KURT
We did it Anyway
Good lord Blaine was the most lovable thing on this planet. He had to be.
No one else above the age of five could get that excited about moving into a new house, certainly no one with master’s degree and a savings account.
And yet there he was, practically bouncing out of the passenger seat and staring out of the window as the smart houses of Suburbia rolled by outside.
“You okay honey?” Kurt raised an eyebrow trying to keep one eye on the road.
“Yeah” Blaine beamed sitting forward again. “I just can’t believe we actually did it! Kurt! We’re going to have a house! Like a REAL house! With curtains and carpets and a kitchen and a back yard! Kurt we’re going to have a lawn! I'm going to have to mow a lawn!”
Kurt bit his lip to stop himself laughing. He didn’t even know if the laugh was aimed at Blaine and his freaking lovableness or a by-product of his own excitement stirring in his stomach.
As they rounded the corner onto what was now their home street their hands found each other and squeezed.
“It’s going to be amazing Kurt”
And Kurt was determined that he would make it that way. For Blaine… and for himself. They deserved this.
*
The front yard was turning into a cacophony of sound as their friends poured in and out of their house (their house, he couldn’t get enough of that) ferrying furniture and boxes inside. He’d quickly put himself inside the van so he knew who was handling what. There was no way on this earth his gawky step-brother would be handling anything smaller than a kitchen stool, especially since Rachel was still in London so there was only one set of eyes on him.
However Kurt’s eyes weren’t currently on him. They were caught just for a brief moment on the rest of the street. Quiet and empty. He wondered what they were doing inside their own little houses, cooking and cleaning, watching TV, talking about local things, gossiping…
There would be kids in schools coming home soon. Maybe one day he and Blaine would be sending their own kids to school…
The thought made him smile fondly.
Then there was a thud and he snapped round, broken out of his daydream by the sight of Finn lugging a box across the floor of the van.
Before he knew it he was throwing himself full pelt at the boy screeching.
“Finn, No…!”
*
When the last of their friends had left Kurt flopped on the sofa, not caring, for what was probably the first time since he was a kid that he was getting his shoes all over the furniture.
What the hell, it was his house, he could do what he liked.
His house…
He had a house, a house in upstate New York, with the man he loved, and they were going to spend their lives here. Together.
Eye’s closed and grinning he didn’t realise anyone had come in until he felt a pair of very gentle hands cup his legs and shift them, he mumbled in protest, too tired to move. But the gentle hands didn’t drop his feet off the coach. They moved them silently up a little and Kurt felt the cushions depress a little as their owner sat down.
He opened his eyes.
Blaine wasn't looking at him, he had his head down focused on Kurt’s legs, he was humming a little, just a little tune, nothing specific, but pretty.
He rested Kurt’s legs on his lap and then carefully began to unlace the boots, a look of mild concentration on his face.
He slipped them off one at a time and let them fall to the floor.
“If I knew you’d give me a foot massage, I’d have caved and let you buy this house months ago.” Kurt mumbled closing his eyes again.
Blaine chuckled
“Kurt” he said softly.
“Mmm?”
“I love you”
“Mmm” Kurt smiled. “I love you too”
Yes this would definitely do.
“Kurt”
“Yeah?” He sat up. His body automatically curling into Blaine’s side, his boyfriend slipped an arm over his shoulders.
“I think we should go apologise to that gye next door for all the noise today”
Kurt sat back a little “Why? Were we that bad?!”
“Ha, half of the 2012 class of McKinley High and several ex-warblers caused a minor stampede on out front lawn today! I don't think that’s what they’re used to here somehow”
Kurt laughed but a worry that had been sitting in the back of his head since they’d come onthier first visit prickled suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” asked Blaine reaching for his hand, soothing must have shown on his face.
“Nothing, it’s silly” He said quickly but Blaine stared him down and he exhaled heavily.
“I know we talked about it before the move but…”
Blaine closed his eyes. He knew what Kurt was going to say.
“Do you really think they’ll be okay with us?” Kurt finished in a small voice.
“We’re not in Ohio anymore honey” he slipped onto the floor and gripped Kurt’s knees gently. “This is New York, we can… legally we can…” Blaine blushed a little and with a pang Kurt realised what he was talking about.
They’d been watching the news together, in Blaine’s old kitchen when the equal marriage act was passed, both probably pretending that they didn’t care, both actually silent and listening to every word.
Kurt had dropped his mug and hastily wiped his eyes and made a big fuss over finding a cloth.
Blaine had gone all red and flustered and played with his hands a lot.
They’d smiled at each other a lot that day.
They hadn’t talked about it though, they still hadn’t, not really, not yet.
“We have the same rights as them.” Finished Blaine quickly “If they don't like it… we’ll just… we’ll do it anyway”
Kurt nodded mutely and Blaine stretched up to peck him on the cheek.
“Now come on” he said taking Kurt’s hand and pulling him into a standing position “We are going to march round next door, we are going to introduce ourselves, we are going to be charming and polite and he is going to like us because we are nice people”
Blaine began pulling him towards the door.
“Erm Babe” he said
“What?” Blaine turned looking anxious.
“I kind of think I’d make a better impression if I was wearing shoes…”
*
That night Kurt lay in bed, looking up at the new ceiling.
Blaine in that darned loveable way had fallen asleep instantly, his hair falling into his face and his mouth hanging open slightly. His chest rose and fell hypnotically to Kurt’s left, his chin resting on Kurt’s shoulder.
There was so much work to be done! So much needed unpacking, decorating, tidying… The prospect might have been exhausting.
But that warm pressure next to him made it all seem like a pleasant dream.
It had been a very promising day.
*
“Well that was bizarre” said Blaine as he closed the door behind the woman who called herself Marie and made awesome pie… then freaked out for no obvious reason?
“Yeah…” Kurt nodded, Blaine’s hand was still in his pocket and it was easy not to worry about things when Blaine’s hand was in his pocket. But worry was there, stirring in the pit of his stomach.
“You don’t think she thought we were just… you know...” he pulled away from Blaine and put on an overly macho voice that he hoped made him sound less worried than he actually was “couple of regular straight guys who just happened to live together? Do you?”
Blaine’s eyes widened. Then he snorted with laughter.
“Well if she did, she doesn’t now”
“Blaine…”
“Kurt we agreed” He took his hand again “it doesn’t matter what she thinks!” He chuckled “though I’ll admit I'm disappointed we won’t be invited to dinner she-”
Blaine stopped rambling at the look on Kurt’s face. His eyes were lowered and he was worrying his bottom lip.
“Come here” he pulled him close so head rested on Blaine’s shoulder and he locked his arms around his neck.
“I'm sorry” Kurt mumbled into his shirt.
“Shhh, don’t be sorry, it’s alright, WE’RE alright, in fact we great right? We’re perfect” He cupped Kurt’s face with his hands holding him so they were looking directly into each other’s eyes. “If they have a problem, it’s their problem, not ours…. But…don’t count our chickens before they hatch eh?”
Kurt smiled a little.
“She’s not the only person on the street! That gye Robert seemed to like us…”
“Yeah” Kurt sighed he huffed loudly shaking his head. “Oh I know you’re right” He put his hands on Blaine’s waist as the shorter man’s hands fell away from his face to rest on his shoulders “Now , I'm gonna go put the rest of that pie in the fridge alright?”
“Mmm, it was good pie…” Blaine hummed dreamily. Kurt laughed and gave him a little shove.
“Nope, no more pie for you, till you email that literacy agent and kick her butt about those deadlines!”
Blaine laughed and kissed him on the tip of the nose.
“What would I do without YOU kicking MY butt?”
“You’d still be in Ohio eating red vines with a half-finished novel buried in coffee cups?” he sniffed.
Blaine started laughing but it was cut off pretty quick by a pair of lips which never failed to make him forget everything else.
They moved slowly for several perfect moments before Kurt stepped back.
“What was that for?” asked Blaine smiling at the little blush that still crept up his boyfriend’s cheeks every time they did that.
“For always knowing what to SAY to me to make me feel better!” he pulled a face “and for maybe kicking my butt a little bit too…”
Blaine just smiled.
*
“Blaine!” Kurt screamed up the stairs for what felt like the thousandth time.
“What?”
“Where did you pack that stationary stuff?”
“I didn’t! You did!” he appeared on the landing his hair looking increasingly ruffled
“No, I specifically asked-”
“You specifically asked that I say away from your sketchbooks!” he cut in before the accusation could take hold
“Yes but that’s not stationary! Those are my sketchbooks!”
“I was supposed to know the difference was I?”
“Don’t start Blaine!”
“Me start?” Blaine jogged down the stairs “Come on Kurt this has got to be the fifth time today! And the stuff always turns up!”
“It would turn up faster if you had listened to me when I was-”
He was silenced by a firm hand covering his mouth. He tried to pull a way but Blaine held fast.
“Right” he said calmly “You are stressing out to a degree where your voice is becoming hysterically high pitched, I have no wish for you to ruin your vocal chords when you have a performance next week!” Kurt made a muffled response that was VERY un-Kurt-like.
“Language Mr Hummel!” Blaine pulled a face, Kurt pulled one back “Licking my hand won’t do you any good either.” Kurt growled, Blaine ignored him “I’ll give you two options.” He grinned “One, we get some chairs and we go sit outside for ten minutes, enjoy the sun and forget that we have a house that needs unpacking” Kurt shook his head and made a muffled sound of disagreement, would it be such a bad idea to bite his boyfriend right now?
“No? Okay well, option two is that I call Rachel, right here right now, and SHE can sort you out”
Kurt froze instantly his attempt at licking Blaine palm forgotten. The other man dropped his hand looking smug.
“Garden!” he squeaked.
“That’s what I thought”
Ten minutes later Kurt found himself sitting in the warmth of the sun, Blaine’s hand tracing lazy circles on his shoulder. He sighed contentedly, stationary and coffee filters and everything else instantly overlooked.
“You wouldn’t really have called Rachel would you?” he asked.
“Ha! Of course not, after the Les Mis catastrophe of 2014-” Kurt winced “I still fear her like Lord Voldermort”
Kurt burst out laughing
“And like Lord Voldermort we do not speak of the Great Les Mis catastrophe of 2014””
Blaine snorted into his glass of lemonade.
Kurt was about to make a snarky comment about how his dapperness was deceasing with every passing day when, just then, he noticed the little girl standing at the end of the garden.
*
“Kurt, stop! Please”
The second they’d got to the front door Kurt dropped Blaine’s hand and all but ran inside. He could hear Blaine running after him but it was surreal, everything was surreal, it had felt like that since he saw the little girl’s mother, Charlize’s mother, storming towards him like a bull dozer. The very opposite of her little girl’s happy and curious face… screaming…
Oh god.
He was vaguely aware he had stopped moving and that something was holding him upright.
“Shhh Kurt it’s alright”
…Blaine’s voice in his ear.
But it WASN’T alright.
It was so not alright.
He’d promised he would make this amazing, he’d promised! How could have failed so fast, they’d barely been there forty eight hours and the neighbours were already sharpening their pitchforks!
“God Blaine” he wasn’t even sure when Blaine’s arms had wrapped around him or when they’d come to be sitting on the floor in the doorway of the kitchen, but he clutched him tightly. “And her little girl was standing RIGHT THERE!”
He could still see her eyes filling with confused tears as her mother screeched those horrible words and he couldn’t do ANYTHING. He couldn’t even let Blaine do anything because the whole situation was so awful and he just wanted to run away.
“I know, I know”
“I thought we left this behind us! I thought… this isn’t supposed to be like this”
Blaine rocked him gently. His hand found his cheek and brushed a fallen tear away.
“I'm sorry” he choked “I'm so sorry” his hands dropped from Blaine’s back and he buried his head in them.
“What are you sorry for?”
“I don’t know how to make this better” he looked up desperately, but Blaine back at him calm and steady and pulled his hands gently away.
“You don’t have to do anything.”
“I know how much you wanted this… The house and…and…”
Blaine didn’t slam his hand over Kurt’s mouth this time,he just lay a finger, just a finger, just… softly on his lips. He held it there a moment, looking at him intently.
“I don’t care where we are” he smiled “Dalton, Lima, New York… a grotty little student apartment, the middle of suburbia or set a-float in the freaking ocean, as long as we’re together." he took his finger away.
“But we ARE here, so we’ll show that…” he gritted his teeth “Woman, and anyone else, we’ll show them every day that we have every right that they have to be here. MORE of a right! Because we’re not mean or ignorant.”
“B-Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel, changing suburbia, one mind at a time?” he managed a small watery laugh.
“Nothing can stop us”
“We’ll just do it anyway?”
Blaine stopped, his grin faded to a small smile
"You bet we will" he whispered then closed the gap between them, brusshing thier lips together again.
It wasn't long or passionate, no sparks flew. It was just… THERE.
Like them in that house. There.
*
Early next morning Kurt went outside, still in his pyjamas and brandishing a tin of paint and wrote “Anderson & Hummel” smartly and clearly on their mail box. He even drew a smiley face in the “o” of Anderson.
Because they WERE There, and they were happy. And they weren’t going anywhere.