Kurt leaves the apartment at 11:45 to meet Blaine for their “business walk through Central Park,” as Blaine had called it. Kurt only calls it that when he’s talking to Blaine. Otherwise, he lets a smile pull up the corner of his lips as he calls a date.  He and Rachel had spent over an hour looking through all of Kurt’s clothes, Rachel telling him that they needed to find the perfect second-date outfit and Kurt scoffing over the fact that Rachel thinks he needs help picking out an outfit. Please. He’d had the perfect outfit planned since the moment he walked in the door after getting home from their first business date. 

At first, Kurt had tried to reason with her that technically their coffee date wasn’t really a date—and technically, neither was this – no matter how much he wishes it was. And he definitely wishes it was.

He gets to their meeting spot a few minutes early and is about to sit on a park bench to wait when he sees Blaine a few feet away having, what looks like, a very exciting conversation with a hot dog vendor. Or at least, Blaine looks excited. The hot dog guy looks like he couldn’t care less about Blaine or whatever he has to say. Kurt laughs to himself, walking over to the hot dog stand.

“Whatcha talking about,” he asks in a cheery voice.

Blaine spins around, his smile never fading. In fact, if anything, the smile seems to grow impossibly bigger at the sight of Kurt.

“Kurt, hey! I didn’t see you! How are you? Anything exciting happening in your life?–”

“Blaine,” Kurt cut in, unable to contain a laughing smile at Blaine’s eagerness.

“Sorry, I’ve just been really excited all day,” Blaine answered, looking slightly embarrassed. “That outfit looks really good on you, by the way.” Kurt blushed and looked down at his clothes, as if he needed to check to make sure Blaine was right.

“Thanks,” he responded after a few seconds. “My friend Rachel helped me pick it out.” When he mentioned Rachel, he noticed a shift in Blaine’s face, but it disappeared quickly, and Blaine smiled widely at Kurt again, looking into his eyes, and neither says anything for a few seconds.

“So, would you like me to give you a tour of the park,” Blaine asks, breaking the silence. “Or we could walk around the city, and I can show you the best restaurants and stuff.”

“The park sounds lovely,” Kurt answers, a small, daring smile on his lips as he takes a step closer to Blaine, playfully bumping his hand into Blaine’s. Blaine laughs and a bright smile that could rival the sun touches his face. He returns the bump before taking the hint and sliding his hand into Kurt’s.

Blaine looks up at Kurt and smiles that big smile that never seems to leave his face – or at least, when he’s around Kurt it doesn’t. Kurt smiles back and then turns his head to look straight ahead again, warmed by the knowledge that he had put that amazing smile on Blaine’s face.

They walk around the park for a while, neither of them talking, just enjoying the moment, holding hands, and suddenly Kurt’s phone starts vibrating. He decides to ignore it, but Blaine must have heard it buzzing.

“You can answer that if you want, you know,” he tells Kurt, “I mean, in case you were worried about it being rude or something. I don’t mind.” Kurt smiles and pulls his phone out, and sees that he has a text from Rachel. He rolls his eyes and opens the message.

(12:15) How’s the “business date” going?

Kurt groans, but smiles. He had told Rachel not to text him while he was out with Blaine, but really, he had known the whole time that she wouldn’t be able to resist it. He notices that Blaine looks over at him with a confused smile, like he wants to ask what the text says, but doesn’t want to sound rude.

“It’s Rachel,” Kurt answers the silent question. “She’s asking me how my business date is going.”

“Can I see that,” Blaine asks with a devious smile, reaching his hand not interlaced with Kurt’s to take the phone. Kurt hands it to him, and Blaine lets go of Kurt’s hand for a minute, while he types out a response to Rachel’s text. He hands it back to Kurt without hitting send, his impish grin making him look way more adorable than he should have any right to be.

Kurt glances down to see Blaine’s response, laughing as he reads:

(12:17) Business is booming. 

Kurt smiles at Blaine, and sends on the message. 

“Very clever, I must say,” Kurt laughs as he slides the phone back into his pocket.

“And I take it you agree with me, since you hit send,” Blaine raises both eyebrows, grinning.

“Oh, I definitely agree,” Kurt answers, joining their hands again.  

After another ten minutes of silent hand-holding and just enjoying the moment, Kurt decides to break the silence and initiate some conversation, though he’s not entirely sure what to start with, so he goes with the most obvious point in his mind.

“So, you said you’re from Westerville, right,” Kurt asks, turning his head to look at Blaine.

Blaine meets Kurt’s gaze, a small smile on his face, as though he can tell Kurt didn’t really know what to talk about first.

“Yeah, I am,” Blaine answers after a few beats. “Well, I mean, technically my parents live in Columbus, but I boarded at Dalton, so I just like to say I’m from Westerville. I liked it better there anyway.”

“Oh, cool,” Kurt replies, though he can’t bring his mind away from Blaine’s comment in the coffee shop about coming to New York early to ‘get away’.

Blaine is somehow able to understand Kurt’s train of thought, because he adds, “I dreaded the summer, strangely enough, because it meant I’d have to go home. Or, well, back to my parents’ house. I liked to think of Dalton as more of a home than my ‘real’ home.”

Kurt nods, cursing himself silently for not knowing what else to say, and as though reading Kurt’s mind again, Blaine continues. “My parents weren’t really supportive of me. I mean, they paid for my schooling and boarding at Dalton, but I think that was mostly just to get me out of their house, you know?”

“Why, um,” Kurt swallows, thinking he probably already knows the answer to his question. “Why weren’t they supportive of you?”

“Oh, well, I’m assuming it’s because I’m gay,” Blaine says, rather nonchalantly. “I mean, that’s when they started trying to distance me from them – after I came out.”

Kurt doesn’t say anything in response. He truly, at this point, just has no idea what he is supposed to say. He doesn’t really understand Blaine’s situation from experience, his father having been so accepting of him.

“That must have been really hard,” Kurt comments after what seems to him like an hour-long pause. “I mean, my dad was really understanding, so I don’t really know from experience, but I mean, I can only imagine how much it would suck for your parents to-”

“Kurt,” Blaine interrupts. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it, honestly. Like I told you in the coffee shop, I came here early to get away. It’s all good now.” He gives Kurt’s hand a light squeeze, but even though he doesn’t squeeze hard, Kurt can feel the strength Blaine conveys through the simple gesture. Kurt nods and looks over at Blaine with a sympathetic smile.

After Blaine reassures him by returning the smile, Kurt looks down at his feet. Kurt figures either Blaine is some sort of mind-reader, or he, himself, is just very obvious in his emotions, because with a quick look at Kurt’s expression, Blaine suggests he walk Kurt back to his apartment.

When they get to Kurt’s building, they get on the elevator up to Kurt’s floor together, not letting go of the other’s hand.

They get to the door of Kurt and Rachel’s apartment, where Kurt leans against the door, looking down at his and Blaine’s hands as he plays with Blaine’s fingertips between his own.

“You know,” Blaine starts, looking almost hesitant, “It’s customary to end a business date with a kiss.”
“What kinda business you runnin’, Anderson,” Kurt teases, and Blaine gives him a wide grin.

“It’s strictly business. Like I said, it’s customary,” Blaine answers breezily with a shrug, a sly smile on his lips that sends butterflies flitting through Kurt’s stomach in the most amazing way. 

“Just kiss me,” Kurt laughs, tugging on Blaine’s hand to reinforce the words. And just like that, Blaine is leaning towards him, pressing his lips to Kurt’s lightly, almost gentlemanly. Of course. Dalton manners. Blaine starts to pull away, but Kurt reaches his hands up to hold Blaine’s face where it is for a little bit longer to prolong the kiss.

When Kurt lets his hands drop and pulls back, Blaine takes a moment before he opens his eyes. Blaine clears his throat before starting to speak again.
“Wow. Well, we should definitely schedule another business meeting,” he begins with a grin.

“Blaine,” Kurt smiles, rolling his eyes fondly. “You just kissed me. I think we can start calling them dates now.”

“Right,” Blaine laughs shyly. “Um, I’ll text you,” he adds, and Kurt laughs silently when Blaine leans in to kiss him on the cheek, just before turning around to go to the elevator.

“Hey Blaine,” Kurt calls out, and Blaine turns to look at him. “Business is booming.” Delighting in the bright smile that lights up Blaine’s face at the words, Kurt winks and turns to go into his apartment, where he’s sure Rachel is waiting to hear every last detail of the date – which Kurt is definitely calling it now.

--------------------------------------

The elevator doors have no more than closed when Blaine lets himself fall back against them, his head spinning with the phantom feel of Kurt’s lips on his, the soft hands gently holding his face.

He laughs out a quiet sound as he realizes he feels very much like a 14 year old again, helpless under the weight of a crush on the most beautiful boy he’s ever seen. He isn’t even totally sure he doesn’t like feeling helpless to it.

Lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t hear the sound of the elevator chiming out that he’s reached the bottom floor, and just barely manages to right himself before he falls when the doors open.

Another bright peal of laughter bubbles freely from his throat as he steps out the door into the sunshine, feeling the rays warm his face. He feels as though he could fly if he tried.

He hums a nameless tune as he slides his hands in his pockets and starts down the sidewalk toward his own apartment, his mind already excited at the idea of seeing Kurt again. This time, for a real date.