So, the three chapters have become four. I know that I am unable to keep it short, so why am I surprised? I’ve now set the amount of chapters to 4 and since I’ve now put it in the AO3 information, I hope I have sort of made a contract with myself.

This chapter is longer than the first one and it’s actually fully Kurt’s POV, which was also unplanned. Ah, we’ll see where this fic will take me.

Added notes 2022: lol it's fun to read this back. Weird to think I planned 3 chapters once.

Adam nods. “Did he finally show up?”

“Yes, his tickets were for today’s show!” Kurt says, “He’s really cool. He likes musicals a lot. Oh, I was mistaken about the situation between him and his roommate, though. They’re not dating, they’re just friends.”

“Really? You made it sound like they were head over heels in love,” Adam says.

“I know right? But the way he spoke about his friend is the same way I speak about you: lots of love and adoration. Obviously, I jumped on the romantic love bandwagon.”

“He sounds like a cool guy,” Adam says, “Any guy who’s so open and loving about his friends is a great guy in my book.”

“Well, this time I actually got his number, so I think there’s a new friendship blossoming,” Kurt says. Then he yawns. Today was a long day and he’s gotten home late.

Adam yawns as well. “Oh, look at us.”

“We’re like an old married couple,” Kurt says, “Let’s go to sleep, old man.”

They truly are like an old married couple. All their friends say so as well.

“Yes, darling!”

When they’ve done their evening routines and Kurt’s in bed, he decides to text Blaine. He hasn’t had the time yet.

> Hey Blaine, it’s Kurt. It was nice seeing you again!

Kurt puts his phone away and he goes to sleep.

When he wakes up, he sees that Blaine has replied.

They don’t stop texting. Through the entire week, the sound of Kurt’s phone makes Kurt instantly happy. He’s put a special notification sound for Blaine’s messages, so that he knows it’s him.

Others have noticed, obviously.

Adam is just happy that he’s made a friend, especially now that Elliott and Dani are busy with the band.

Kitty teases him about having a man on the side.

Rachel is absolutely delighted to hear that Kurt has found Blaine again.

Everyone gets to meet Blaine and Wes during the opening of The Mink Coat. Rachel also invites them to the afterparty. Wes and Adam hit it off right away. Kitty interrogates both of them. Kurt spends most of the afterparty at Blaine’s side.

After that, Blaine and Wes ease their way into the group of friends. Kurt and Blaine become closer and closer.

There’s just something about Blaine that makes Kurt want to spend time with him.

Their closeness does not go unnoticed.

Two months after they exchanged numbers, Kitty is the first to comment on it. Kurt and Kitty are at JFK, waiting for Roderick to arrive. He’s finally moving to the city. Kitty and Roderick have been doing long-distance for over a year now and Roderick’s moving into Kitty’s apartment. Everyone’s very excited. Kurt’s spoken to Roderick before, but he is also glad to get to know him better.

Whilst they’re waiting at the gate, Kurt keeps texting Blaine.

Kitty is giving him a side-eye and Kurt notices.

“Something wrong, Kit-Kat?” Kurt asks while still looking at your phone.

“Oh, hon, I’m just freaking out cause the love of my life is finally going to be here full-time and the person who’s supposed to ground me is glued to his phone,” Kitty laments.

“You’ll be fine,” Kurt says absently as he types a response to Blaine’s latest text, “You’ve been together for a while now.”

Suddenly, Kurt’s hands are empty and Kitty is holding his phone. She has a frown on her face and she waves in her free hand in front of Kurt’s face. “Earth to Kurt. My boyfriend is moving to the city. This is a big fucking deal!”

“I’m just texting Blaine,” Kurt says while trying to reach for his phone. Unfortunately, Kitty’s very flexible, since the Cheerio years have paid off, so she dodges his grip easily. “Kit-Kat! Kitty!”

“You’re always texting Blaine,” Kitty says angrily, “That’s all you’ve done for the past two months. Every time we hang out, you’re on your phone. And I’m happy for you. You’ve clearly made a friend and I’m not even jealous of the epic bromance that you two have-”

“You sound like Sam.”

“Do not interrupt me. All I’m saying is that I need you right now. I need you, Kurt. I’ve been so freaked out about this day for ages and now it’s finally here and I need one of my best friends to be there for me, but you’re not!”

Kurt is silent. He feels like he’s been smacked on the head. Kitty is totally right.

“Shit, Kit, I’m so-”

The sound of Kurt’s phone interrupts him. Both Kurt and Kitty look at the phone.

“Can I-”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Kurt Hummel!”

“I’m gonna text him that I’m busy,” Kurt says, “Really. If you don’t believe me, then you can text him that I’m busy!”

“Alright,” Kitty says, but she sounds strained. Kurt has really upset her. She unlocks Kurt’s phone, since she knows the password, and she types rapidly. She shows the screen to Kurt.

> Hey Blaine! This is Kitty. I’ve taken Kurt’s phone because I am freaking out cause 😍😍 Roderick 😍😍 is arriving soon and I need Kurt to scream to! Love you, babe 😘❤️

“Sure, send that,” Kurt says, “The over usage of the hearts is a bit much, though.”

The reply is quick. Blaine was probably waiting at his phone. Kurt does that too.

> THAT WAS TODAY??? KITTY OH MY GOD! Yes, yes, obvs, ignore me. Just don’t destroy Kurt’s ears.

Kurt wants to reply, but Kitty is not giving his phone back. She types more. She first sends a message full of heart emojis to piss Kurt off and then she writes:

> No promises, Blaine 😉😉😉. I’m super excited!!!

> I bet. Can’t wait to meet the mysterious Roderick. Have fun!

“There,” Kitty says and she hands the phone back to Kurt, “Turn off the volume. He’s just landed and I def need to scream.”

Kurt puts his phone in his pocket and he fully focuses on Kitty and Roderick.

When Roderick finally is here, Kitty screams loudly, causing some other passengers to look alarmed, and she throws herself on him. They kiss passionately and Kurt uses Kitty’s phone to film it, since she requested it.

The kiss goes on for a good thirty seconds and Kurt pretends to gag. Then, they hug.

“You’re here!” Kitty says happily, “You’re finally here!”

“I’m here, sweetie,” Roderick says back and he pulls her closer.

Kurt walks around them in circles, he captures every moment. He wishes he could send it to Blaine, but he’s promised Kitty to ignore Blaine for now.

Kitty looks in the camera and laughs. “Okay, let’s go. Time to rock Roderick’s world!”

Santana is next. It’s been a couple of weeks since Roderick moved to the city.

Santana is back in New York with Mercedes and Brittany. They’ve been touring almost non-stop since the beginning of the year, since Mercedes is having her first national tour. Of course, she has a stop in New York and every New Directions member in the city has tickets and VIP.

Blaine couldn’t come, since he and Wes are visiting friends in Florida.

Before the show, they’re all hanging out in Mercedes’s dressing room. She looks radiant and everyone is incredibly proud of her. Her tour with Beyoncé has opened many doors for her. Kurt is so proud of her and he keeps texting Blaine to keep him up to date.

> It’s her first NYC show!!! 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌

> Damn, I still cannot believe you’re friends with Mercedes Jones. My friend Thad is obsessed with her. He’s seen her in LA with his gf Emily. Unfortunately, VIP tickets were already sold out 😪 😪 😪

> I can ask her to sign something.

Just say the word and I will go after it. I can let her sign a poster?

> 😱 😱 😱 😱 😱 😱

OH MY GOD, THAD WOULD FREAK TF OUT!!!

> Lemme handle it. What’s his full name?

> Thaddeus Edward Armando Christian Harwood-von Wyck

but y’know Thad Hardwood is fine.

Kurt laughs out loud when he reads that. Santana’s been sitting next to him the entire time. She’s also on her phone, but now she looks up to give him a weird look.

“What’s so good?” she asks.

“Oh, just texting,” Kurt answers absently.

> I think it’s very sweet that you know the full names of your friends. What’s Wes’s?

> Wesley Xiùlán Montgomery

> And yours???

> Blaine Devon Anderson. You?

> Kurt Elizabeth Hummel

> Elizabeth? After your mother?

> Yup 😊

When Kurt looks up, he sees that Santana’s looking at him with a fond look on her face.

“Look at you, Hummel, all happy and smiling. It’s disgusting,” she says.

“My, my, my, I can’t believe that I’ve got the pleasure to see Santana’s soft side.”

Santana sighs happily. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for seeing my friends happy. Say hi to Adam for me.”

“Will do when I see him at the party,” Kurt says.

Santana looks confused.

“You mean, you’re not texting him?”

Now, Kurt’s also confused.

“N-No? What- Did you think I was texting Adam?”

Santana looks like a deer caught in headlines.

“Just, the smiling, and you look so happy and smitten,” Santana answers, “I thought… Wait a second!”

She looks around to see if no one’s listening, but Roderick and Rachel are talking to Mercedes, and Brittany is teaching Kitty and Jesse some of the dance moves. No one pays attention to Kurt and Santana.

Then she leans in closer and says: “You aren’t cheating on Adam, are you?”

“What, no!” Kurt yells.

Some others now look at them, but Santana waves her hand and says: “Nothing special here, guys, just Hummel being gay.”

“Santana, you are gay,” Rachel says.

“I know, that’s why I know it.”

That seems to satisfy everyone else, so they continue with their conversations and dance lessons.

Santana still looks dead serious. “You’re sure? I mean, like, no judgement here. You’re probably the only glee kid who hasn’t cheated on someone.”

“Cheating still deserves judgement, Santana,” Kurt points out, “And no, I’m not cheating on Adam. I don’t have someone on the side. Blaine’s just a friend.”

“Blaine, huh? I’ve heard of that guy,” Santana says, “Rachel can’t shut up about his talent.”

“Well, he is talented,” Kurt says and he feels warm all over.

Santana raises an eyebrow. “You sure you’re not cheating on Adam?”

“Santana, what- no, this is ridiculous! I’d never do that to Adam. I love him.”

“I believe you when you say you love him,” Santana says quietly, “And I believe you when you say you and Blaine are just friends, but I also know what I saw.”

Before Kurt can argue back, Santana gets up. She pats him on the shoulder and she goes to help Brittany with the impromptu dance lessons.

Kurt looks back on his phone. He’d already set in on silent in preparation for the show and now he sees that he’s missed some messages from Blaine.

> This is still so fucking amazing tho cause like, Thad’s birthday is super soon.

It must be fate or sth

Okay I told Wes and he’s super stoked about it too.

I’m not gonna tell David and Trent yet cause idk if it will all work out but if it does, then you’re an absolute saint and I will love you forever. And so will Thad, probably.

Okay so if it’s not too much to ask, can you let Mercedes sign a poster and sth else like a tote bag??? Then Wes can also give signed merch as a gift

If this all works out then I’m gonna ask Em to film it

[Blaine has sent a photo]

Selfie time!!! It’s us, David, Trent and his bf Jamal!

Enjoy the show Kurt 🤩 🤩 🤩

After the show, everyone goes to Rachel and Jesse’s place to party. Adam, Elliott and Elliott’s new boyfriend Luke also show up. Only Dani is missing, but she's still hung up on Santana. It’s a lot of fun. Mercedes, Brittany and Santana have the next day off, so they can party.

Kurt manages to let Mercedes sign a poster, a CD, a tote bag, a keychain, a rubber bracelet and a t-shirt. Only the caps were sold out, otherwise Mercedes would’ve signed that as well.

When Kurt sends a photo of all the signed merch to Blaine, Blaine immediately calls him so that he and his friends can thank Mercedes over the phone.

“Ms. Jones, this is incredible!” Wes yells excitedly.

“We owe you big, big time!” the guy who’s introduced himself as Trent says loudly.

“Thad has been your fan since day one,” the other unknown man, David, says happily, “His mom bought a CD on a parking lot one day and he gave it to Thad. Next thing he knows, he’s absolutely in love with your voice!”

Mercedes blushes. The men on the other side of the line can’t see it, obviously, so Mercedes says: “I only sold three CDs that day. One by Kayne’s cleaning lady and apparently one by Thad’s mom. I wonder who has the third.”

“Thad cherishes his exclusive CD with his whole heart,” Blaine says, “I should tell him that he has one of the only three CDs in the world.”

“Ms. Jones, truly, if there’s anything we can do, say the word. We’re very grateful to get all of this for free,” Wes says.

Mercedes makes it clear that everyone is free. Hearing that Thad’s been a fan since day one has given her a big confidence boost. After some more flailing, Kurt and Blaine are the only ones talking. Everyone’s partying, but Kurt’s talking to Blaine in the corner.

After a full hour, Trent calls Blaine for a game of trivia and they end the call.

Santana sees that as the time to sneak up on him.

“You sure you’re not cheating?” Santana asks.

“What the fuck, Santana?” Kurt hisses. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Adam watching them.

“Hummel, your boyfriend is right there and instead of making out with him, you’ve been talking to your ‘just friends’ Blaine for an entire hour,” Santana snaps.

“Lower your fucking voice,” Kurt whispers, “I am not cheating on Adam and I don’t want him to think that I am, since I am not. You’re being dramatic, Santana.”

Santana looks at Kurt. Her stare still makes Kurt squirm.

“You really- Damn, Hummel, you really have no clue what is going on, do you?” she eventually says, “So let auntie Snix lay it down for you. I haven’t seen you and Adam in a shit long time, cause tour is kicking my ass. When we have our tearful reunion, the first thing you do is moan about how your new bestie cannot be here. Then, we all chill in the VIP section and you are smiling and blushing while texting him. Then, when Adam gets here, you ignore him so you can speak to Blaine. Doesn’t that sound a bit suspicious?”

“Uh…”

“Adam’s been looking sad all damn night,” Santana says, “I don’t see Adam as the jealous and possessive type, but honestly, if he gets moody and jealous over this then that is totally valid.”

Kurt looks around. Adam’s gone.

“Oh, shit, I have to find Adam.”

“Yeah, you should.”

Without a second thought, Kurt walks away from Santana. He’s looking around for Adam. Where did he go?

He pulls out his phone and he sends:

> Miss you, where you at???

To his horror, Blaine replies.

> Uh… Florida?

He’s so used to texting Blaine, that he’s automatically sent it to Blaine.

> Shit. That was meant for Adam. 😅😅😅 I kinda lost him during this afterparty there are a lot of people here

> I hope you find him. Have a nice night, Kurt

Kurt sends the message again and this time, he doubles checks to make sure that Adam’s gotten it. Adam replies that he’s at the bar, since Rachel and Jesse decided to turn some kitchen counters into a makeshift bar.

Adam is indeed standing at ‘the bar’ and he looks miserable. Kurt hates that he did that.

Was Santana right? Did it look like he was cheating? Kurt hasn’t noticed anything from Adam, but honestly, he hasn’t been paying too much attention to Adam. He needs to fix that.

Kurt puts a big smile on his face and when Adam sees it, he smiles back. The rest of the evening is a lot of fun and Kurt and Adam domineer the karaoke machine. Of course, Rachel and Jesse have a karaoke machine.

But Santana’s words have struck a chord. Afterwards, Kurt pays more attention to Adam and he’s sad to find out that Santana’s right. Months pass and it seems to get worse.

Every time Blaine gets mentioned, Adam gets this weird look on his face. When Blaine comes over to their apartment, Adam makes sure that he has other plans. When they’re hanging out with friends and Kurt and Blaine pair off, he sees Adam looking.

But Adam never says anything.

Santana must’ve gotten it wrong. She must have. Kurt believes it.

Until one day it goes wrong.

Kurt’s about to leave the theatre to go to the bar with his co-stars. He asks Blaine to come along. Blaine doesn’t drink alcohol, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t go out for drinks. It was a terrible show, and Kurt needs to relax and unwind a bit. The cast occasionally needs to let loose and today is one of those days.

He texts Adam that he’s going out with Blaine and that Adam shouldn’t wait up, and off he goes.

No reaction. That’s odd, but Kurt shrugs it away.

The evening is nice and Kurt gets home around 1am. To his surprise, Adam is still awake. He’s in bed reading.

When they look each other, Adam looks very unhappy.

“Kurt, I think we need to talk about Blaine,” Adam says and he puts his book away.

“What’s with him?” Kurt asks.

“Well, you spend an awful lot of time with him,” Adam says and Kurt nods.

“Obviously, he’s my friend. Best friend, maybe. Are you jealous?” Kurt asks, confused. Adam’s never been jealous of Kurt spending time with a friend. Sure, Kurt’s seen Adam look more annoyed than before when Blaine’s around, but that is up to Adam. If Adam wants to be mad for no reason, then let him.

Adam looks stricken. “I know that this is going to make me sound bad, but yes.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kurt rolls his eyes and he turns around to walk away. He’s had a great night after all, but now he’s tired and he wants to get ready for bed. Adam didn’t even have to stay up, but he did with the intention of saying this.

Adam crawls out of bed. “No Kurt, don’t do that. Don’t walk away.”

“There’s nothing to walk away from,” Kurt says on his way to the bathroom.

“Let me just explain-”

“Explain what? There’s nothing to explain,” Kurt turns around to face Adam. Can this conversation end? He gets a bit annoyed. “Adam, please.”

“Again, Kurt, let me explain,” Adam says, but Kurt narrows his eyes.

“You’ve never acted like this before,” Kurt hisses and he crosses his arms. He’s not in the mood for this. He’s tired and he just wants to crawl into bed, but now his boyfriend is talking nonsense. “I hang out with Blaine. So? I also hang out a lot with Rachel and Kitty and Elliott. Are you jealous of them too? No!”

“That’s different!” Adam shouts back. He seems to have lost his cool. “That is a completely different situation!”

“How so?” Kurt shouts. He rubs his temples. He really, really is not in the mood for this.

“Because they are not in love with you!” Adam yells out.

Kurt gapes at him.

Adam continues his rant.

“They are not in love with you, Kurt! That is the difference. Can’t you see that he’s trying to get close to you because he loves you? And sure, I trust you, but I barely know him and I don't know what he is thinking! But Blaine is hopelessly in love with you!”

Kurt shakes his head.

No.

No, this cannot be right. Blaine is a friend, nothing more.

“God, you really do believe it, don’t you?” Adam asks, perplexed, “You really believe that Blaine is hoping to just be friends.”

Kurt nods. Why are they fighting over this?

“Kurt, sweetheart, I am not liking this any more than you do,” Adam says seriously, “And I trust you. That’s why I never said anything about it, because I never believed that you would cheat on me, but this also really sucks for me. You gotta see what I’ve been seeing!”

What is Adam seeing? That’s what Kurt wonders. Kurt and Blaine hang out a lot and that’s it. And sure, when they’re in group settings, they often gravitate towards each other. And okay, when they’re not in the same place, they text a lot.

But Kurt texts Kitty a lot too. That’s the same thing. Right?

“Think about it, Kurt,” Adam says. He no longer sounds mad, but he just sounds desperate, “He’s been in the city for almost one and a half year. He’s gotten to know people. He still spends every free day with you.”

“Blaine- he’s not in love with me,” Kurt says, but now that he’s actually listened to Adam, it starts to make sense.

Blaine is always there. Kurt never minded, because he always wants Blaine to be there, but Blaine never refuses. He drops everything to be there if needed. When Blaine’s super hot brother visited him in the city, Kurt was the only one who got to meet him. Okay, Adam was there too, but that’s because Kurt was there. Blaine didn’t introduce Cooper to his other new friends. Blaine is always replying fast to texts, as if he’s waiting for them. Blaine shares music with him. Not even Wes gets to hear what he’s working on.

And sometimes, there’s a lingering look. Kurt catches those looks, but he never really took the time to dissect what those looks mean.

Until now.

“Blaine is not in love with me,” Kurt says again, but Adam raises an eyebrow at the tone. Adam cocks his head and he looks Kurt straight in the eyes.

“You still think so?”

“He- he can’t be,” Kurt says, but his voice becomes more unsure. Kurt shakes his head, but at this point it’s to convince himself, not Adam. After all, Adam keeps staring at him. Desperately, he cries out: “Adam, Blaine can’t be in love with me. He’s basically my best friend.”

Adam sighs and he pulls Kurt close. Kurt’s shaking in his arms. He does not want this to make sense. But it does. Kurt tries to think back and even though he’s tired, he tries to analyse Blaine’s actions and words.

“Oh God, you’re right,” Kurt says shakingly.

“I’m sorry,” Adam says quietly, “I did not mean to upset you, but it’s been upsetting me for a long time. I needed to speak up.”

Kurt nods and he buries his face in Adam’s chest.

“I love you,” Kurt says, “I love you and only you.”

“Well, if you had wanted Blaine to fall in love with you, then you wouldn’t be shaking in my arms,” Adam deadpans, which makes Kurt snort.

“… Yeah.”

“It was obvious to me, though,” Adam says sadly, “I expected that you didn’t know, but I wasn’t sure and it was eating me up. I needed to know. I needed you to know about this.”

Adam is right. Now that Kurt’s thinking about it, it really seems obvious.

“Do you think others know?” Kurt asks him.

Adam nods. “Kurt, I think you just didn’t want to see the truth.”

“… Then what happens now?” Kurt asks, “I love you and I am with you. And I am still friends with Blaine and I enjoy being friends with Blaine, but if it makes you uncomfortable-”

“Kurt, shhhh,” Adam says and he deepens the embrace, “I don’t- I know you’re friends. I don’t want to change that. That’s another reason why I never said anything before now, because I didn’t want you to think that I want you to stop being friends, but I also kind of hoped that Blaine’s crush would ebb away.”

“But it hasn’t,” Kurt concludes.

“It hasn’t.”

“… How long have you known?”

Adam frowns. He thinks about it for a while.

“Honestly, I think it was always there,” Adam says sadly, “Again, I don’t want to, like, forbid you from seeing him, but now that you know, I hope you understand my position. And I hope you understand why Blaine is so close.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, no, you did nothing wrong,” Adam says, “And honestly, neither did Blaine. This just sucks.”

Kurt nods. “You know that I only have eyes for you.”

After a small beat of silence, Adam says: “Of course.”

Kurt did not like that small moment of silence, but he’s too exhausted to care. He tells Adam that he wants to sleep, so Adam goes back to the bedroom and Kurt goes to the bathroom to do his evening skin routine.

He watches himself in the mirror and he grapples the sink. He lets out a deep breath.

Should he have known? It is so obvious now that’s in the open. And if Adam believes that others might’ve noticed too, then why didn’t he?

God, people have told him, haven’t they? Santana even accused him of cheating. Santana was right and afterwards, Kurt paid some more attention, but even with the evidence right in front of his face, he refused to see it.

So, should this have been such a surprise? And why is Kurt’s reaction so emotional? He’s had guys crush on him before.

But this is Blaine. Adam’s right. That is the difference.

When Kurt crawls into bed, Adam’s already asleep with his back turned towards him.

What do you do when you realise that one of your closest friends is in love with you?

You set them up with someone else.

Kurt’s co-star Jude is very sweet and very single. Blaine and Jude seemed to hit it off during that night at the bar. He’s the perfect guy for Blaine. Kurt knows what he has to do.