CHAPTER 7

The next roommate crisis arose the following week when the first real heat wave of the summer hit.  Neither Blaine nor Kurt were naturally morning people, but they were able to be functional in the morning when work or school required it.  However, if only one had to be up early, they usually let the other sleep.  Kurt was already at work when Blaine awoke, sweating, to find all the windows open to the sticky heat.  He closed all the windows and turned on all the air conditioners, which had been largely unnecessary during the mostly mild spring weather they'd had up till then.  When Kurt arrived home, he opened all the windows and turned off the air conditioners, then went to bed.  Blaine came home after his gig and closed the windows, turning on the air conditioners.  Kurt awoke freezing the next morning.  It resulted in their first real fight since getting back together.  Kurt woke Blaine up yelling about the cost of running the air conditioners and how uncomfortably cold it was.  Blaine countered that it was perfectly comfortable, they'd manage the money somehow (which Kurt knew meant asking Blaine's parents for more money if necessary), his instruments needed climate control to stay in good condition, and they could be stolen if the windows were left unlocked, never mind open.  Kurt pointed out they were on the fifth floor, and Blaine pointed out there was a fire escape a determined thief could use to climb up as well as down.  Kurt insisted no thief would be looking for such things in a building populated almost entirely by students.  Blaine countered that a large percentage of the students living in the building were music students, and many of the others were arts students who played something in addition to doing whatever they were majoring in, and there were constantly people coming and going with instruments, so it wouldn't be a stretch for a thief to think he could find valuable instruments in the building.  They went back and forth this way until Kurt had to leave for work.  He arrived home to find a note that said the air conditioning was non-negotiable, both due to theft concerns and instrument condition, but that they could work something out on temperature.  Kurt stayed up to talk to Blaine, and eventually they arrived at compromise.  The temperature would not be allowed to stray from a set agreed-upon range, windows would be open only if the outside temperature was within the agreed upon range and it wasn't raining, and only if someone was home; Kurt would dress in layers until he was comfortable and use more blankets at night, while Blaine would wear less and sleep with only the sheet on his side of the bed.  Personally Kurt felt he came out ahead on that one, since he basically got Blaine to agree to be half naked while at home during the summer.  It was just one of many adjustments for both of them.

* * *

Later the same week, Santana called, asking the address so she could see the new place and bring them a housewarming gift.  The gift turned out to be “feminine influence” in the form of herself:  she arrived suitcase and pillow in tow, announcing that she was moving in.  “Turns out the kid gets your old room, even though he doesn't pay rent and isn't even counted in the rent calculation, and now that you're gone Rachel expects me to be available to babysit twenty-four seven.  I had to cancel a date because she just left him with me without asking, and I have no idea where Finn was,” she explained, “and another time I picked up an extra shift so I was home later than expected.  She hadn't asked me to watch him, but started screaming at me for not being there to do it the minute I walked in.”

As much as Kurt was loving living with just Blaine, the rent did make him nervous:  it was over a thousand dollars each month for each of them.  And he couldn't help but sympathize with her plight living with Rachel.  As much as he liked her, he was becoming increasingly aware that Rachel wasn't really “mother” material.  He excused himself and grabbed Blaine's hand, walking into their bedroom to talk.  “I know we said it would just be us, Baby, but I really feel sorry for her.  She didn't have a baby, but she's more responsible with him than Rachel is.  And she has to be, she has to plan her life around him, as long as she lives there, just like I did.  Until they live alone, Rachel and Finn aren't going to grow up and take responsibility for Stephen.  Santana should get to have this time without worrying about a baby, just like we do.  And I have to admit, as a roommate, she's not any worse than Rachel.  She'll probably be better here, since she'll have her own room.  But if you say no, that's it, we'll tell her no; it's up to you.”

Sighing, Blaine said, “I was really enjoying it being just us.  But I get it, and you're right.  She can stay, at least for a while.  On the other hand, I'm hoping she finds someplace, or someone, else, preferably sooner rather than later.” 

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, and it was then Blaine realized his suspicions were correct:  although he had never mentioned money, he was still worried about it.  Blaine wished Kurt could just relax and let it go.  He had plenty of money.  His parents accepted him, and they had grown to like Kurt.  After the near tragedy at his first high school, they were just thrilled he had fallen in love with someone as kind and gentle as Kurt, that the feeling was mutual, and they were in a place where they faced much less resistance than they had encountered in Ohio.  They would make sure he was fine financially, and as long as they were together, that extended to Kurt as well.

They returned to the living room to tell Santana the news.  “Great!  We're roomies!”  She exclaimed, following that with, “By the way, a couple of guys who live in the building in Bushwick have a truck; they're coming this afternoon to deliver the bed.  Since you left it, I took your old one.”  The two men laughed at how confident she'd been that she would be allowed to stay. 

They moved Blaine's instruments, which had gradually increased in number since moving to New York.  He'd gotten a new electric guitar for Christmas, and his parents had brought one or two instruments up on each trip to visit, so the collection now included five guitars in addition to the one he'd brought the first time, an electric piano and an electric keyboard, and an extra violin, plus the ones he'd initially brought to college.  Kurt was just glad the drum kit was still in Ohio; if it was there, they'd probably have to sleep with it.  A few moved into their bedroom, the rest to the living room.  Since they were now in shared space, Santana received a lecture on caring for them, including air conditioner use.  She responded with an annoyed, “Jeez, Hobbit, do you have enough?”  Her smile, however, betrayed the fact that she was glad to be there.

* * *

The three quickly fell into a routine of summer classes and odd working hours.  They learned each other's quirks and preferences, and where each would and would not compromise.  It ended up being much more comfortable with Santana there than Blaine had feared.  As she had already lived with Kurt, she knew what she could and could not get away with, and Kurt was far pickier than he was, so she really didn't bother him.  The rare occasions when all three of them were both at home and conscious usually found Kurt and Blaine snuggled together on the couch, with Santana draped over Kurt's easy chair, while all three studied or worked on classwork.  It was comfortable and domestic.

* * *

Outside of her own room, Santana had no plans or desires for furniture or decoration.  She was happy to leave all that to the boys.  Kurt and Blaine gradually filled in the items on Kurt's list, adding decorating touches as they went when they were able.  Blaine also discovered that there were areas where Kurt absolutely would not compromise, and oddly enough, furniture turned out to be one of them.

“No, absolutely not!”  Kurt insisted.

“But why?”  Blaine wanted to know.  “They're cheap and functional, and practically a rite of passage.  Name one person you've ever known who's gone to college and hasn't had a set of shelves made out of cinder blocks and one-by-twelves.”

“Me,” Kurt responded flatly.  “Never had them, never will.  We are buying proper book shelves.”

Really, Blaine didn't care.  He was just trying to find something that would work that wouldn't cause Kurt to worry about money.  Kurt had his quirks.  He would shop antique stores, flea markets, and street fairs for good deals; he would refinish and reupholster things himself, practically rebuilding them from the ground up to make them truly unique, make them fit his sense of style, or simply make them serviceable again.  However, apparently the tried and true college student bookcase solution so offended his sensibilities that it was out of the question, no matter how much he was concerned about money.  It was the last item on the list, and they weren't even really looking for pretty, just sturdy and cheap, but that particular combination was proving hard to find.  Blaine was sick of stacking books on the floor, and he knew the disorder was bothering Kurt, so he quietly went to a furniture store, laid down a credit card, and arranged for delivery.  He'd deal with Kurt's protests later.

* * *

Near the end of summer, they were awoken by Santana yelling into her phone, “Calm down, Brit!  I can't understand what you're saying when you're crying this hard.”  The boys wandered sleepily across the hall into Santana's room to find out what was going on.  Listening to only Santana's end of the conversation didn't fill in many blanks.  They figured out only that Brittany was upset about something, and that Santana told her to come to New York and they'd figure everything out.  The boys looked at each other, wondering if they were getting a new roommate.

After she hung up, Santana explained.  Not surprisingly, Brittany had flunked out of MIT after one semester, even on the specialized study program, once the powers that be figured out her random doodling was just that, and any patterns were pure coincidence.  She had returned home to Ohio and gotten a job as a waitress at Breadstix, where being pretty and friendly seemed to count more than efficiency or accuracy, luckily for her.  Sam was still living there, in the apartment over the Hummel's garage at the house, while attending community college and working for Burt part-time.  He'd asked Brittany out, and they'd begun dating again.  However, he talked constantly about transferring to Ohio State, where Mercedes was attending classes.  He talked to Mercedes on the phone all the time, and they texted nearly nonstop.  Somehow, Brittany had finally figured out that Sam was still in love with Mercedes, and that was why he wanted to transfer:  to be with her.  Now Brittany was devastated.

 “Are you getting back together?” Kurt asked quietly.

“I don't know,” Santana answered honestly.  “I do know it's over between her and Sam, for good this time, I think.  And I'm not seeing anyone, so maybe.  I don't know if she wants to, I don't know if there's still anything there even if she does.”

“If you're both open to it, it's worth at least exploring, seeing if there's something still between you.  Trust me on this,” Blaine told her softly, patting her shoulder as he got up to follow Kurt, returning to their room.

Brittany arrived a few days later.  She and Santana decided she should stay in New York for a while.  The two were dating again within a week, and soon, it was as if they'd never been apart.  Santana helped her get a job as a waitress, but restaurant patrons in New York weren't as forgiving as those in Ohio, and she was quickly fired.  After that, Santana, Blaine, Kurt and Rachel all checked with every contact they knew, focusing on what Brittany did best:  dance.  Eventually, they were able to find her jobs teaching dance in a studio and at a community center, where she excelled.

A couple of months after Brittany arrived, Santana sent Kurt and Blaine each a text:  We all need to talk.  Are you available for dinner tomorrow?  My treat.

It took a bit of negotiation to clear their schedules and get someone to cover for them in classes and at work, but they both managed to clear their schedules.  They let her know, and she told them to be at home at six the next evening.

Shortly after six, Brittany and Santana walked into the apartment carrying take-out bags from a local Italian restaurant.  The restaurant had provided paper plates and plastic flatware, because Santana told them it was for a picnic.  She insisted on using them so she wouldn't have to do dishes.  Soon they were all seated at the table, Kurt praying the sauce didn't seep through the plates to his newly refinished table-top.  “What gives, Santana?”  He demanded, more than a little annoyed.  He was going to have to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the restaurant in exchange for this one night, and he already had shifts at the bar scheduled for late evening, which meant he was going to have to give up seeing Blaine perform and decide between studying and sleeping.

Santana smiled, reached over, and took Brittany's right hand.  Her left rested in her lap.  “Well,” she began slowly, “We wanted to tell you we're going to move out at the first of the year.  We're going to find our own place.  You've been great roommates, but after all, a married couple should have their own place, not live with roommates.”

Kurt's jaw dropped; he was speechless.  Blaine recovered a little quicker.  “Wait, what?  You got married?”

“Not yet,” Santana clarified.  “But we're engaged.”  Brittany held up her left hand, displaying a thin gold band with a tiny diamond.  “We're going to get married next May, right after the end of the semester.  Oh, and I'm starting at NYU in the spring.  Most of my credits from Kentucky will transfer, and all of my community college hours, so I'll be about half way through my sophomore year.”

Congratulations were exchanged.

That night, while getting ready for bed, Kurt was unusually quiet.  “What's wrong?” Blaine asked, coming up behind him and putting his arms around Kurt's waist.

“Nothing.  They just seem so young to be getting married, and they just got back together.  It seems so fast,” Kurt replied.

“Yeah, but I don't think they ever stopped loving each other,” Blaine said.

“Did we?”  Kurt asked.

Blaine was quiet for a moment before saying softly, “I don't think so, not really.  I think that's why what we did to each other hurt so much.  If we hadn't still loved each other, we wouldn't have been able to hurt each other the way we did.”

“Why is it so much easier for them than it was for us?”  Kurt mused sadly.

“I don't know.  Maybe because for them, the main problem was distance.  Now they're together again, so the problem is gone.  For us, the problem started as distance, but then that led to another problem, which led to others.  So even once we were geographically close again, we still had those other issues standing in our way.”  Blaine said.  “But we've worked past them, and we're together again.”

“Mmm.  Have we?   Gotten past them?”  Kurt wanted to know.

“Yeah, we have,” Blaine affirmed, pulling Kurt to the bed with him.  Kurt remained quiet and pensive until they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.