Kurt arrived at the restaurant with a small sense of satisfaction that, for the first time in his life as a New Yorker he had managed to accurately judge the amount of time the subway system would actually take on a Saturday night. He glanced around, anxious to find Blaine; being alone in a crowded place didn’t really help his nerves and Kurt wanted to actually be able to have a conversation like a normal human being.

Two minutes later, Blaine came jogging around the corner with his bowtie wonky and a worried expression on his face. Kurt stepped out of the shadows, not even bothering to hide the relieved smile dancing around his mouth.

“Hi,” he said softly, smoothing down his vest unnecessarily.

“Hi!” Blaine replied with a grin. They stood awkwardly for a second, simply smiling at each other before Kurt plucked up the courage to speak again.

“I like your shirt,” he said, quiet enough that the compliment was almost lost amongst the dull roar of traffic. Blaine glanced down at the bottle green shirt that had become untucked in his hurry and grinned.

“Thanks, I spent ages worrying over what I could wear that wouldn’t embarrass a fabulous fashion student such as yourself,” he smiled, “But I see your outfit still far outshines mine.”

Ever the gentleman, Anderson, well done.

Kurt let out a hesitant laugh with a shake of his head before looking Blaine in the eyes once more.

“Shall we go in then?” Blaine asked, opening the door for Kurt when the other man nodded.

They were shown to their table and both sat down with a nervous glance in the other’s direction before ordering their drinks.

“Is the Cajun chicken nice here?” Kurt asked, his resolution to appear confident off to a great start in his opinion.

“I don’t know I haven’t been before. I heard from my boss that its just really nice home recipes so I presume so,” Blaine answered, scanning the menu for his go to meal. “I think I’ll have a lasagne, I can never get it how I want it and I try pretty much every other day,” he joked, eliciting a giggle from the other man.

“I take it you cook quite a bit?” Kurt asked him, peeping over the top of his menu.

“Have to,” Blaine answered, shooting his signature smile at the waitress who delivered their drinks, “Living on my own there’s only so much take-out I can manage before I get a guilty conscience.”

“Are you good?” Kurt asked shyly, the top of his head still the only thing visible from behind the menu.

“Well you seemed to think so, seeing as you came in for another slice of the cheesecake that I slaved over,” Blaine said, his cockiness causing Kurt to raise his eyebrows slightly.

“I thought you might have been taking credit for somebody else’s hard work,” he tossed back, lifting the menu higher to prepare for the reaction to his words.

Blaine chuckled slightly before answering. “Perhaps to prove you wrong I’ll have to make it under your watchful eye one day?”

“Well you seem pretty confident, maybe I should try and catch you out after all,” Kurt said, his voice barely a whisper. Blaine frowned slightly when the other man’s head ducked back behind his menu. How could anyone possibly be that shy? More to the point, why would anybody that shy even consider moving to a city where you apparently have to shout to be successful?

“Do you cook, Kurt?” he asked carefully, suddenly wary of whatever it was that caused Kurt to shrink into himself.

Kurt looked baffled for a second before nodding. “Yeah, um, my mum taught me when I was younger and I sort of developed a love for it.”

“Mother-son bonding activities?”

“They used to be.”

“Used?”

Kurt frowned at the table before darting his eyes around the little restaurant. “Well she, um, sort of, died.”

Blaine’s stomach dropped. He had gone too far, stuck his nose in where it wasn’t wanted or needed. Kurt would never acknowledge him again, and his only friend was ever going to be the little old lady that paid his wages.

“Oh, god, Kurt I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-“

“You didn’t know. Its okay,” Kurt reassured him, his soft expression more relaxed than it had been all evening. “It was a while ago, you just took me by surprise that’s all. And I don’t deal well with surprises,” he added, his eyes meeting Blaine’s for a second before slipping away again.

Blaine pursed his lips in confusion. Something about Kurt fascinated him, made him yearn to know more about him. There was something there, a truly great person who only made appearances when Kurt’s guard came down for the most fleeting of seconds, and from what Blaine had managed to see he knew he wanted to earn more of this man, in the most unobjectifying way possible of course.

“Why did it take you by surprise?” he asked gently, the look on his face intending to let Kurt know that he didn’t have to answer. But he did answer, and that was what kick started the rest of a truly fascinating evening.

“No-one ever really asked me before. Well except my family. It just wasn’t discussed.”

Blaine nodded and they settled into a silence that, while loaded, wasn’t uncomfortable. The both ordered and took sips of their drinks before settling further into their chairs.

“Kurt?” Blaine asked through the murmurs of conversation drifting from the other tables. Kurt looked panicked as he seemed to notice that there was no menu to use a shield, but gestured for Blaine to continue anyway. “I’m not going to lie and say that I asked you here with an intention any other than us becoming friends, so what do you say?”

“To what?” Kurt replied, his expression completely baffled.

“To getting to know each other. To us being friends?”

Blaine cringed as he realised that he sounded like some six-year-old child who had just handed over the prized crayon pack. “Not to sound even more pathetic than that just did,” (this earned him a tentative laugh from Kurt – another point to Anderson) “but I could really just use a nice guy who has my interests to talk with. You seem like a nice guy and we both like Vogue and coffee. Can’t get much more in common than that.”

Kurt laughed again before ducking his head. “Yes Blaine, I will be your New York friend,” he smiled, before another silence crept over them.

“I just made this awkward haven’t I?” Blaine asked, straightening his cutlery self-consciously. Kurt laughed freely and completely unguardedly before nodding his assent. They both laughed then, blushing and calming down, only to get the giggles once they caught the other’s eye again. It was the kind of laughter that doesn’t stop, that sends disapproving glares shooting at you from random passers-by, but to the people sharing the joke it really doesn’t matter, because nothing could be funnier than that moment. Apart from the ones that will inevitably come later of course. It is the kind of laughter that contains so many little inside jokes and memories that only really long term friends can share it.

In the case of Kurt and Blaine, that laughter was there because for the first time in far too long, both men were actually having fun. It really didn’t need to be anything other than that. For Blaine it was also because he had finally found someone who seemed to like him for himself, not out of obligation or sympathy. For Kurt, it was because Blaine was honest with him, had admitted his loneliness and had actually made Kurt feel wanted; not out of pity for seeing him sitting alone, or hearing about his rough experiences, but simply because they wanted to and they needed Kurt’s company as much as he needed theirs.

In that moment, Kurt trusted Blaine, and Blaine trusted Kurt. Cheesy really, when you think about it.

“I was born in Lima, Ohio twenty years ago, I lived in the same house for my entire life before I moved here for college,” Kurt said, finding that the conversation flowed more freely when they could divert their attention to their plates.

“I was born in Westerville, Ohio also twenty years ago, but it was last month so I’m guessing you’re older than me. My family had this house that they kept expanding and nothing in the house stayed the same for over a year, so I moved up here to live in my little shoebox, which I plan on redecorating as a thirtieth birthday present, just because I can wait that long now.”

“I was born in May, so I’m two months older than you.”

“You’re also taller, or is it the boots?”

“Bit of both, I guess.”

“Favourite colour?”

“It changes with the seasons.”

“Mine’s either navy or the pink you get in the sky in summer. Favourite holiday?”

“Thanksgiving.”

“Christmas. What are your hobbies?”

“Um, fashion design, watching reality TV, reading.”

“Singing?”

“Sorry?”

“You said you were in glee club so I assume you like singing,” Blaine pressed gently. They had been tossing questions and answers back and forth for the majority of the main course. Kurt seemed to be coming out of his shell a little, once he realised how truly nerdy Blaine was. The interrogation had been more basic than their original one on that first encounter, focussing more on the type of things you see in an ‘about me’ page on a facebook account.

“I do like it, I just don’t do it as a hobby.”

“Well do you sing in the shower?” he asked, hoping that Kurt wouldn’t be freaked out by the blunt question.

“Not really, the neighbours might complain,” Kurt said lightly, his eyes shifting from side to side.

“I’ve seen you perform, remember? Trust me, hearing you singing through thin New York walls would probably brighten up their day.” Noticing that Kurt was blushing furiously and shrinking back into himself, Blaine nudged his foot under the table. “Seriously, you’re really good, or you are from what I’ve seen of you, why are you so… I don’t know you seem to be really opposed to the idea of you being a good singer.”

Kurt sighed at him and explained that glee club was just a touchy subject. Nothing personal. Blaine ahh-ed in recognition before continuing anyway. “Why did you quit again?”

“I had a lot going on at home.” Kurt’s reply was short and quiet. He said it to his chicken rather than his companion.

“I swear you said  it was other commitments when you told me last time,” Blaine said, realising too late when he had gone too far.

“Those were the other commitments. Please can we change the subject, I really don’t want to ruin our night thinking about something that happened in high school,” Kurt replied, his voice snappier than Blaine had ever heard before. He frowned suddenly, colour rising to his cheeks in seconds. “Sorry, I’d just rather not talk about it that’s all.”

“No need to apologise, I need to learn to stop being so nosy,” Blaine said, relaxing again when Kurt met his eyes, the look in them completely alien. He tried to think of a topic Kurt had enjoyed before in an attempt to ease the tension. “Now tell me more about your course, it actually sounds quite interesting.”

The rest of the evening passed with amicable conversation and with the same level of ease as the first half. As Kurt walked up the steps, turning around to wave to Blaine who had insisted on walking him home, he realised that yeah, maybe he did have a little crush. Who wouldn’t have really when faced with someone as perfect as Blaine Anderson?