He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d taken Tina’s advice. Maybe it was the fact that he’d almost slammed to his knees when Blaine had gotten up at the end of the meeting. Maybe it was the undeniable knowledge that if Blaine put his hands on him, Kurt wouldn’t push them away, or that Kurt couldn’t seem to bring himself to disobey a direct order. “Call me Blaine. And forgive me.”

He remembered what Carol had told him, dropping her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

“Wait until you find your match. Y’know- that one dom. It feels…” She had sighed blissfully. “It felt sort of like… like knowing that every burden that you have is taken off your shoulders, and all that’s left is someone who loves you, and makes you feel so damn good-”

That was around where he’d tuned out, because he was pretty sure Carol was going to extol his father’s kink prowess.

It sounded nice, but he was positive it didn’t work that way- he didn’t want a dom. He didn’t want to be suffocated, didn’t want anyone to know him more than he knew himself- didn’t want anyone to have the same opportunities that Max did.

He wished, he thought, between naps and pleasuring himself- the world didn’t work this way. He wished that he could just find a nice boy and settle down. Someone who loved him and didn’t expect him to be…

He sighed, and thrust the thought away. This was idle daydreaming.

“Don’t wish. Don’t start. Wishing only wounds the heart…”

***

Wednesday dawned ominous. Kurt had arranged for the limo to pick him up outside of his building at eight that morning, and as he stood out there with his umbrella, the clouds rolling over the city, feeling the chill of the morning, his heart slammed in his chest. He was terrified that the car would pull up and Maxwell would come out at the same time, hurling insults and lewd implications while Blaine waited in the car. He didn’t want Blaine to hear.

He wanted Blaine to think nice things about him.

He felt like stamping his foot at that thought.

But the limo pulled up without Maxwell appearing, and he exhaled in relief, climbing into the car and sitting on the leather seats across from a bleary, blinking Blaine Anderson.

“Why, in the name of all things holy, are we up this early to go shopping?” Blaine said in greeting. He pulled his feet up under him- he wore a flannel shirt that a lumberjack might actually have done work in, and what Kurt suspected were a pair of yoga pants.

“We are beating the crowds.” Kurt told him, taking out his leather booklet and a felt tipped pen. “And please, tell me you aren’t wearing yoga pants.” He said offhandedly, scribbling down a list in quick but neat writing.

“Aren’t they supposed to look good on everyone?” Blaine asked, still slurring slightly. And then, Kurt made a mistake.

He looked up into Blaine’s eyes.

And sure, Blaine’s curls were matted to the side of his head. And there was a bit of dried toothpaste on his cheekbone, and his eyes were only half open, and Kurt could see where the wrinkles of his pillow case were imprinted on his jaw.

But when he looked into Blaine’s eyes, all he wanted was for Blaine to think he was as beautiful as he thought Blaine was. All he wanted was to give himself to Blaine, to please him, to…

“No!” He half shouted, responding to his own train of thought. Blaine raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t think these look that bad on me.” Blaine said, chuckling slightly, and looking down at his pants. “Or do you have a blanket ban on yoga pants?”

“I’m… I’m not a morning person.” Kurt lied, feeling like crying not five minutes into their day.

“Yeah, bullshit.” Blaine laughed. “You look perfect.” He said, before curling into the fetal position and closing his eyes.

“The hell are you doing?” He asked, breathing sharply out, feeling relieved that his eyes were closed.

“I’m going to sleep.”

“You are n-not going to sleep!” He stuttered. “I mean, sorry, why-?”

“Because someone thinks my wardrobe is in such disrepair I need to get up at some ungodly hour to fix it. Just a little nap, Kurt. I’ll be more focused when we shop this way.”

“…Goodnight.” Kurt said. He needed time to think anyway. He crossed his legs and molded his back to the leather seat, the most comfortable position he could take without rumpling anything.

Tina’s advice hadn’t worked.

That hunger that he felt when he looked Blaine in the eyes was still there. That stutter whenever he tried to tell Blaine to do something. That little swoon every time he just looked at him.

Well. Fuck.

This meant that the entire shopping trip would be a little bit like walking on a tight rope with no net.
***

Apparently Blaine was a heavy sleeper.

“Blaine.”

This wasn’t working.

“Blaine!”

He was going to have to touch him.

“BLAINE.”

He didn’t want to touch him.

“BLAINE!”

He sighed, and dropped a hand onto Blaine’s shoulder, and shook him awake. He opened his eyes and smiled up at him.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“We’re here.” Kurt said, rolling his eyes at the sleepy man and moving through the door that the driver had open.

“Really? An outlet mall?” Blaine asked, clambering out of the limo. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the type.” He ducked under Kurt’s umbrella as the rain fell.

“It’s just practical. Plus, it makes you seem nice and approachable.”

“I’m not already nice and approachable?” Blaine asked, taking a large step to keep himself under the umbrella as Kurt walked away from him.

“You fish for compliments a lot.” Kurt noted a bit derisively.

“Yeah, well, I’m not catching anything, so I’m gonna keep casting.” Blaine said cheerily, following Kurt as they walked into the mall. Kurt pulled his umbrella in and tucked it into the plastic bag in his satchel and took his list back out.

“So where do we start out with the whole ‘total reinvention’ thing? Because I listened, you know. These yoga pants are my only pants.” Blaine said proudly. Kurt sighed. He didn’t know how such a damn puppy could be a dom.

“At the top.” He said, allowing him a smile. “We start at the top.”

***

“The hat is… sacrosanct.” Kurt said. “An elite few can wear hats of any style, but they are very few. Everyone else has around three hats they can be sure will flatter their face, which honestly, is a cruel twist of fate because the hat you wear will define who you are. So the challenge is to find a hat that both fits and flatters and suits you as a person.”

“…Right.” Blaine said, looking around them. There were walls and walls of hats. “I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of it like that.”

“Few people do.” Kurt said. He had meant for his tone to be lofty and cold, but it turned out amused and affectionate. He rolled his eyes and turned, grabbing the long hook lying on the wall, and turning back to Blaine. “So what’s your first instinct?”

“What?”

“P-point to a hat, Blaine. Point to one that you’d wear.”

“Ah.” He looked around and finally pointed to a newsboy. Kurt nodded and snagged it expertly with the hook, and handing it to Blaine, who put it on. Kurt pointed him to a mirror.

“Do you see why this doesn’t work?” Blaine made a face at himself.

“I can see that it doesn’t.” He said, looking faintly embarrassed. Kurt stood behind him in the mirror, gesturing to his face with his hands.

“Your features are too... too big. You have a wide jaw, your lips are r-really full, and your hair and eyes are both stand out. Having volume up top like the newsboy does distracts from that.” He said, his eyes meeting Blaine’s in the mirror, expecting Blaine to be all flirtatious, as Blaine normally was. He wasn’t.

“Wow. You’re really-” Kurt turned away and started picking hats at a warp speed. He didn’t want to hear the end of that sentence. Blaine sighed, and looked back at himself in the mirror. “…smart.” He finished, quietly, to himself.

***

“Please.”

“No.”

“Please!”

“No!”

“C’mon, Kurt-” Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled him around so that they were face to face.

“We’ve been working all day. I’ve spent every penny I’ve ever made. I’m a perfect fashion palette. Have dinner with me. A business dinner.”

And because Kurt actually couldn’t refuse Blaine when he got like this, he nodded.

Blaine smiled and didn’t drop his hand, although Kurt had shied away from the touch, instead using it as leverage to pull him toward a strip of mall with restaurants.

“Wait!” Kurt pulled his hand away, and Blaine turned around to look at him. Kurt wordlessly turned to the dolly which a friendly security guard had given them, and took a few boxes and handed them to Blaine. “I’m not going to go out with you when you’re wearing yoga pants. Put these on.” He shooed him towards the restrooms, and turned around to look at the load that they had amassed.

He was right, when he had thought earlier that this entire day was going to be like walking on tight rope without a net. He had slipped up. Called Blaine Sir. Blushed when Blaine said he had pretty eyes. Broke his own rules- things he would never say after Max, things he would never reveal, but in spite of all that…

Shopping for Blaine’s wardrobe was the most fun he’d had in years.

Most celebrities he’d worked with were doms, and all had seen his collar (He’d never hidden it as ardently as he did with Blaine) and a few assumed that he would follow any order. It was a natural thing to think- indeed, it is what would happen, if the sub were anyone else. Kurt was just an exception to the rule. And that angered people.

But somehow, Kurt knew that even if Blaine thought he was a sub, he wouldn’t give orders. He showed compassion. Fascination with what Kurt had to say. He seemed impressed at the breadth of Kurt’s knowledge, and even more so, the way he flirted wasn’t… condescending. And after a while of adjusting, Kurt forgot to worry about accidentally submitting. Which may have been why he had slipped up so much.

They had gotten everything Blaine would ever need. He would be clean cut, with an undercurrent of hipster- enough so that even if he did happen to get a little bit scruffy (Which was liable) he would still look adorable to everyone else as he did to-

Well. He would still look adorable.

Blaine came out of the bathroom just then, in jeans, a tee shirt, and a striped cardigan- and, of course, the beanie that he’d insisted on at the hat shop. Kurt couldn’t help but smile.

Oh my god. He felt him teenage self re-emerge- and once again, he thought it was all so stupid.

Blaine spread his arms in the middle of the mall and twirled. Kurt laughed and allowed himself to be pulled into a restaurant.

A waitress showed them to their table. When Blaine ordered a bottle of pinot, Kurt realized with a jolt how date-y this whole thing was. Blaine seemed to recognized the startled something in his eyes, and gave him a goofy smile and shrugged.

“Hey. This isn’t a big deal. If it was, I wouldn’t have begged so hard. Believe it or not, I have some dignity.” Kurt nodded, and looked down at his menu. “You’re warming up to me. A day or so ago, you wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to take a shot at my dignity.” Kurt laughed louder than he should have, and clapped a hand over his mouth. A couple at a table cattycorner to them looked up- moreover, the man looked up from his pasta and sent him a lewd glare. He rolled his eyes at that, and turned back to Blaine.

“I think I want something terrible for me. Macaroni and three cheese, or something.” Blaine said, having not noticed the exchange. “Be great if I no longer fit into any of those pants you picked out. Not that I did originally.”

“Blaine, we’ve been over this. That’s how they’re supposed to look.” Kurt said, not looking up at him.

“Even so, I’m pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to feel.” Blaine laughed. At that moment, a waitress appeared.

“Hi, my name is Lacy, I’ll be your server tonight. What can I get you two?”

“I’ll have the sophisticated mac and cheese.” Blaine said, laughing and pointing to him menu. Lacy smiled and nodded, and turned to Kurt.

“I’ll have the salad with seared steak.”

“One of us has to be the adult, right?” Blaine toasted the server, and she laughed with them as she went to input to order.

The meal came quickly, and the food was very well done. Blaine offered him a forkful of his cheesy noodles to Kurt, and he cringed, which had Blaine laughing and Kurt blushing a bit.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion to the left.

“I said now!” This was loud- a half shout. They both looked over at the table which belonged to the man that had glared at Kurt before. The woman he was with was taking off her blazer, practically crying. She was wearing a tank top- with lace that lay sheer over her stomach. She got up from the booth, and got on her knees on the floor between the tables and booths. Kurt’s stomach turned in sympathy. The man just continued eating. When his sub looked up at him, and saw that he wasn’t watching, she blinked, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

Kurt felt revolted, and put down his fork, closing his eyes. Blaine however, was getting up.

“Blaine?” he asked. But Blaine shook his head and strolled up to the table.

“Sir? Does there seem to be a problem here?” He asked, pulling the hem of his tee shirt down to reveal that he wore no collar, and stuffing his other hand in his pocket. The other guy looked up, and chewed slowly.

“Nothing that’s your business. Go back to pretty boy.”

“She’s crying.” Blaine said, as if expecting this to change the doms mind. As if it mattered. And Kurt gave a breathless little laugh. The man gave her a short look, and then resettled his glare on Blaine.

“Your point?”

“She’s not enjoying this!” Blaine said, as if seeing him finally. “Let her up.” He said, slowly, a bit dangerously.

“I said, mind your business.” The man said. “Or I’m pretty sure I could take you.” He got up, and shoved his shoulder. Kurt was struck by a want to get up, and put himself in front of Blaine- but it was unnecessary. The manager came over, and Kurt explained the situation quickly as Blaine shoved the man away, and thankfully, the manager pulled him away to cool off somewhere else.

He expected Blaine to come back and sit down, but instead, he was kneeling in front of the girl, who was still on the floor. He put a finger under her chin.

“What’s your name, huh?”

“S-s-sugar.” She answered, not meeting Blaine’s eye.

“No, your name, honey.”

“Chloe.” She said, sniffling. Blaine took off his sweater, and wrapped it around her. She put her arms in tentatively.

“Okay. Chloe, honey.” He said, buttoning it. “I need you to tell me something. I’m not going to be mad. No one’s going to punish you for it. Exhibitionism is a hard limit for you, isn’t it?” She nodded shortly. “Okay. You’re going to call a cab. And you are going to go home to your parent’s, and let your mother and father reclaim you, just for now, and you will go get your stuff. He can’t do that to you. You deserve better.” Blaine patted her hand. “You seem like a beautiful, natural sub, and someday you’ll find a dom who just worships you.” She nodded, and grabbed her purse, fishing her cell phone out, and showing Blaine as she dialed. “That’s a good girl.” She offered a watery smile.

“I’ll be going. Thank you.” She held her phone up to her ear, and walked out unsteadily. Blaine watched her go, making sure she wasn’t intercepted, and then sat back down to finish his mac and cheese before realizing that Kurt was staring at him.

“What?” He asked, grinning a little self-consciously.
***

Kurt was on his bed, naked, and his hands were tied to the headboard. Blaine was kneeling before him, lavishing his neck with little worships, and then pulling up to kiss him firmly.

“Do you think you deserve to come, beautiful?”

“Yes, please, I’ll be good. Please. Let me.” Kurt felt his own voice, could feel himself forming the words, but was unable to remember making a conscious decision to say them.

“Mmm. You know how much I love it when you beg me, don’t you?” Blaine gave that small chuckle that he always did, and trailed his mouth down, down, down, to envelope his cock, giving a quick, teasing suck. “You want more, darling?” He asked, teasing. “My beautiful boy needs to come? Do you need more?”

Kurt sat bolt upright in bed, feeling the phantom of Blaine’s mouth on him, yanking the hot, sticky sheets away from him, and finding no one there.

Well. Fuck.