Blaine pulled hard on the ends of the laces to tighten them one last time and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. The figure skates felt strange on his feet after years of playing hockey and he wiggled his toes, grimacing at the tightness. The black leather boots might look classier than his hockey skates, but they were nowhere near as comfortable to wear.

He stood up tentatively and took the few steps from the bench to the opening in the boards, feeling out his balance on the blades. He stepped out onto the ice and skated over to Kurt, who was waiting impatiently.

"Great, why don't we start with some basic skating," Isabelle called out from her seat in the bleachers. "Let's try with Kurt leading. Blaine, can you please stand behind Kurt and put one hand on his waist and hold the other one outstretched? I'm going to have you guys push off on the count of four and take one turn around the rink."

Blaine moved up behind Kurt and set a hand on his waist, smiling when he felt Kurt's spine tense. "Well, well, well, here we are again, back in each other's arms. You just can't stay away, can you?" He flinched internally as he spoke. He always resorted to flirting when he was nervous. He thought he heard Kurt's teeth grind a little and that made him feel better.

He looked forward and raised his chin up a bit, feeling a little self-conscious since he was shorter than Kurt and knew that it must look a little odd with him in back where the taller partner usually stood. He glanced down at his skates to make sure his feet were in the right position and remembered something that had caught his attention earlier. "Hey, what's this little claw at the end of the blade?"

Kurt turned his head to glower at him. "It's a toe pick."

Blaine grinned wolfishly and winked. "Let me guess, you use them for teasing your hair up so high."

"Don't let that worry you," Kurt reassured him snidely as he eyed Blaine's heavily gelled down hair. "It isn't a requirement that you have great hair in order to be a skater, so at least you have that going for you."

"Oh, I have a lot more than that going for me, I can assure you," Blaine said, letting his voice drop down low and sexy.

A long-suffering sigh escaped Kurt's lips as he turned back to face Isabelle. "Can we get this started, please?"

Isabelle counted off and Blaine and Kurt pushed off together and began to travel down the long side of the ice. Blaine knew he was moving more awkwardly than he normally would, but he couldn't quite get the hang of the new blades or having to synchronize his movements with another person. He flattened his right hand out on Kurt's stomach and pulled him in a bit closer.

"Don't hold me so close," Kurt ground out as they made the corner and turned down the other straight-away. "Some of your hair gel will rub off on me and I'll have to take an extra-long shower."

"Why Mr. Hummel, is that an invitation?"

He felt Kurt grab his right hand and pull it from his waist, while at the same time pushing off and accelerating. The sudden change threw Blaine off and he stumbled, the claw at the end of his left skate catching in the ice and sending him sprawling on his stomach. He felt ice shavings work their way under the collar of his shirt as he looked up and saw Kurt turn back to look at him from the other end of the ice.

"Toe Pick!" Kurt sang out as his dug one toe into the ice and pivoted neatly to skate off in the opposite direction, his laughter echoing off the walls.

Blaine picked himself off the ice and brushed a hand down his front, determined to try again. Isabelle sent them around the ice again and this time Blaine vowed to keep this mouth shut and his mind on his skating. Despite that, though, he still didn't do much better.

Isabelle next asked them to try skating side-by-side and turn to skate backwards half way down the ice. At the turn, Blaine found himself lying on the ice again, looking up at the ceiling. Kurt skated back to him and leaned over, his smiling face moving in to block Blaine's view of the rafters.

"Toe Pick!"

Next, Isabelle asked them to skate together, with him behind and then move to side-by-side, holding hands with Kurt's left in his right. He ended up on his butt, watching as Kurt sped away.

"Toe Piiiiiiiiick!"

He was starting to hate the sound of Kurt's laughter.

=^..^=

Kurt watched as Isabelle led Blaine through another turn around the rink. It was obvious Blaine had never been on figure skates before and didn't know what he is doing, but Kurt grudgingly admitted that he could see some potential there. There was a grace and eloquence to his skating that was evident despite his lack of finesse. If only Blaine didn't rub him so raw. He'd known it wasn't going to go well as soon as he'd learned Blaine was a hockey player. Years of running into puckheads at rinks had taught him to stay far away from their kind unless he was in the mood for some serious abuse.

Blaine smiled at Isabelle when he got a move right and Kurt shifted in his seat uncomfortably, trying to ignore the pin-prick of shame over the fact that he hadn't exactly been playing fair all day. He could have made it easier on Blaine by trying to help him out a little more, but he'd thought it best to save them both the time and aggravation of an extended try-out. Besides, he'd never see Blaine again after today. What was the point in trying to make friends?

Despite it all, though, Blaine seemed to still be trying. Each time he'd fallen he'd picked himself back up again, only narrowing his eyes slightly at Kurt's laughter. He'd improved steadily and was now gliding smoothly over the ice, no longer swinging his arms wildly and making way for his non-existent hickey stick.

"Kurt!" He looked up to see Isabelle waving at him from across the rink. "I want to try some simple strength moves."

Kurt grimaced and pushed off to cross over to where she was already explaining to Blaine what she wanted them to do.

"In SP skating, either one partner can always act as the base for jumps and lifts or the partners can switch off," she explained as she moved off to the side. "Kurt was always the base with Chandler, but I want to see if you have the strength so that you two could switch."

"Excellent," Blaine smiled at Kurt wickedly. "Switching is good. I bet you get bored always being the bottom…I mean the base."

Kurt scowled at him and then turned around slowly to face Isabelle, waiting for the inevitable. Isabelle directed Blaine to pick him up, saying that she wasn't giving a lot of instruction on purpose because she wanted to see what his instincts led him to do.

Blaine paused for a second and then put his hands under Kurt's armpits and lifted him straight up over his head. Kurt nearly squeaked as his skates left the ice. Blaine was much stronger than he looked.

Isabelle clapped her hands together and nodded. "Solid, balanced. Very good."

Kurt expected Blaine to put him down, but he remained where he was, hanging several inches off the ground. "Can you put me down?" he bit out as he glowered at Blaine. Blaine immediately pulled his hands away and Kurt fell to the ice, landing hard on his ass. "You…you imbecile!" he sputtered as he looked up at Blaine's grinning face.

Blaine just turned to Isabelle and shrugged. "Guess that move needs some work."

He made his way off the ice to get a drink of water as Kurt rose to his feet, gently rubbing his throbbing posterior. "See, I told you it wouldn't work," Kurt tossed at Isabelle accusingly. "We wasted a whole day on this…this…hockey puck."

Isabelle looked at him in that way that always made him want to stand up straighter and try harder. "I disagree. I think this might just turn out. His lines were lovely and I think I can have him doing a single jump by the end of the weekend."

Kurt snorted and skated backwards until he reached his jacket, which was lying draped over the edge of the boards. "And if we were competing in the novice division that would be great. What am I supposed to do while you teach him the difference between a Lutz and a Salchow? Learn how to knit? He won't last that long anyways. I bet you he doesn't even come back in the morning."

=^..^=

Blaine groaned as he lowered himself into a chair at the little Italian restaurant where he was having dinner with Isabelle. He hadn't been as active as he was used to being in the last six months and falling on the ice so many times had taken its toll. In fact, the whole day had worn on him more than he'd expected. He wasn't used to failing at anything and he had definitely failed today. Figure skating just didn't seem to be his thing. Add the temperamental diva that was Kurt Hummel to the mix and it was a recipe for disaster. He should probably just save everyone the aggravation and head home in the morning. No sense in delaying the inevitable.

Just after they ordered, a vaguely familiar looking man in a flannel shirt and baseball cap made his way to their table. "Isabelle, it's nice to see you."

"Burt!" Isabelle jumped up and kissed the man on both cheeks and he smiled, though Blaine could tell he was slightly uncomfortable with the cosmopolitan gesture. "I'd like to introduce you to Blaine Anderson, the one I told you about. Blaine, this is Congressman Burt Hummel, Kurt's father."

Blaine stood up and extended his hand. "Sir, it's great to meet you. Would you like to join us?"

"Don't mind if I do," Burt replied as he took a seat at the table. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I crave these horrible breadsticks when I'm away in Washington."

They all laughed, because the breadsticks really were like baked cardboard and Burt took a look at the menu before putting in his order. After the waiter left, he removed his hat and set it on the bench beside him. "I spoke with Kurt this afternoon and heard all about the practice today. Sounds like things are off to a slow start."

Isabelle shook her head. "No, I think we're right on schedule. Just a review of the basics today. Tomorrow we'll try some more advanced moves."

Blaine felt a pang of guilt at her mention of plans for the next day, and knew he should tell her that he wasn't coming back. Just then her phone rang and she excused herself to take the call. Blaine met Burt's eyes uneasily and racked his brain for something to say.

"I saw you skate in Sochi," Burt said, beating him to the punch. "Really impressive. I was sorry to hear about your injury. I know Kurt can be difficult, so I appreciate you sticking it out and giving this a chance."

Blaine shifted in his chair and traced a fingernail over the pattern on the tablecloth. "Yeah, about that….I'm not really sure this is going to work out."

Burt sighed and leaned back in his chair, his eyes taking on a far-away look. "For months we've been looking for a partner that's as driven and talented as Kurt. One who brings balance to the partnership and can stand up to the stress of competition. Chandler wasn't that guy. Kurt's mom was a Pairs skater, did you know that? She taught Kurt how to skate when he was just a tiny kid and he was so good right off the bat. She coached him until she died in a car accident when he was eight." Blaine made a noise of sympathy, but Burt waved it away. "After that he seemed possessed with the need to live up to his mom's legacy, to have the career she wanted for him. I try to support him in whatever he needs, but I'd be behind him if he wanted to be a grocery clerk or astronaut. I don't care, as long as he's happy."

"Is he?" Blaine asked tentatively.

"Is he what?"

"Happy?"

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the table. "I'm not sure that I've ever seen him truly happy. This is a pretty lonely life he's chosen and, as you can see, he's prickly enough that it would take someone really strong to get past those barriers he's put up. I happen to think he's worth it, but hey, what do I know."

Isabelle picked that moment to return to the table and she and Burt soon slipped into a discussion about the latest goings-on in Congress. Blaine listened with one ear, thinking about what Burt had said. Was Kurt really worth the effort? And was he the right man for the job?

=^..^=

All was quiet the next morning as Kurt practiced a footwork sequence that'd been giving him some problems. He loved coming to the rink early in the morning, when the streets were deserted and most people were still tucked into their beds. Early morning practices had been hell on Earth when he was a kid, but with age had come an appreciation for the quiet stillness of the hours just before and after dawn.

After several run-throughs, he decided to wait until Isabelle was there to point out what he was doing wrong. It was about half-an-hour until she was due to arrive and he wondered how they would spend the day, given that the second day of Blaine's try-out wouldn't be happening. He felt a twinge of regret over not seeing Blaine again, but he pushed it away and began to run through a list of skaters in his mind, desperately searching for someone else that might skate with him. He wondered if it was too late to try and recruit someone from another country and work on getting them U.S. citizenship in time for the Games.

As he skated to the edge of the ice he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head, expecting to see Isabelle. Instead, he found Blaine, who was dropping his gym bag onto a bench. Kurt stared in disbelief and his distraction led him to run head-long into the boards. The sound of his skates hitting the wood and the surprised "Umph" that was forced from his lips brought Blaine's eyes up to him.

"Graceful. I can see why you're a world champion," Blaine snorted as he sat down to pull off his shoes.

Kurt felt heat flood his face. Who did Blaine think he was anyways? He was just annoying and full of himself and who was he trying to impress with that bow tie anyway? But…despite all of that, Kurt couldn't deny the teeny, tiny flare of happiness and relief that was spreading up his spine as it sank in that Blaine hadn't left and was, presumably, still interested in being Kurt's partner.

He'd tried to resist doing research on Blaine the night before, sure that he would be gone and that it would be a waste of time, but hadn't been able to help himself. He read about Blaine's meteoric hockey career, the semi-party boy lifestyle he'd led, and the injury that had permanently side-lined him. While he'd been grudgingly impressed by the success Blaine had reached at such a young age, he'd also been dismayed to read about the vast number of men he'd been spotted out with. Kurt had wondered to himself snidely if Blaine had had a revolving door installed in his bedroom and had taken the discovery as yet another sign that Blaine's leaving was a good thing. The last thing Kurt needed was a pint-sized Casanova trying to sleep with everything in skates while they were trying to get up to competition strength.

The memory of the paparazzi photos of Blaine with man after man caused Kurt to clench his jaw and make one last attempt to drive him away. "I read up on you last night," he called out to Blaine, who'd just slipped his second skate on. "There were almost as many articles about your love life as about your hockey playing."

"What can I say?" Blaine returned nonchalantly as he laced up his boot. "I'm popular with the fellas. Jealous?"

Kurt began breathing heavier as he strained to reign in his temper. "It's obvious you had no discipline. Natural talent got you by in hockey, but only hard work and dedication will make you a skater."

Blaine stood up and met his gaze. "Challenge accepted."