Sharing an apartment with Stephan was like living with a ghost. A really annoying ghost. He never washed his dirty dishes, he... well, okay, that was all Kurt could think of right now, but his mind was foggy from the long day. Kurt was eating alone because Stephan refused to eat, or even be in the common area. The only proof Kurt had of him being there half the time was the occasional noise of the toilet flushing and the sink running.

It's not that Kurt actually wanted to have a conversation with Stephan or anything, he just hated that Stephan had this notion that he was above him. If there's one thing Kurt couldn't stand it was a guy who was full of himself.

Speaking of guys who were full of themselves, Blaine definitely was not today. Avant garde, the theme for this week, just wasn't his thing. Kurt wasn't any expert at it either, but at least he'd done a little bit with it at Parsons. Blaine however, he was struggling. The only blessing was they had two days to work on this, so in addition to working all day today they would get to work all day tomorrow too.

It seemed generous, a bit too generous, and Kurt was on his toes for any potential plot twists. He finally crawled into bed a little after midnight and almost cried when he reached over to set his alarm for four-thirty. His fingers hesitation, he went back and forth before finally changing it to five-thirty. He'd just be working all day, and sweating too, and thirty minutes really was sufficient for getting ready. Snuggling under the comfort, curled into the fetal position even though he knew it was bad for his back, Kurt let out a content sigh knowing he would be getting an extra hour of rest tonight.

&&&&&

It looked like it had gotten in a fight with a cat and lost. The shredded fabric was terrible and cheap and not original or avant garde in anything way. But the whole concept didn't even make any sense! Clothes that weren't wearable? What did that even mean?

Kurt had caught him alone a little while ago, had given his shoulders a few deep rubs- something that Blaine would need to explore later because wow he gave good massages and all this stress was making his back tie up in knots- and told him to just "let your creative juices flow and go without whatever come naturally." If this was what his creative juices looked like then he needed to keep them bottled up and away from the public eye.

And Blaine didn't even want to talk about his critique with Tim. It had been painful enough to go through the first time, he hoped he could wipe that from his memory forever.

Wallowing would solve nothing though, so Blaine tried to keep as busy as possible, trying new thing after new thing because eventually something would have to work.

"It's looking better," came the familiar voice from behind him.

Blaine rubbed his eyes and huffed out humorless laugh. "I don't think it could have gotten any worse."

"Hey now," Kurt protested, taking a step forward, "stop that."

"You look cute today," Blaine said, abruptly changing the subject. Kurt raised his eyebrows and hunched his shoulder a bit, turning in on himself. Confused by the reaction, Blaine was quick to clarify, "I don't- I don't mean that in a bad way," Blaine said cautiously, trying to figure out what Kurt was feeling. "Usually you're so sexy in your tight clothes and styled hair and- wait, crap, it's not that you're not sexy now it's just- I like this casual look, it works well on you."

"Mmm so I'm not sexy eh?" Kurt teased. He leaned forward until his mouth was right next to Blaine's ear and whispered, "Bathroom, five minutes," and then spun away, presumably off to the bathroom himself.

He would have to teach Kurt how to take a compliment later- he didn't seem very good at it and Blaine couldn't figure out why because he must get them all the time. Blaine tried to wait five minutes, and he thought he got pretty close, but when you're half hard and a sexy guy is waiting for you it's tough to be patient.

The bathroom is small, it only has two stalls and minimal space outside of them, but at least it's clean. As soon as Blaine entered Kurt jumped out from behind the door and kissed him hard, locking the door at the same time.

"I thought you needed a little reminder of just how talented and special and amazing you are," Kurt panted out in between kisses.

Blaine sucked in a breathe and felt liquid heat flood his veins because that was one of the cutest things anyone had ever said to him. But then Kurt reached forward and started rubbing Blaine through his pants and after he wasn't really able to concentrate on anything else. "Let me-" Blaine cut off with whimper and Kurt continued to work him over, "let me blow you," he practically pleaded.

Kurt stopped his movements and frowned a little. "But... this is supposed to be about you feeling good."

"Trust me," Blaine said as he reached to cup Kurt's face, "this will make me feel way more than good." Then, before Kurt could protest, he dropped to his knees and worked his fingers over the button.

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god," Kurt chanted under his breath.

Blaine smiled, grabbed his ass, and got to work. He worked his lips quickly up and down the shaft, not trying to muffle the obscene slurping noises although he knew he should. Kurt had his head thrown back against the wall and was biting his lip in an attempt to keep quiet. When Blaine gave a particularly hard suck around the head Kurt's hand flew to his hair and held on tight.

Surprisingly, it didn't make Blaine feel trapped, but actually more eager, and he groaned as best he could with a cock in his mouth.

Kurt began to shake and his hips were thrusting forward slightly but he was holding back. Blaine pulled off, spit and precome dripping from his mouth, and cleared his voice before saying, "You can do it, you can fuck my mouth."

He quickly latched back on and prepared his throat for when Kurt would realize what he said. It took a few seconds but then Kurt's eyes went wide and he let out a choked off noise before grabbing Blaine's hair again and thrusting forward more deeply. Blaine let Kurt take control and he pumped forward fast, grunting softly as he did, and Blaine couldn't keep his hand from wandering down to his own crotch. All it took was one hum from Blaine and Kurt was coming hard down his throat.

Blaine stood, his dick still throbbing painfully between his legs, but when Kurt made to get down and return the favor Blaine pulled him back up. "Oh no, these floors are filthy, you don't want your pants suffering that."

"Don't care," Kurt responded.

"You will in like half an hour. I won't last anyway, just please," Blaine said, his hips already rotation in small circles.

Kurt finally gave up and unbuttoned his pants, bring the head of Blaine's cock above the waistband. After stroking a few times he pulled off and licked a stripe up his hand in a way that almost had Blaine coming right there before going back at it. It was embarrassing how little it took but sucking Kurt off, in a public bathroom, had honestly been the most intense sexual experience Blaine had ever had.

Once everything was cleaned up and they were halfway to looking presentable Kurt kissed him softly. "I'm going to go, we've already been in here way too long, but wait like five minutes before coming out okay?"

Blaine nodded and watched as Kurt left and he really hoped the camera crew was still at lunch when it was his turn to exit.

&&&&&

Kurt watched Blaine work over his shoulder, saw the stiffness in his back, and the way he was gnawing at his lips in a way that would leave them completely ravaged, and wished he could do more. He hoped his little time-out earlier had helped, even just a little. It wasn't that Kurt thought sex was some magical fix to everything, but he also didn't see a problem in distracting Blaine and making him feel good and loved even if it was just for a little while.

His own piece was coming along nicely but he thought, and Tim agreed, that it was a bit too safe. Around the room Kurt saw huge, puffy things, high side collars, long trains, and general craziness while his dress was edgy at best. Anything he added now would just seem cheap and tacked on though, so he was in a little bit of a pickle.

Slap. Torn out of his reverie, Kurt whipped around, thinking for a second that Blaine had actually just smacked his ass in front of everyone. It turned out, however, that it was just the crazy, and slightly frightening, Emmy. He'd talked with her a couple of times and apparently that was the level of familiarity it took for her to feel comfortable groping him.

"Come on, let's get something to eat, your pretty little ass is so bony I think I broke something," she called out as she kept walking.

Kurt was shocked, and a little offended (he thinks) but followed her anyway. Once they picked a table and sat, Emmy gave Kurt a hard look before putting her cookie on his plate and moving to get another one for herself. Kurt liked eating right but he wasn't usually a health nut; being busy messed with his appetite though, and he often found himself forgetting to eat at all.

Conversation with Emmy was easy because she did most of the talking. Kurt knew a lot about her- from Chicago, lived with her boyfriend (although they were having some issues right now), worked at a little boutique her mother owned- but she didn't know much about him. Over the years he'd learned it was easier to direct the conversation away from himself then to try and explain that just because he was gay, had a high voice, worked in fashion, and lived in New York didn't mean that they could make assumptions about him. Not that Emmy was like that, it had just become habit.

After a few minutes Blaine and Alice joined them and it made for a nice little break from the stress of the day. Blaine had everyone in stitches over a story from his youth of serenading a guy in a Gap and Kurt was warmed by the thought that Blaine, who was so popular, had chosen him. It was clear from day one that Blaine, with his polite, chatty personality, and habit of singing softly under his breath as he worked, was a favorite among the designers. Everyone thought, and voiced, that he was the cutest little thing. Kurt had no doubts that Blaine charmed his way through life, with complete sincerity of course, yet out of everyone Blaine wanted to be with him.

But this also worried him. Here, for those couple weeks, there weren't many options. Kurt didn't accuse Blaine of doing it on purpose, but it was possible he was settling without even realizing it. Once they got back to the real world, there would be plenty of guys Blaine could chose from. Kurt tried to shake the insecurity he had hoped he would leave behind in Ohio but he just couldn't. It followed him around like a shadow; sometimes it was barely noticeable but it was always, always there.

&&&&&

The end result was bad. Not horrible, not like it was before, but definitely nowhere near good enough to escape the judges criticism. This could be it for him and Blaine had to accept that. There were a lot of things Blaine was unsure about but one thing he did know is that he didn't want to go home. Here he could be himself and be creative and be around Kurt without having to worry about getting a job or paying rent or any of that. It was stressful, and he was tired all of the time, but it was a rewarding type of tired, the kind that comes after you've put your all into something and succeeded.

Blaine felt a little guilty about it but as the garments were walked down the runway he tried to find one that was worse than his; something to give him hope. And then he found it. It looked completely unfinished, the dress being laced loosely in the back, the entire thing flapping open as the model walked, and it had a huge drooping collar. There even looked to be a stray thread hanging off the back. It was certainly as bad, if not worse than Blaine's, but instead of feeling relieved Blaine felt sick to his stomach. It was Alexander's.

He knew Alexander had been struggling, they'd both been lamenting about it for the past few days, but he assumed he had pulled it together like he always did. They shared a look, a solemn understanding passing between them. Unless someone else completely tanked, it would be one them.

"Will the following designers please step forward," Heidi said. The runway show has finished with no other standout pieces, good or bad, and so it seemed there was little hope for the two boys. "Kurt, Stephan, Alice, and Chantelle. Congratulations, your scores have qualified you to move onto the next round. You may leave the runway."

And then there was six.

One by one the designers were asked questions. High praise was given to Harry and his bright, boxy dress, and similarly to Sam, whose bodysuit looked like it came straight from a futuristic action movie. When it was Alexander's turn he looked close to tears but spoke strongly, admitted his mistakes, and the judges seemed impressed by that. Then it was his turn.

"Blaine, tell us about your piece."

"Well uh, I wanted to do something asymmetrical, and I wanted to play with lots of fabric on one side and minimal on the other, and um, it definitely didn't turn out like I wanted but uh... yeah."

"Blaine just, what the hell happened," Michael deadpanned.

"Usually your pieces are so feminine and cute!" Heidi, always the nice one, said. "This looks like it was thrown together in two hours, not two days!"

Blaine cringed. He tried to pay attention, to get the constructive from the criticism, but it was hard. It was an awful dress, he knew that, and he wished they would just stop repeating it.

"There's this one slit on the side- right there- where you can actually see her underwear," Nina exclaimed.

The judges pointed out a few nice things, like his little pop of color, but overall, as expected, he was in the bottom two. With Alexander.

When the tirade ended and they were finally able to escape Blaine walked as quick as he could without running to the waiting room where Kurt was. He sank down and rested his elbows on his knees, all hunched over, and let out a sigh. Kurt murmured comforting things and asked Blaine about the critique but he didn't want to talk about it so they didn't. Instead Kurt distracted him with a story about his crazy ex-roommate, Rachel, and Blaine found himself chuckling softly.

"Thank you," he said softly when he finally stood, ready to go receive the results. Kurt only nodded and bit his lip, looking as nervous as Blaine felt.

Alexander loitered by the door until Blaine walked through it and then he fell in step beside him. "Whatever happens today, you're a great guy and I'm going to miss you."

"Likewise, and we'll keep in touch," Blaine said, offering his hand to him. Alexander took it and pulled him into a quick hug even as they were still walking.

"And don't let Kurt go," he said suddenly, "he's a special one."

Blaine smiled and nodded, having no other response. They had reached the runway anyway.

Heidi did the introduction and went straight into announcing the winner: Harry. Despite Blaine's feelings about him he did deserve to win this week; his dress was amazing. Then the other two in the top were cleared off stage and three were left.

"Mary Jane, you're in, you may leave the runway." That was obvious, her piece was the best of the bottom three.

Blaine felt eerily calm, the only indication of what could happen was a small, sharp feeling of dread in his chest.

"Blaine," Heidi began, "... you're in. You may leave the runway." Blaine felt like collapsing but not in a good way. He was in but there was a price; his friend, and the knowledge that he had failed. Maybe not as badly as Alexander, but this wasn't a shining moment.

Reaching over he gave Alexander's hand a squeeze, his eyes meeting Alexander's, which were brimming with tears, and then he left. His shoes sounded too loud in the empty hallway, his breathing ragged, and he practically stumbled into the room. Kurt's head shot up from where it was resting on his hands and Blaine nodded once, slowly. "I'm in," he announced quietly.

Half the room got up to hug him and there were cries of relief. Blaine didn't feel all that connected to the other designers but they obviously did to him. Or perhaps it only took a surface relationship for these people to get worked up.

The only person he wanted to see, Kurt, came up last. "Thank god," he whispered in his ear, and they quickly sat down as they heard the door opening only to get right back up as Alexander entered.

The last goodbye was short and unintimate but Blaine didn't care, they'd said what they needed to earlier. Alexander was talented but still so young. Blaine was sure he'd make it someday.