took a great deal of self-control on Blaine’s part not to stick out his tongue every time Cooper found something new to criticise.

“I shaved yesterday.” Blaine ran a hand absent-mindedly over his chin. Okay, so he could feel a bit of growth there but surely it wasn’t that bad…

“And you need to shave again today. I don’t know how you got to be so hairy…must be Mom’s side of the family. I’d be tempted to drag you over to the mainland for an eyebrow waxing if we had the time.” Cooper rubbed a finger playfully over the black fuzzy triangles, and Blaine smacked his hand away. 

“Personal space Coop.” Blaine backed up a couple of steps before turning towards the door. “I don’t have time for a shave anyway. The fishing charter that is meant to have our guest aboard will be here soon and we need to get down to the dock. Our guest will just have to put up with my…stubble” He looked over his shoulder at Cooper. “What did you say the guy’s name was again?”

Cooper flicked open his diary. “Kurt Hummel. Kurt Elizabeth Hummel going by his credit card details.” Blaine raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “He is a fairly well known designer based in New York. I googled his name after I got off the phone to him, wasn’t sure that it was a him at first, made a name for himself a couple of years back as a young designer with no formal qualifications. When I asked why he was looking to come all the way out here he said he wanted to get away from the city for a while. Can’t get any further away than this place, I told him. He laughed and said that’s the idea. My guess there’s a story there. Although I suppose that goes for anyone wanting to come here willingly.” Cooper looked pointedly at Blaine.

Blaine cleared his throat and moved past the door. He was already halfway down to the jetty by the time Cooper caught up.

Kurt stood out on the deck of the fishing charter, letting the cool sea breeze blow through his hair. He ran his tongue over his lips, tasting salt. He made a mental note to moisturise as soon as he was settled into the room he would inhabit for the next three weeks. The captain of the boat called out to let him know that they were approaching their destination, but Kurt didn’t need telling. There at the edge of a cliff stood the tall marble lighthouse, majestic in the mid-morning light. He committed the shape to memory, already seeing models on the runway, their tall frames highlighted by the structured cloth his mind envisioned on the spot. He couldn’t wait to get to that island and see it up close.

The boat coasted in past a large rock to reveal two people standing on the jetty to welcome him. One would be Cooper Anderson, who he had talked to on the phone and promised to meet him when he arrived. The other had to be his brother. Kurt had heard little about him from his brother, but he knew his name to be Blaine. Cooper would be returning to LA to the acting job he had probably told Kurt more about than the holiday destination he was supposed to be promoting. Kurt found it strange that he would come all the way to Washington just to meet him off the boat before going home again, but reasoned that seasonal actors must be making more money than the industry would suggest. Then again, Kurt was probably paying enough to make the trip worthwhile several times over.

Kurt picked out which one was Cooper easily. He had the tell-tale signs of an LA actor. Bronzed skin and highlighted hair, tall with strikingly prominent cheek bones. He was by all counts a very attractive man. However, it was the smaller, less well presented brother that caught Kurt’s eye. At first glance he didn’t seem too far out of the ordinary…unruly black curly hair and three year old Target clothing that was frayed at the edges, short in stature with a solid frame. But as Kurt stepped off the boat and looked up into the younger man’s eyes for the first time he was taken aback by the startling beauty of them, all amber and gold, framed by long gorgeous lashes and hidden beneath dark brows. He was beautiful.

“Kurt Hummel?” Cooper held out his hand to Kurt, who shook his head for half a moment - coming back to his senses, and took the proffered hand in his own. “I’m Cooper Anderson, we spoke on the phone? This is my brother, Blaine. He’s been the lighthouse keeper on this island for…about eighteen months now, haven’t you Blaine?” Cooper looked to Blaine for confirmation, who nodded slightly. “Eighteen months. Anything you need he’ll be able to help you out.” Cooper nudged his brother, who seemed to have frozen stiff, his mouth half open as he stared at his new guest. “Say something.” Cooper whispered harshly.

Kurt cocked his head slightly before taking a step forward and offering his hand to Blaine. He smiled brightly. Blaine’s hand seemed to move on its own accord, his fingers curling slightly beneath Kurt’s as he lifted the hand stiffly to his lips. His eyes then grew wide, as if he only just realized what he was doing. His entire face flushed bright red and he dropped Kurt’s hand immediately. His mouth made guppy movements for a brief moment before he shouted a little too loudly.

“I hope you enjoy your stay here!” He then stomped over to the jetty where Kurt’s bags lay waiting, picked up the heaviest two and hurried up the slope towards the lighthouse.

Kurt had been struck dumb by the weirdness of it all. Did that strange yet attractive man just kiss his hand…? What could all that have been about? He slowly turned his face up towards Cooper, who was smiling bemusedly.

“He means it, you know.” Cooper chuckled. “Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping, and then maybe afterwards Blaine will have gotten over his embarrassment just enough to greet you properly.”

Cooper picked up the remainder of Kurt’s luggage, bar one small bag that Kurt carried himself and they trudged up the hill after Blaine.

“Looks like somebody saw something they liked earlier.” Cooper smirked as Blaine walked back down to the jetty to see him off. Cooper needed to be going if he wanted to meet his flight. He had offered to stay, but Blaine was certain he just wanted to tease him some more. They had left Kurt to unpack his things and settle into his room. Blaine made a mental note to hide until he was certain he could speak to him without looking like a total freak. “He is a very pretty young man.”

“I might have noticed something of the kind, but I don’t think it’s very chivalrous of you to keep mentioning it, especially seeing as I’ve probably already ruined his stay and he’ll be wanting the first boat off this goddam island.”

“I thought you liked this island?”

“I do, but I’m a loner freak who randomly kisses a person’s hand rather than shaking it and then expects that person to be okay spending three weeks alone together?” Blaine sighed inwardly. As soon as he had seen that beautiful boy with porcelain skin and sun kissed hair jump gracefully down the steps and onto the jetty he knew he was in trouble. One could argue that being alone on that island for so long had him so stir crazy that he would feel attracted to any member of the male species he chanced upon, but Blaine knew it wasn’t that. He would have taken notice of Kurt Hummel anywhere.

“…Blaine… Hello, earth to Blaine?” Blaine suddenly realized Cooper was trying to get his attention.

“Yes, sorry. Blanked out for a minute there…” He ignored the smug look on Cooper’s face. “What was it you said?”

“I said, I need to get going. Give your brother a hug before I go.”

Blaine obliged, clutching Cooper a little tighter that he otherwise would. For once in his life he was starting to wish Cooper would outstay his welcome, just so that the next time he faced Kurt Hummel he wouldn’t have to do it alone. He sighed inwardly before releasing his brother and helping him launch off the dock. He watched Cooper row towards the land on the opposite side of the water before turning around and looking back up at his lighthouse, current inhabitants: Two. He decided he needed some time to prepare himself mentally for the inevitable round two of meeting his new guest, and made a beeline for the gardens.

The room was disappointing…whitewashed walls with no interior decorating to speak of. It took Kurt all of two seconds to remind himself he hadn’t come there to spend a lot of time in his room anyway. He unpacked his necessities and walked into the small bathroom to freshen up. He bent over the basin to wash his hands, a small smile playing about his lips as he recalled his host’s greeting. Cooper had mentioned that his brother spent quite a lot of time on his own; perhaps his people skills were a bit rusty. Kurt thought it might make for an interesting people study, and awkward chic was something he was itching to experiment with. Every moment was an opportunity for fashion, and so far his little adventure was proving to be the goldmine of ideas he had hoped it would be.

Kurt opted to explore inside the lighthouse first. It was obviously very old, the marker on the doorframe said 1854, and was light and airy on the inside. The décor was sparse and homely, and most surfaces needed a coat of paint, he thought critically. There was a lot he could do with a space like this if he had the time, but it wasn’t his place to do so. He peeked inside the kitchen and found it to his liking, large and with more than enough bench space to work with.  He was starting to see the appeal of living there. It was a far cry from his single New York apartment.

He found the steep spiral staircase that led up to the top of the tower and began to climb. He had gotten two-thirds of the way up when he slipped on a rickety step and his foot slipped through the boards. He had enough of a sense of self-preservation to grab onto the railing to catch himself otherwise he might have taken a long fall breaking several bones in the process. He bemoaned the dangerousness of leaving something like that unrepaired and made a note to be careful where he stepped no matter where he was within the old building.

He forgot his irritation as soon as he reached the top. He looked around at the hexagonal room which was more windows than walls. The lamps he could see were rusted and not electric like he had expected, but old fashioned oil lamps. Kurt was immediately impressed with his host. The lamps would need to be checked several times during the night and yet there was no reason that Kurt could see to keep the old oil burners and not replace them with electric bulbs beyond maintaining the authenticity of the site. It showed a lot of care and dedication to what must be a thankless task.

Kurt looked out one of the floor length windows and all other thoughts he held vanished. The view was breathtakingly beautiful. He rushed from window to window, not able to get enough of the 360 degree view he had of the island and beyond. It was perfect. He picked a spot that appealed most, looking down as the waves crashed against the cliff face, and sat.

He stayed there for what felt like an age, letting the sound of the sea wash over him. Eventually his crossed legs began to ache, and he knew he had to stand up. As he did so he saw a flash of movement out the corner of his eye…it was Blaine holding a spade in his hands and digging about in what looked to be a large vegetable garden. Kurt didn’t know much about gardening, but he was always eager to see something new and perhaps this time Blaine wouldn’t run away from him. There was something that intrigued him about his unusual host; he just wasn’t quite sure what that was yet.

Blaine had just finished pulling up some new potatoes for dinner when he realized he had company. He dug about the dirt a bit more before turning to his guest with what he hoped was a charming smile.

“Hi, ah… I hope you settled in okay?” There, nice and normal. That wasn’t too hard...

Kurt smiled back at him and nodded. “Fine, thank you.” An odd look crossed his face, as if he had just remembered something. “Al though you really need to fix the tower stairs. Your first guest might have been your last.” He spoke conversationally, but Blaine felt the heat of shame creep over him.

“I-I’m sorry. I had meant to warn you about the stairs…” He took a deep breath to gather his composure, something he was finding difficult at that moment. There was something about the way Kurt’s grey-blue eyes seemed to focus right on him, as if they might bore straight into his soul should he look directly back. “So you climbed the tower? Did you enjoy the view?”

“Yes I did. I can see why you like it here. I’m not sure I’ll want to go back to New York ever again.” Kurt joked. He caught sight of a bucket full of vegetables sitting on the ground beside Blaine. “Is that dinner?” Blaine had barely managed a nod as the taller man continued. “Great, I’m starving. Do you need any help? I haven’t done much gardening before but I’m sure I could tell a pumpkin from a turnip.”

Blaine couldn’t help but smile. “No, it’s fine. I nearly have everything I need. All that’s left to do is chop the wood for the stove.”

Kurt gave him a blank look. He was sure he had seen an electric stovetop, and said so. Blaine laughed, and Kurt thought it was possibly one of the most attractive sounds he had ever heard. “I only use the electric stovetop if I really have to. There is a wood fire oven in the corner of the kitchen, did you see it?” Kurt nodded. “I use that as much as possible. I have a generator and I use that to power up the battery cells for lighting and hot water, but it takes gas and as you can probably tell there aren’t a lot of gas stations around here.” Blaine started to feel proud of how normally he was able to speak now the initial shock was wearing off.

Kurt hadn’t thought much about remoteness of the location meaning there would be a lack of power before. Cooper certainly hadn’t mentioned it. He started to wonder if he would be expected to live without his hair drier. That just wasn’t going to be possible.

Blaine picked up his bucket and started to walk towards a small garden shed. He disappeared inside and came out carrying a medium sized axe. Kurt followed after him as he went around to the back of the shed where the firewood had been stacked neatly.

“Do you mind if I watch?” Kurt asked hesitantly, not sure if he was invading Blaine’s privacy but intrigued by the though how the smaller man’s form would move when he brought down his axe. Purely professional thoughts, of course…at least, that is what he told himself.

Blaine nodded and took off his shirt, revealing a thin white tank tee underneath. Kurt could see the way his muscled clenched taut under the fabric as he lifted a block of wood and placed it on a stump that had obviously seen more than one swing of an axe. Kurt gulped as Blaine raised the axe, causing his back muscles to ripple distractively. He brought the axe down swiftly, slicing the chuck of wood cleanly in two. Kurt wasn’t sure if clapping would be appropriate, but he did it anyway. Blaine looked up in surprise, before a shy smile formed on his reddened lips.

“Did you want to have a go?” He handed the axe to Kurt, who took it before realizing what the question had been. His eyes grew wider and he tried to give the axe back, but Blaine wouldn’t take it. “Go on.” He urged and Kurt sighed resignedly. He was paying how much to be here and now within the first 3 hours he was doing manual labour? There was another voice reminding him that he had offered to help back in the garden, and he smiled wryly before tightening his grip on the axe handle.

He stood the now smaller block of wood on its end and tried bringing up the axe just as he had seen Blaine do. He swung the axe downwards, closing his eyes tight in anticipation of the impact he would feel. There was a loud crack and Kurt looked down at his handiwork. The axe was submerged in the wood, not even a third of the way through. Blaine was laughing again, and Kurt didn’t know whether to feel elated or mortified by the sound. Blaine reached over and yanked the axe out from the wood and handed it back to Kurt. He then stood behind Kurt, placing his arms around him, laying both his palms over Kurt’s hands.

“W-what are you doing!?” Kurt had just started to think Blaine was perhaps sane after all, but he was now certain the rough cut lighthouse keeper was round the twist. He considered pulling away but at the last moment decided to give the man the benefit of the doubt. It wasn’t in a sexual way that he was touching him and he was willing wait and see.

“I’m showing you what to do.” Kurt relaxed immediately. “You were holding your hands too close together; spread them apart like this…” Kurt did so with Blaine’s guidance. “Now I’ll move through the swing with you the first time.” Blaine moved as he would while chopping and Kurt followed his movements. He could feel Blaine’s muscles flex and subside against his own arms, and the heat rose in his face. Blaine smelled like sunshine and dirt, and something else pleasant that Kurt couldn’t place. He was starting to feel a little too comfortable for…comfort. He did pull away this time and thrust the axe back at Blaine.

“Th-thank you, but I really need to go and…unpack. I appreciate it though…” And with a quick mumble of goodbye he hurried back up to the lighthouse. Blaine watched him go before kicking the stump in frustration.

“Way to go, Anderson. This is exactly why you live all the way out here alone on your rock.” He lifted up his axe and finished the job, letting the physical work take away his frustration. By the time he was done he probably had enough wood cut to last until Kurt Hummel left the island in three weeks’ time, if he lasted that long…

Kurt shut the door to his room and took a deep breath. It had been a while since he felt that kind of stirring sensation, especially so close to another person. He was really going to need to watch himself, especially if Blaine Anderson wasn’t okay with staying alone in the same place with someone who’s gay, guest or otherwise. He got out his sketchbooks to calm himself, playing with the many shapes and patterns he had witnessed throughout the day. He had no real finalised ideas yet, but they would come…it was still early in his trip and these new menswear designs definitely had potential.

He failed to notice that the models he was drawing were nothing like the tall lanky ones he would usually sketch, but proportionately smaller, with well-defined muscles that the designs would allow to shine.