Kurt and Blaine have booked another room at the inn. This time there are two beds, but when Kurt’s about to explain what Blaine’s role is in The Cooper Chronicles, Blaine sits down next to Kurt on Kurt’s bed.

“At the end of The Seed of Time, the first book, Cooper gets the news that his mother unexpectedly passed away.”

“It was because of the Pink Dagger.”

Kurt hums in agreement.

“True, but that doesn’t get revealed until A Dagger in the Back, the sixth book. So in the first book, it’s still written as if it’s an unexpected illness. And then there’s a time jump between the first and the second book, since all stories tend to take place in summer vacations.”

“So not even my birth was in these books?”

“Sorry.”

“Well. Holy shit.”

Kurt looks taken aback and laughs. Blaine picked up the holy shit thing from Kurt, and based on Kurt’s reaction, he used it at the right moment.

“I want you to know that your brother loves you,” Kurt suddenly says, sounding serious, “You two might not have been the closest, since there’s a gap in age and Cooper was busy being the Chosen One, but he does.”

“Okay?”

“But a lot of Cooper’s development in the second and third books was about you.”

“Oh?”

“Because he didn’t like you.”

“Oh?”

“But hear me out! He was afraid that the king remarrying and immediately getting a new son felt like he was quickly moving on from his mother, so he resented you for it, especially since Cooper wasn’t at home. He was either at the Knight Academy, or on a mission.”

“… Oh.”

Blaine doesn’t remember Cooper not liking him, because he was a baby, but it makes sense. And Blaine hates that it makes sense. Kurt is right, though. Cooper loves him. Cooper even loves Blaine’s mother. They’re a happy Royal family now, but that also means it sucks to hear that they weren’t always so happy.

“Cooper spent a lot of the second and third book processing his grief, and also dealing with his fear. By the time the fourth book happened, he started to really, really love you, because he realised you’re great and all the negative feelings were just his own projection. And by the time the eight book happened-”

“He saved me from the Pink Dagger.”

“Yes,” Kurt says, surprised.

“I was seven, so I remember it. The Pink Dagger tried to take over the castle. My parents and I were in hiding, but all separated. They didn’t want to give the Pink Dagger the chance to kill us all in one go. But he found me and probably killed the guards who guarded me.”

Blaine luckily didn’t witness that, since he was in hiding. But he remembers when the door opened and he expected a guard, but it was the Pink Dagger who came in.

“But Cooper and Arasha found us in time. Arasha took my hand and ran. Cooper fought him off on his own.”

Arasha brought Blaine to Eileen and he stayed with her until the castle was freed and the Pink Dagger had fled.

“We haven’t found book eight yet, and it will probably be the last, but you can read it and you can read how much Cooper loves you,” Kurt says, “The moment he figured out that the Pink Dagger was going after you, he lost it, and swore he’d do anything to save you.”

It’s heartwarming, sure, and Blaine is happy that Cooper’s love for him touched so many people in Kurt’s world, but it does mean that Blaine was indeed written for Cooper’s life. It’s a mixed feeling. Blaine is his own person, and his existence apparently means a lot to people, but he’s also created for a story purpose and for Cooper’s development.

“Why did B.D. Dalton choose this?” Blaine asks Kurt.

“Because she lifts a lot from her own life, and she also has a younger brother.”

“She?”

Is B.D. Dalton a woman? It never occurred to Blaine.

“Yes. She.”

Kurt flips one of the books so that Blaine can see the back. There’s a realistic portrait of a woman on the back cover.

“B.D. Dalton named the kingdom after herself, you’re named after her friend Blair, and Cooper is named after her dog.”

“A dog?”

Kurt nods.

“Don’t think too much about it.”

“But you said that the book series wasn’t always kind towards its women.” Or female characters, but the word character still feels off.

“Again, it’s a book series from the 90s, Blaine. There weren’t a lot of interesting women in books, especially for kids. B.D. Dalton copied the media landscape around her, even unconsciously, and I don’t blame her for that.”

Kurt’s face becomes serious.

“If the world doesn’t show you what you can be, you don’t know about it. I would know.”

Blaine waits for Kurt to tell him more, but he doesn’t. Instead Kurt moves back to Blaine’s question.

“But yeah, B.D. has a similar story. She lost her mother when she was young and her father quickly remarried, and her stepbrother was born soon after. By the time she wrote these books, she was an adult and was close with her brother, but she remembers feeling afraid and she wanted to write it so that kids in similar situations could use Cooper’s story to also give their own feelings a place, while also teaching them it’s okay to have a stepsibling. And as someone who lost his mother as well, it spoke to me.”

“You lost your mother?” Blaine asks with wide eyes. He didn’t know that.

“I did. I was eight, so younger than Cooper. I read these books when I was ten. My dad got them from the library for me, not knowing that this storyline was part of it, but I was glad.”

Blaine remembers that Kurt loved Cooper’s personality (or character), because even though Cooper’s a bit of an ass, he has deep and emotional moments (or storylines) that hit hard. This must be one of them.

“My dad didn’t remarry till I was a teen, and my stepbrother and I never had an age gap like this, but still, reading it as a kid was very comforting. It helped me remember that my dad will love me no matter what, even without my mom at his side.”

“That’s lovely,” Blaine says and he means it. He is a side character. That’s the truth, and it makes him feel uneasy, but he’s happy that his part of the storyline has moved Kurt.

“I am sorry you were still underdeveloped, but you were an important supporting character. You were very supportive to many.”

“But because I am underdeveloped, you don’t really know me like you know Arasha,” Blaine mutters.

“Are you jealous of Arasha?” Kurt says with a startled laugh.

“No!” Blaine answers quickly and looks away, but he definitely is. No one from Kurt’s world would ever be excited about Blaine the same way they’re excited about Cooper and his posse. Kurt didn’t even recognise him when he woke up.

“Oh Blaine,” Kurt says with a smile and he cups Blaine’s face. He turns Blaine’s face towards his and Blaine cannot lie.

“I’m glad to hear I at least had a purpose, but who am I really?” Blaine laments, “I am nothing more than a background character in my brother’s story. Do I have a personality beyond that? Do I have dreams, aspirations, a Passion? Has B.D. Dalton ever thought about those things?”

“… I’m sorry,” is all that Kurt says, which means no. No. Apart from Blaine’s role, B.D. Dalton didn’t put any thought into him. Is that why he’s so adrift in life?

Back when Blaine was in denial about The Cooper Chronicles, he could pretend that it wasn’t so. But now he knows it’s real.

Blaine pushes Kurt’s hand from his face.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Blaine-”

Kurt reaches for him, but Blaine moves away. He gets off the bed and makes his way to the bathroom.

“Not now, please. I- I need time to think.”

“Of course,” Kurt says quietly, “Good night.”

“Good night, Kurt.”