Sebastian Smythe was persistent.
The boy was by far the most persistent person Kurt had ever met, even more so than Rachel Berry. When he zoned in on something that he wanted, he really went for it. Now that was a trait Kurt could admire in a person. Though Kurt refused to admire such trait when that thing that Sebastian wanted, happened to be Blaine.
In between classes, Kurt would witness Sebastian in action. It was almost predatory, the way he would look at Blaine. The way Sebastian would approach him, practically sauntering over to him. His Blaine. And of course, Blaine was polite. Always friendly and smiling. Never sneering at him the way Kurt might have. It was almost infuriating, how kind Blaine could be sometimes. But Kurt wouldn't dare speak such things. He knew it would only make him sound cruel and selfish.
Instead, Kurt bit his tongue. He sat back and watched bitterly as Sebastian made attempts at snatching Blaine away.
-o-o-o-o-
"Why are you so nervous?" Blaine asked through a small laugh as he tightened the tie around Kurt's neck.
They were standing in the middle of Kurt's bedroom. Blaine had surprised Kurt that morning with a visit and a pie he and his sisters had baked the night before. They would be driving to Blaine's house soon for Thanksgiving dinner and Kurt had been tripping over things and acting strange all morning.
"Why do you think, Blaine? I'm about to have dinner with your family for the first time. I'm going to be in the same room as your father for more than five minutes."
"So?" Blaine asked as he rested both hands on Kurt's shoulders.
"So," Kurt continued, "I'm sort of freaking out because something stupid might slip out. Like, 'Hi, my name is Kurt Hummel and your son and I are secretly dating.'"
Blaine rolled his eyes and leaned up to press a kiss to Kurt's mouth who immediately melted into it. With a sigh, Kurt pressed his forehead against Blaine's and sighed. "I think I'd be nervous no matter what because he's your dad..."
"It'll be fine," Blaine promised before nuzzling Kurt's cheek and kissing it. "C'mon," he said as he tugged on Kurt's hand. "We'll be late."
-o-o-o-o-o
"KURT'S HERE!!"
He was uncertain as to which sister screamed his arrival, but he was convinced that she was far too tiny to pack such a loud voice. Moments after Blaine shut the door behind him, Blaine's father stepped out of the kitchen to smile over at his son and Kurt. "Dinner's not ready quite yet, but feel free to take a seat in the living room. I think the girls are watching cartoons, but you can put on whatever you like." Blaine definitely had his father's smile.
Kurt followed Blaine's father into the kitchen, setting down the bottle of wine he brought before Blaine led him into the living room. Two of the girls were on the floor, watching an episode of Spongebob rather intensely, the rest sat on the couch.
When Kurt sat down, Bri, who Kurt remembered to be the youngest looked away from the TV and up at him. "Ohmigod, Kurt's actually here?" she asked before crawling over to him. "Kurt, Kurt! You wanna see what I drew yesterday? Hold on, I'll be right back!" And then she was rushing off, returning in seconds with a piece of paper in her hand. "It's a Disney princess I made up!" she informed him as she handed Kurt the drawing. "Her name is Brianna. Ok, well maybe she's supposed to be me as a Disney princess, but whatever, ok?"
"She's beautiful," Kurt said as he examined the drawing. It was actually very well done, far more advanced than something any seven year old should have been capable of. "You're very talented, Bri. This is a great drawing," he handed the paper back to her outstretched hand. "Will you draw me as a Disney prince?"
"Well, you're kind of already a Disney prince. You look just like one, but yeah! I'm gonna start on it right now," she informed Kurt as she crawled across living room to pull out a plastic box from a cabinet under the television.
Just then, he felt Blaine lean over to him and whisper, "From now on I think I'll call you my Disney prince." Kurt's cheeks flared up with heat as he turned to look at Blaine who was smiling, eyed already turned back to the television.
-o-o-o-o-
On the outside, Blaine kept his cool. He had his excellent middle school acting teacher to thank for that. But on the inside, he was screaming. But he had to keep calm because if he lost his nerve, there was a possibility of Kurt passing out or something equally dramatic. The tension was rolling off of Kurt in waves as they watched television.
Thankfully, by the time they all took their seats at the table, that tension seemed to fade. Blaine could tell it was still there though. He knew Kurt well enough by this point to see right through him.
Regardless, having Kurt over for Thanksgiving was wonderful. Seeing him at the table, interacting with his family, laughing at jokes and making polite conversation with his father made Blaine's heart swell. It felt domestic and for a few minutes, Blaine pretended that their relationship wasn't a secret. And that everyone knew Kurt was his boyfriend. And they were a family.
"So, Kurt, how long have you been working at the academy? Must have been right after I left the job, I don't remember seeing you around."
Kurt dabbed his napkin at his mouth and took a sip of his wine. "This is only my second year at Fosters," Kurt admitted, "But I've been teaching for ten."
Blaine's dad's eyebrows shot up, "How old are you, son?"
"Thirty-two," Kurt said with a small laugh.
"Were you one of those kids who always knew he wanted to be a teacher?"
Kurt shook his head, "I kind of fell into it. Rather quickly, but I fell into it. And I'm happy with it. When I was growing up, I had dreams of being on Broadway when I was stuck in little old Lima, Ohio, but things changed when I was in college."
"Well, good for you, Kurt." The statement was genuine and with a smile.
Blaine was watching them converse from his place next to Kurt. It was as nerve wracking as watching a tennis match. Everything was going smoothly, though, and after about ten minutes, Blaine was completely relaxed. He managed to convince himself that this was one of the best Thanksgivings since before his mother had passed away.
-o-o-o-o-
After dinner, Blaine's sisters had dragged Kurt into the living room to play a round of Uno. Kurt had gone willingly, excusing himself from the table, promising he would be back to help clean up. Blaine's father waved him off with a smile. Blaine had to admit, it was nice having someone else receive all the girls' energetic attention.
Half way through rinsing the dishes, Blaine's father spoke up from across the small kitchen.
"He's handsome."
Those two words made Blaine's eyes bulge wide open. Thankfully, his back was turned at that exact moment. Hesitantly, he turned his head, blinking in his dad's direction.
"You have a crush on him, don't you?" His father asked as he opened the refrigerator door and began putting leftovers away. The question was straight to the point and Blaine couldn't tell if he was disappointed or accusing or...
"I..." Blaine trailed off as he turned his attention back to the task at hand. He could feel the blush spread from his cheeks and down to his neck.
"You're my son," his dad said, peeking around the door. Blaine looked over at him. He was smiling. "I know you better than anyone on this earth. And I know you have a crush on him."
"Is that—Is that a problem?" he asked almost defensively as he looked back down at the dishes, scrubbing vigorously at the same dish that was already clean.
Blaine's dad chuckled, shaking his head. "No," he responded, "I just wanted you to be aware that I know you better than anyone on this earth, Blaine."
Blaine bowed his head, focusing on the dishes like his life depended on it. "OK," he muttered, "Thanks for making things totally awkward just then, dad, really, thanks."
"Just doing my job."
Blaine groaned.
-o-o-o-o-
"Heyyyy, you wanna see my room?!"
Bri was practically climbing on Kurt's back when Blaine walked into the living room. He hurried over to them, prying the little girl off. "No climbing on guests," Blaine warned.
"Kurt doesn't mind, right Kurt?" Bri piped up.
Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but Blaine cut in before he could say anything. "It doesn't matter. Don't do it. You'll get hurt."
"Fine, whatever! Gosh. Anyway Kurt's gonna see mine and Bailey's room. Come on, Kurt," Bri said as she grabbed Kurt's hand. He giggled a little nervously and Blaine followed. He had tortured Kurt enough by leaving him alone with his sisters for twenty minutes. He wasn't going to let him go into the girls' room alone. Knowing Bri, she might try to give Kurt a make over.
It took Bri almost half an hour to give Kurt a tour of her small room. Blaine didn't think that was possible, but she had no problem proving him wrong. Kurt did an excellent job at looking incredibly interested and Blaine couldn't help but laugh out loud when Bri asked him if Kurt would play house with her. Though his laughter died down when Kurt turned to him and asked if he could give him a tour of Blaine's room instead.
Blaine stared for a moment before nodding. "Sure," he said finally with a small smile that Kurt returned immediately.
Bedrooms were personal. They were intimate and said so much about a person. Of course, Blaine had nothing to hide, but he couldn't help but feel a little tingle of nerves as he allowed Kurt in. He peeked over to look at Kurt's reaction to see him smiling softly. "Not your typical teenaged boy room," Kurt said as he walked along the walls, taking in the framed picture of two men fencing. "Then again, you're not an average teenaged boy." The statement was quiet, but there was something else weaved in there. Something dangerously close to flirty.
Blaine sat on the edge of his bed as he watched Kurt stop at his bookshelf and examine it. "Wicked," he said, looking back at Blaine with an amused arch of the brow. "Did you cry?"
"Like a baby," Blaine responded.
Kurt giggled. Then something else caught his attention. The record player hiding in the corner of Blaine's room. "Oh my god, Blaine. Does this thing work?" he asked, fingers brushing at it. "It looks ancient."
"It belonged to my great grandmother," Blaine responded. "She took really good care of it, so yeah. I have to keep my records up here, though." He stood, grabbing his desk chair and dragging it over to the bookshelf to reach a box at the very top. "It was a birthday present. A few weeks after I got it, I came home to find my two youngest sisters playing Frisbee with the records. I almost screamed. Luckily, it wasn't damaged. I would have been so upset if anything happened these records." Stepping down from the chair, he placed the box on the bed as Kurt walked over and began going through records. Blaine took a seat on the edge of his bed. Bri ran into the room, crawled on to the bed and clung on to her brother's back.
"You're gonna play some music?" she asked excitedly to which Blaine nodded in response and turned his head to kiss the side of her head.
"Donna Summer's Greatest Hits, this is amazing, Blaine," Kurt chuckled as he pulled the large disc out of the sleeve and placed it on the player.
"I love Donna Summer!" Bri squealed as she stood up on the bed.
Kurt arched a brow and smiled at Bri, "Good taste. You've taught her well," he said to Blaine.
The first song started up. Blaine grinned goofily and Kurt laughed with a shake of his head.
"Last dance. Last chance, for love. Yes, it's my last chance, for romance, tonight..." Blaine sang along. "I need you, by me, beside me, to guide me." He stood and turned to grab Bri and pick her up she squeaked out a laugh. "To hold me, to scold me..." Then he put her down, looked at Kurt, eyes going a little dark. " 'Cause when I'm bad I'm so so bad."
And then the music picked up, Blaine quickly turned to look down at Bri, grabbing both of her hands and dancing with her.
"So lets dance, the last dance. Let's dance this last dance, tonight!"
Then Blaine was forcing Kurt to join in. And eventually, Kurt joined in on the singing and jumping. By the end of the song, they were all giggling, Bri jumping on the bed and dancing along.
That night, Blaine learned what falling in love felt like.