“Did you get a name at least?” Blaine asks, “Also there is Tower Control at Ranked Battle. We can do Ranked for once to hopefully get to that new X rank.”

“Inkblot Art Academy and Wahoo World,” Kurt sounds a bit distracted. He’s reading the stages from his screen. “Sounds like a plan. And no, I didn’t get a name. My company is very big and broken up in different, uh, departments of sorts. We’re not in the same department, but my colleague has a friend in The Guy’s department.”

“And… is this a good thing?” Blaine asks.

“I don’t know!” Kurt sounds genuinely unnerved, and even though Blaine desperately wants to move on from this topic to focus on Splatoon 2, he knows that Kurt’s really nervous when it comes to this guy.

Blaine doesn’t know much about The Guy, and that’s mainly because Kurt doesn’t know much about The Guy. All that Blaine knows is that Kurt is interested in getting to know this man and that he’s very nervous about the situation.

“Look at me, I used to be confident!” Kurt groans out, “And now I’m… this. If Kurt from high school could see me now…”

Kurt’s silent after that. Blaine pauses his game. Maybe they won’t play this time, and that’s fine, because Kurt clearly has something on his mind. There’s a tone in his voice that shows that Kurt’s more upset about this than originally anticipated.

Which means they’re in hot waters now.

“If it makes you feel better,” Blaine starts carefully, “I never knew Kurt from high school. I only know this version of you, and I’m happy to know you.”

“Thanks, Blaine,” Kurt says after a small beat of silence, “That’s nice to hear. I sometimes just wish I could go back in time and, I don’t know, prevent my dad from dying. But I can’t.”

Blaine puts his controller aside. He has the feeling they won’t play today. They were about to train for the upcoming Soccer vs. Baseball Splatfest, since they’re both going for team Baseball, but that sounds trivial now.

The death of Kurt’s dad is always a sore topic. Blaine knows about it, but Kurt still doesn’t like to talk about it. But he said that it’s easier to talk to Blaine about it, since Blaine never knew him. Back when Kurt and Blaine first met on the LGBT Splatoon 2 Discord, they were two anonymous strangers who occasionally played a match together, but somewhere it became easier to plan their matches in the DMs and things progressed from there.

A few weeks into them being mutuals, Kurt just disappeared for a week. Blaine got worried and asked if something was wrong. That’s when Kurt told Blaine that his dad had died a year prior and that he spent the week visiting his stepmother and closing himself off from the world.

That admission started their actual friendship. From that moment on they were no longer mutual who occasionally chatted about Splatoon 2.

“Kurt, are you still here?” Blaine asks.

Kurt hasn’t said anything and he also hasn’t scolded Blaine for not starting Tower Control, so he’s probably not playing either.

“Sorry,” Kurt lets out a shaky laugh. Blaine’s pretty sure he’s crying. At moments like this Blaine wishes they knew each other offline. He wants to comfort Kurt. He wants to hold him and be close to him. He wants Kurt to know that he’s always there for him. He wants-

Woah.

Blaine shakes his head.

He still doesn’t know how to bring up the face reveal. Location reveal will be for another day.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Blaine automatically says.

“It’s just… it hits me at sudden moments, you know?” Kurt asks.

Blaine lets out a hum in agreement. His parents are both very much alive, with his mother living in Cebu and his dad still living in Westerville. He doesn’t know what it’s like to lose someone. The only frame of reference is when his grandmother died when he was ten. He was devastated, but it was also years ago and there aren’t that many memories of him and his grandmother.

Still, Blaine tries.

“That is completely understandable! You lost someone important. The littlest things can, you know, evoke something.”

“Well, I didn’t expect it to be The Guy!” Kurt bites out.

Blaine’s taken aback by this sudden snideness and Kurt’s already apologising before Blaine can react.

“Fuck, sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you. You’re a good friend.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just hate this!” Kurt exclaims, “It’s been almost two years since his death and I’m still… still not where I want to be.”

Blaine knows enough to be careful now. It’s grief. It’s pain on an unbearable level. When Kurt’s overwhelmed by it, it’s as if he’s stuck in his own sadness. Everything sets him off.

“But you’re getting better!” Blaine quickly points out to comfort him. He might not be able to hug Kurt, but he still has his words. “Look, we’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but I’ve seen you thrive so much in those past months. You’re working again, you’re dressing up again, you’re slowly going back to school… that’s way different for the Kurt who couldn’t leave his house!”

Blaine hears Kurt sniff.

“Yeah… that’s true.”

“And you went through something incredibly devastating. You fell into a big rut afterwards. It takes a while to get out of there. So one day you will probably have the confidence to talk to The Guy. Who knows? It’s better to try than to wonder what could’ve happened.”

“Maybe,” Kurt still sounds a bit hesitant, “I feel like I spent too long shied away from the world. My friends have moved on. You’re the best friend I currently have.”

“At least you’re slowly reconnecting with your friends, right?” Blaine says, remembering that Kurt did mention something like that.

“True. It’s just… they all knew my dad too, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“And they still want to talk about him all the time. They want me to know how sorry they are. They tell me that he was a good man,” Kurt says, and he sounds a bit frustrated now, “I know that! See, this is also why it’s just easier to talk to you. You didn’t know my dad!”

He really did sound like an amazing man, but Blaine keeps that to himself. That’s not what Kurt needs to hear.

“God, I know I promised my stepmother to live again, but if my dad could see me now… I’ve become so introverted that I don’t even know how to talk to this hot guy. That’s why online friendship like this is so great. Less pressure, you know?”

“Right,” Blaine says and he feels a small pit in his stomach. How can he ever ask Kurt for a face reveal or a meeting when it’s so clear that their semi-anonymity is the thing Kurt likes the most.

Blaine doesn’t know what else to say, so he waits for Kurt.

“Tower Control?” Kurt asks after a beat of silence. He still sounds upset.

“You sure?”

Kurt hums.

“Blaine, I started playing games as a way to escape,” Kurt reminds him, “Trust me. I’m…” he lets out a long sigh. “I just- I don’t want to dwell on this anymore. Please.”

It’s a short term solution, but Blaine gets it. He starts the match. They lose four times in a row.

“Hey dad.”

“Hey Blaine, I didn’t expect you to call.”

“Just… wanted to say hi,” Blaine says as he twirls around on his chair. The conversation about Kurt’s dad made him melancholy.

“Is everything alright, Blaine? You sound a bit sad. Is it the job thing? No worries, you’ll find-”

“No, no, just wanted to talk to you,” Blaine cuts him off.

“But you’re looking into jobs, right?”

“Of course! I have The Street for now and-”

“For now. You’ll have to apply to more positions, Blaine. Give the power to you! The more places you apply to, the better the chances, and if you have multiple positions saying yes, you have the choice.”

“I know, dad,” Blaine lets out an annoyed huff.

It’s silent for a while. Blaine is the one who wanted to speak to his dad, because he is happy that he still has a dad to talk to, but now he wonders if he should’ve waited till he was in a better headspace.

“Sorry, I just worry,” his dad eventually says, “I know you’re trying your best and that finding a job in music is killing.”

“Right. Can we talk about LA instead?” Blaine says, “Cooper told me he’s thinking about inviting you too. It sounds fun.”

“It does,” his dad sounds genuinely excited, “Let me clear my schedule.”

“Great!”

Blaine means it. His dad might drive him mad, but he means well. Blaine can’t wait to see him.

The Street has given Blaine a schedule for the week. He gets up, practises, plays Splatoon 2 with Kurt, and then leaves for his job. At The Street, he ignores Mr. 21, networks and plays a lot of music. It’s not a dream job, but he’s content.

Before Blaine knows it, the week is over. Luckily there are two shows on Sunday. Around noon, Blaine leaves his apartment to go to work, but the moment he’s out of the door, he’s greeted by the sight of Mr. 21, who is also leaving.

Blaine realises they’re probably heading to the same destination, namely the Brooks Atkinson theatre.

Blaine’s already in a sour mood. His gig at The Street is ending on the same day that he got a rejection from that the other job that he applied to. The last thing he needs is Mr. 21 bothering him, so Blaine passes Mr. 21 without acknowledging him. He’s still decent enough to hold the elevator, but he’s really not in the mood for fake pleasantries, especially since Blaine’s always the one doing them.

It’s incredibly awkward in the elevator. And on their way to the subway station. And on the actual subway. Usually, Mr. 21 is already at the theatre when Blaine arrives, so they never have a reason to travel together.

They arrive at the theatre and it’s once again awkward when they are determining who can enter first. Mr. 21 lets out an annoyed huff.

“No worries, it’s my last day. Then you’ll be free from my presence,” Blaine snaps and Mr. 21’s eyes widen. For a second, Blaine thinks Mr. 21 is going to apologise, but as usual, Mr. 21 looks down and walks away without a word. At least this time it seems to be out of embarrassment instead of annoyance.

Blaine plays the piano for the matinee. During shows, he prepares to switch to violin. He has a couple of hours of free time between shows and he checks his phone. Kurt’s sent him several DMs.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
ALERT! ALERT! I MESSED IT Up!!
With The Guy, I mean
I was unnecessarily rude, as always, but that’s just my nerves
ah man and he’s leaving the company after today!

Blaine’s thumbs hover over his screen. He wants to tell Kurt to go for it, that today’s his last chance, but his chest feels heavy at the thought of that. Which is ridiculous. Kurt’s his friend and he clearly wants to talk to The Guy, so why shouldn’t Blaine encourage that?

Blaine’s still thinking about an appropriate response when someone calls his name.

“Hey!” one of the brass players gives Blaine a firm but friendly pat on the back, “The music coordinator wants to talk to you.”

Blaine has no idea what the music coordinator might want, so he pockets his phone and he hurries to her office.

“Blaine Anderson?” she asks when she hears Blaine’s knock.

“Yeah, you wanted to see me, ma’am?” Blaine pokes his head inside of the office.

“I need to discuss something with you,” she says seriously, but not unkindly, “Please, have a seat.”

Blaine does as he’s told. He’s still confused. He knows that he has to check in after his last show, but that’s hours away.

“I’m going straight to the point,” the music coordinator looks at Blaine with a piercing gaze, “You’ve been subbing this week for Edward Cadillacs.”

“Yes.”

“Earlier this morning we got the unfortunate news that Edward has to take a leave of absence due to a personal issue,” she says with a heavy sigh, “I know this is very last minute so I don’t know if you have anything else lined up, but are you able to substitute for at least two more months? May and June?”

Blaine blinks a couple of times. He processes what he’s just heard. The music coordinator mistakes his silence for doubt, so she immediately starts talking about how Blaine has shown a lot of talent as a multi-instrumentalist covering different sections and how she’s sorry that she cannot offer him a more stable job instead of substituting, but Blaine’s silent because he can’t believe it.

“Yes, of course!” Blaine interrupts the music coordinator, “I mean, I am available.” Then he remembers the World Championship. “Except for June 9th till June 13th. I will be visiting family.”

Crap. Maybe Blaine should’ve lied about another job opportunity. But the music coordinator nods.

“Alright, please come to my office after the second show, so we can handle the administration.”

Then she stands up and holds out her hand. Blaine shakes it.

“Thank you!”

They say their goodbyes and Blaine walks back to the orchestra pit to grab his stuff. He’s heading out into town for late lunch or early dinner before the next show. He also needs to text Wes as soon as possible.

He’s ecstatic. Maybe it’s a good thing that the other job application didn’t work out, because Blaine realises that he likes playing for The Street. Nothing can ruin his good mood, not even the sight of Mr. 21 and some of the wardrobe crew.

Blaine does stop when he sees that Mr. 21 and his colleagues are holding Nintendo Switches. He didn’t expect Mr. 21 to play video games. Then again, he didn’t expect Mr. 21 to be capable of having fun. This is actually a great idea for two-show days. Blaine should take his console with him to work as well.

Mr. 21 looks up from his Switch and his face falls.

Right, of course, Nintendo Switch or not, Mr. 21 still hates the sight of Blaine.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ll be here for two more months,” Blaine says shortly.

Mr. 21’s mouth falls open and Blaine almost laughs. Is Mr. 21 really that shocked and upset about the news? It feels weirdly satisfying. Blaine walks away with a grin on his face.