Mr. 21 and Blaine travel to work in silence, like usual. Although this time it isn’t a comfortable silence. Blaine needs to resist asking Mr. 21 about all of this and he is working very hard on keeping his mouth shut. He’s good at blurting things out and he can’t risk doing that again.

So instead they sit next to each other on the train.

Blaine wants to confront him so badly, but what if Blaine’s wrong? That would look idiotic and then he’d also have to admit to Mr. 21 that he rejected him for someone he’s never even met!

Regardless of whoever Mr. 21 really is, Blaine doesn’t have a reason to trust this Kurt like he trusts the Kurt from Discord. Or maybe he does. He does if this is the same Kurt, but in his mind, it’s still easier to keep them apart, which is why this Kurt is Mr. 21 until proven otherwise.

He can’t keep confusing them without any concrete evidence.

“Gah!” Blaine lets out a groan.

Mr. 21 raises an eyebrow.

See, this is what Blaine means with keeping his mouth shut?

“It’s fine. Just nervous about the show. I’ve been gone for a couple of days and music is something you need to keep doing, you know?” Blaine lies blatantly. Well, it’s true that practise is always important, but he’s a skilled musician and he knows he’s going to ace his work.

“Makes sense,” Mr. 21 says shortly. Then he looks to the side. Blaine takes this opportunity to watch Mr. 21. He also seems tense.

What if Wes is right? If he’s Kurt, is Mr. 21 also going through the same rollercoaster of emotions? Mr. 21 turns his head and he smiles weakly when he sees Blaine looking. He doesn’t ask why Blaine’s staring, and he’s glad.

One more day. Blaine’s taking the second approach. He’ll wait till he sees the other Kurt in the flesh. That is the best way to avoid confusion.

At the theatre they part ways as usual.

“Bye Blaine.”

“Bye Kurt.”

Blaine turns around and he’s greeted by the sight of Avalon.

“Now my eyes no longer deceive me, but my ears do!” they say with a grin, “You finally know Kurt’s name.”

Blaine raises an eyebrow.

“You knew I didn’t know?” he asks.

“I sort of figured it out, yeah. I was going to tell you his name when you got back from LA, but you beat me,” Avalon says and the two of them get ready, “Viola told me there’s something going on between the two of you, so I decided to let fate do its thing and all that jazz. Is she correct?”

Blaine sighs. “Avalon, my friend, I will let you know once I know the answer.”

During the show, Blaine doesn’t mess up despite his mindset. Music’s still there for him to rely on. It takes his mind of all the confusing thoughts, but once the show is over and he finds Mr. 21 waiting at the door, they come back in full-force.

Mr. 21 nods towards the door.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Blaine says and he slings his bag over his shoulder.

“Hang on!” they hear. Avalon is walking towards them. “I know it’s late, but some of us are going into town. Are you two strapping young lads interested in joining us?”

Mr. 21 immediately shakes his head, although he does look sorry.

“I also have to pass, Av,” Blaine says. Mr. 21’s head jerks towards Blaine.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he says silently. Avalon also has to lean closer to hear him. “I can make my way to the apartment by myself.”

“Oh, no, it’s just that I…” Blaine trails off and he meets Mr. 21’s eyes, “I have an, uhm, important meeting of sorts tomorrow early afternoon. I need to be at my best.”

Mr. 21 nods in understanding.

Once again, Blaine has to stop himself from asking.

“Alright,” Avalon says, and they look at Blaine with a curious look, and then to Mr. 21, and then back to Blaine.

Mr. 21 and Blaine travel back in silence, but once they’re in the hallway, they say goodnight.

“See you tomorrow, Kurt,” Blaine says as he unlocks his door.

“Uh. Tomorrow?” Mr. 21 asks.

“At work,” Blaine clarifies.

“Oh, yeah. Right. See you tomorrow.”

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
See you in a few hours!

Blaine’s looking at himself in the mirror and he slicks back his hair again. He can’t have a single loose strand. Today has to be perfect. He’s about to make a possible first impression on Kurt. The emphasis is on possible.

Despite the nerves and the confusion, Blaine’s slept like a baby.

Once Blaine’s satisfied with his hair, he straightens his bowtie. It’s the same green and pink bowtie that he wore to the World Championship. Kurt and Blaine made a pact to both wear something with the Splatoon 2 colours so that they could recognise each other.

Well, assuming that this is the first time they meet.

Blaine fixes his bowtie one last time, even though he knows it’s redundant. He’s definitely wearing it, because he has to, otherwise Kurt won’t recognise him. That’s what he’s saying to himself. Mr. 21 who? Blaine doesn’t even know him!

Outside of his apartment, Blaine lingers in the hallway for a while. If Mr. 21 is Kurt, then he might leave around the same time. Blaine stares at Mr. 21’s closed door for five minutes, but it doesn’t open.

Weird.

He expected to feel relief, but now there’s a small part of him that is disappointed.

Which is ridiculous! Why would Blaine want Kurt to be Mr. 21? They barely know each other and just because Mr. 21 has always been hot, that doesn’t mean that Blaine wants him.

“My fucking God,” Blaine groans out loud. What is his mind doing? He should be ready to meet Kurt. When Mr. 21 asks him out, Blaine thinks of Kurt, and now when Kurt’s asked him out, he’s thinking about Mr. 21?

He needs to leave. The longer he stands here, the worse it gets. Besides, he can’t afford to be late.

But on his way to the coffee shop, Blaine is once again recounting the similarities between Kurt and Mr. 21, and he has to admit to himself that a part of him wants it to be true. When did that happen? He now realised that he’s liked Kurt for a long time, but with Mr. 21 it was nothing big. Yeah, he wanted to say yes to a date, and he would’ve if it hadn’t been for Kurt, but Mr. 21 isn’t like Kurt!

Or is he?

The trip to Think Coffee feels like an excoriating lifetime. When he goes inside, he immediately checks the area. There’s no Mr. 21 in sight, but he also doesn’t see someone wearing pink and green. There’s an elderly couple sat in the back and a bored looking teen who’s on her phone is waiting in line.

Blaine sits down at a free table and he waits.

He’s arrived first. Unfortunately, this means he has to wait for an answer a little bit longer.

And he waits.

He looks around and there’s no other person in sight. He decides to think about other things. He checks the menu and he decides what to order when Kurt arrives. The scrolls through Instagram, where he likes some of David’s new photos. He puts some videos in his Watch Later playlist on YouTube.

And so, ten minutes pass, and Kurt’s nowhere in sight.

Since Blaine’s on his phone, he also knows that Kurt hasn’t sent anything on Discord. He locks his phone and rests his head on his fist. Kurt’s late.

His phone pings and Blaine immediately unlocks it, but it’s only Wes asking him how the date is going. Blaine sighs and he stares at the door.

Another five minutes pass and Blaine can feel the disappointment. It feels heavy in his chest. He decides to not give up just yet. He’ll just send Kurt a message on Discord, asking if he’s still coming, or if he’s being held up.

Since he’s on his phone, he doesn’t notice that just at that moment, another person arrives.

Blaine notices when he hears the door open. He looks back to the door and he almost drops his phone in shock.

Mr. 21 looks like he’s rushed to get here. His cheeks have a rosy tint and he looks out of breath. His hair is a bit messy and he’s fixing it with one hand. The other hand is on the doorhandle. He’s stopped in the middle of the doorway and he’s looking at Blaine with wide eyes.

Blaine gets up, which is unnecessary. Maybe this is a coincidence. Mr. 21 doesn’t have to know that Blaine thinks he’s here for him. Blaine’s eyes scan Mr. 21’s entire look, and there’s nothing pink and green in sight.

But then he walks towards Blaine.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hi,” Blaine says back. He’s still flabbergasted. “What- what are you doing here?”

“Oh, uh…” Mr. 21 holds up one finger to indicate that Blaine needs to wait. Then he opens his satchel and he takes out a pink and green scarf. “I’m here… for a date.”

Kurt puts on his scarf and his eyes fall towards Blaine’s matching bowtie.

“It’s you,” Kurt says and he lets out a nervous laugh, “I… had wondered, but it’s you.”

Blaine clears his throat.

“I should be the one saying that,” Blaine jokes.

Kurt’s shoulders drop and a relieved smile spreads on his face.

“You didn’t know?” he asks.

Blaine shakes his head.

“I wondered too,” Blaine says and Kurt’s smile brightens, “I had even hoped it was true. I waited in front of your door, just to check!”

Kurt’s head falls back with a loud laugh and something in Blaine’s chest loosens. This makes sense. Offline, Kurt’s always been quiet and timid and he never spoke up, but this loud and excited laugh sounds familiar.

This is his Kurt. His best friend.

“Oh, yeah, that’s on me!” Kurt says, “I left early when I realised I didn’t own anything pink and green! I needed to go to a shop, which is also why I am late. Sorry for that, but it turns out that bright pink and bright green is not a well-known colour combination. Huh, who would’ve guessed?”

They order coffee and a slice of cake for each. The barista behind the counter is happy that Blaine’s finally getting something. They take it back to the table and Kurt starts talking.

“How long have you known?” he asks Blaine.

“Two days,” Blaine says, “Although it fully came crashing down yesterday. I started seeing all these similarities. It started when we talked about the date thing.”

Kurt nods in understanding.

“Yeah, same,” he says, “I jumped online to talk about The Guy and you then mentioned that the guy from your work asked you out, and I thought ‘hey, that’s funny. I ask someone out and you get asked out!’ and then it all spiralled from there, especially when you came to my door to tell me why you couldn’t go on a date with me.”

Kurt and Blaine look at each other before bursting out into laughter again.

“God, I’ve been going crazy about this,” Blaine admits, “I wanted to ask you at work, but I was afraid. What if I was wrong?”

“No, I get that. I also wanted to ask you but I got nervous, because what if you’d known all along?”

Blaine frowns. He also was afraid that Kurt knew, but ‘all along’? The fact that Kurt had the realisation around the same time makes perfect sense to Blaine.

Kurt sees the frown, so he ducks his head in embarrassment and explains.

“Yeah, I don’t know. It’s silly, I suppose. It’s just my mind latching onto the bad things, but I got overwhelmed by the idea of you knowing all along and toying with me. If you look back on our messages, we could’ve realised earlier.”

“Kurt,” Blaine says and he automatically reaches for Kurt’s hand, “I’d never do that to you! Like I said, not telling for these last two days was already killing me.”

“I know,” Kurt says and he puts his hand on Blaine’s, “I also remembered what I told you about, uh, me. About not knowing what is going on in other people’s heads. It’s easy to assume the worst. Still, the fear was there.”

The two of them look at their hands. Blaine puts his other hand on Kurt’s for extra measure, because he can do this now. Kurt lets out a breath.

Kurt is real. He’s here, in person, sitting right in front of him.

Blaine can touch him. Kurt’s skin is so soft.

“I’m happy it’s you,” Kurt says softly, “I also started hoping that it was you. I wish we’d known sooner.”

“Yeah,” Blaine says with a bit of remorse. For so long, he wanted to hold Kurt and the thought that Kurt was next to him all this time is maddening.

“I was just a coward. Even if we hadn’t realised our feelings, I was doubtful on whether or not I wanted you to see me.”

“I’m not disappointed,” Blaine says quickly. He turns Kurt’s hand around so that he can properly hold it and he gives it a squeeze. “Kurt, I am far from disappointed about how you look.”

“Thank you. Although this scarf clashes with my outfit,” he says with a laugh and Blaine joins in, “That’s probably why I didn’t own anything pink and green.”

“That’s probably why there aren’t many clothing items with pink and green!”

“I also should’ve worn something neutral like you,” Kurt says and he eyes Blaine’s white polo with appreciation. Blaine turns red. “I thought I was the fashionable one here.”

“We can file a complaint at Nintendo,” Blaine says and he squeezes Kurt’s hand again, “Hopefully they pick a better combination for Splatoon 3, although I think it’ll be two bright neon colours again.”

“At least we have the in-game fashion,” Kurt dramatically rolls his eyes.

Kurt talks some more about his favourite in-game gear that has been added during the latest updates and Blaine feels euphoric. They’re talking about Splatoon 2, as usual, but now it’s face to face. In person. Kurt has loosened up a lot, and he sounds so different now that he’s comfortable. He sounds like he does in the VC.

Blaine doesn’t have to be a genius to understand that Kurt really did shy away Blaine offline, which is why Blaine never picked up that they have the same voice. Sure, Blaine thought that Mr. 21’s voice sounded similar to Kurt’s, but now it’s finally falling into place.

Besides, Blaine is a vocal nerd. He knows how voice works. Voices always sound slightly different over something like a recording or phone conversation, or in their case, the VC. This depends on the device transmitting them. Maybe this is why Kurt also didn’t recognise Blaine by his voice, since so it could sound different to the ear when it’s being conducted through the air.

“What?” Kurt trails off.

That’s when Blaine realises that he’s been staring adoringly at Kurt.

“Oh, your voice… it’s beautiful offline,” Blaine says.

Kurt turns red and it’s adorable.

“So is yours, although I’ve heard it many times by now. I’d like to hear it more, though.”

“Well, that’s a good thing, because you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon Kurt…”

“Hummel,” Kurt fills in.

“Kurt Hummel.” Finally, Blaine knows where the H. in K.H. stands for.

“That’s me! Kurt Hummel, wardrobe crew member at The Street, and amateur Splatoon 2 player. Nice to finally, properly meet you.”

Kurt holds out his free hand and Blaine snorts. This is surreal. After all these months, they’re finally properly meeting.

Blaine has to let go of Kurt’s other hand to shake it, but he doesn’t mind.

“Blaine Anderson, substitute orchestra member at The Street, and aspiring competitive Splatoon 2 player. Also nice to meet you.”

“God, I can’t believe you’ve found a team and it’s with people I know!” Kurt says.

“The four of us are in the recording of the Splatoon 2 World Championship,” Blaine says. He doesn’t know if Kurt’s gotten around to watching it yet. “We’re on screen from in an overhead shot at one point.”

The two continue talking about Splatoon 2, but they eventually move on to other topics, like work.

“How about this,” Blaine suddenly says, “I don’t want to come off too strong, but how about we finish our coffee and cake and go back to our building? Wow, our building. We live next to each other. Maybe have dinner together before we have to go to work?”

“I’d like that.”