The next week went by pretty much the same way as the previous one. Except instead of the random run-ins with Blaine there were now not-so-random Facebook messages from Blaine. Three, to be exact. The first one contained a generic hihowareyou and the names of the guys Blaine thought would be there next weekend for the trip. The second was a response to Kurt’s questions about the details. Where and when and what should they bring and is he sure they wouldn’t be in the way. After Blaine’s lines Kurt relaxed a bit, everything was going to be fine, so he thanked Blaine. To which came the third one.

Can’t wait!

There was one more thing that changed since last week. Before Saturday night Kurt only thought of Blaine when he was with him. Plus when he found the bookmark, but that’s pretty much the same thing. Now he couldn’t help but be reminded of the handsome stranger every now and again. Because of the messages, because of the preparations for the hiking, because of Kate’s questions, and above all, because Kurt found time to dive into the books.

He started with As You Like It, just as he planned, finished it in no time. Then continued with the longer piece, and it took him the whole week (he had classes to attend to, after all) to finish that. And during reading he was almost forced to remember Blaine’s words, Blaine’s comments. He had to admit, it all made sense now. And he couldn’t wait to tell all about it to the boy.

Not that he would admit he was somewhat offended by those remarks in the bookshop days ago. But now that he could be fairly certain Blaine didn’t mean to hurt him at all, he was curious and excited to hear what Blaine thought of the books. And what he thought of Kurt’s opinions.

The trip was planned to be on Saturday, and Blaine said to meet at the small parking lot near Prospero’s so Kurt and Kate could get there easily. Much to Kurt’s dismay they agreed to leave campus quite early, 9:30 ish, so if Kurt wanted to look somewhat decent he had to get up at 7. To his great surprise it didn’t feel like that big of a sacrifice, if the day would turn out okay.

So at 9:25 Kurt and Kate were already at the parking lot, in comfortable but not-entirely-unfashionable clothes, enjoying the morning sunshine, each with a backpack on their shoulders. It didn’t take long for the guys to arrive, two cars rolled into the lot, and when they all go out, Kurt could see Blaine, Cooper, and 3 new faces. Two boys, and a girl clinging to one of said boys.

“Hey guys, sorry for being late.” Blaine sounded chirpier than ever.

“Hi. You’re not.” said Kurt softly, trying to smile reassuringly. He realized it was more for himself than the other. The hiking aspect of the day hit him suddenly, and he felt a rush of regret. It soon faded, however, when he looked at the girl more closely. Her stature was elegant and fragile, so Kurt swallowed an if-she-can-do-it-so-can-i…

“You remember my bro, Coop. And this is David, we went to high school together.” With this Blaine gestured toward the tall, black boy, whose smile was wider and most welcoming than Kurt or Kate would’ve expected at such early hour. “David, Kurt, and Kate.”

“How are you guys?” David shook their hands and stepped back so they could meet the others.

“And this is Anthony, my roommate here at college, and his girlfriend, Mary.” The guy named Anthony seemed very polite, though not as smiley as David. And he seemed somewhat preoccupied with his girl. Not over-doing it, just showing a bit of protectiveness. Not out of jealousy, as far as Kurt could decipher his gestures, just concerned with her general well-being. The boy was a little taller than Blaine, with blonde hair and green eyes and a very symmetric face. Mary, his girlfriend was only inches shorter, blonde haired as well, but with light blue eyes, and an open expression in them, though not much else. Together they seemed like the ultimate power-couple, but Kurt couldn’t help but think they looked utterly boring. Nevertheless, he wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, so he mastered a kind smile, and shook their hands.

“Very nice to meet you. I’m Kurt, and this is my roommate, Katherine.”

“Or Kate, or Kath, or Kathy, or whatever, you know.” she said in a joyful tone, and that seemed to ease everyone.

“Shall we go then? I can’t wait to sunbathe!” It was Mary who initiated this, and to Kurt’s confused look Blaine swiftly added.

“There’s a little lake at the place we’re going, I’ll tell you all about it on the way, okay?”

But as it turned out, Blaine couldn’t tell all about it, because they made quick arrangements as to who should ride with whom, and the seven of them were divided in half for the two cars, Blaine, Cooper, Kate in the one that Blaine drove, and Kurt, David and the couple in the one that Anthony drove.

The ride wasn’t terribly long, and Kurt soon found himself grateful that he let himself be dragged along. The radio was playing, and Anthony and Mary only said a few words the whole ride and only to each other. Not in a rude way, the car just wasn’t really apt for anything else between total strangers. Kurt and David sat in the back, and engaged in a conversation quickly.

“So, Kurt, how do you know Blaine?” David asked.

“Well, actually I wouldn’t say I know him, we just bumped into each other a few times, and I guess he wanted to see if I was worth bumping into on purpose as well.”

“Ooooh, I see…” David smiled smugly. Kurt suddenly realized what he just said.

“No, gosh, that’s not what I meant. We just never had the chance to talk about anything in depth, and I guess he knew you guys were planning this trip, so he just invited me, or us, I should say.”

“Yeah, that’s very Blaine.”

“It is?” Kurt suddenly felt less special. Was this a regular thing for Blaine, inviting total strangers?

“Yeah, I mean not the hiking together thing. Actually you guys are the first ones he wanted to take on this trip with us. I meant the whole looking for opportunities to listen to others’ opinions. He always found it fascinating to gather impulses from all over.”

“For what?” Kurt sensed there was more here, after all David must have known Blaine for 6-7 years now.

“For life. I guess. For instance, this term he has a class on theater directing. And he takes it very seriously. He works with texts, of course, but anyone he meets he almost interrogates on the topic, so he can have all sorts of input, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess. And what is he directing?”

“A musical, of course.” David said, as if referring to the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s a Shakespeare interpretation. But it’s short, I think the time limit is like 20 minutes.”

Kurt didn’t see that one coming.

“It’s not As You Like It, by any chance?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah, it is, why? Did he try to cast you?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that…” Kurt didn’t say anything else. He was trying very hard not to give in to the thought of being used, or tricked, or something. He really hoped Blaine wasn’t that selfish as to go to such extremes just to get some input on a play he was concerned with at the moment. “And are you involved as well?” He finally asked David.

“Yeah, somewhat. He asked me to help him with the lyrics, we had to figure out the whole thing from scratch, so, yeah, I guess I wanted to help however little I could.” David explained.

“And is it any good?”

“Of course it is, we’re a dream team. Why, do you want to join in?”

“I don’t know…” Kurt said hesitantly. He didn’t see himself working with such a well-oiled machine.

“What’s your major?”

“I’m a fashion design major, actually, so I guess I wouldn’t be much of a help.”

“Are you kidding me? We would love to have input on the costumes. He even mentioned something about wanting to emphasize the gender-clothes axis of the play. I think he’d be psyched!”

“Well…” Kurt didn’t know if he wanted this, or not. Sure, it sounded awesome, but the whole bookshop meeting seemed so pure, so innocent. Now he felt like he was tracked down. And it didn’t feel that good…

“Nonsense, don’t even hesitate. I’ll get your number from Blaine and text you the details.”

“I don’t think that’ll work.” Kurt said.

“What? Why?”

“Well, he doesn’t have my number, that’s why…”

“Oh, is there any particular reason for that?”

“Other than him not asking for it? No, I don’t think so.” Kurt’s voice sounded neutral saying this. Exactly how he felt. When Blaine found him on Facebook he was no longer worried about the book the boy lent him, so having Blaine’s number was neither here nor there for him.

“We’re here!” Mary screamed suddenly, with tiny little claps of excitement. “Finally!”

Anthony laughed lovingly at that, stopped the engine and turned back to Kurt and David.

“Don’t mind her, she’ll be normal again once she had time in the sun.” he claimed, and with that pressed a lovely little peck on Mary’s left cheek.

They all got out of their cars, and Kurt had the chance to look around. The place they arrived at was a little secluded parking lot, surrounded by several paths disappearing among the trees. It didn’t look dangerous or dangerously challenging, and Kurt trusted the others. From what he gathered this was definitely not their first time here.

“Blaine, what’s this nonsense about not having Kurt’s number?” Kurt heard David’s loud and strong voice. His head turned in the direction of the black boy, who quickly approached Blaine. Kurt took in Blaine’s face, he blushed a little, mostly because he just got out of the driving seat and the interrogation caught him off guard.

Blaine glanced towards Kurt, slightly embarrassed, not knowing whether he really owed anyone an explanation or not.

“Wow, David, good to see you, too.” Blaine said finally. “What prompted this exactly?”

He is good , Kurt thought. He managed to distract David long enough so that he would forget about the number issue.

“Well, Kurt here is a fashion major, if you can believe that, and he said he’d think about helping us out with the play.”

“He did?” Blaine asked, looking for Kurt’s reaction. When Kurt shrugged a little, he smiled, and simply said “That’s great.” And with that he stepped to the trunk of the car, fishing out all it contained, distributing everything according to his knowledge of the others’ capabilities.

Once everyone was settled, Blaine, still hunched over the trunk told the others to go ahead without him.

“David, Mary, do you remember the way? Can you lead the others? I’ll be there in a minute, just something I still need to fix.”

“Sure, don’t be long.” Mary said, and excitedly turned in the direction of the familiar path.

“Kurt, can I ask you to help me a little?” Blaine said softly to the boy, who was standing near him, talking to Kate animatedly. Kurt looked up, a little surprised, but stepped to the car nonetheless.

“Of course. Kath, go ahead, we’ll be there in a minute.” and turned to see how Blaine needed him.

“I just wanted to pour the tea from this thingy to a traveling mug, but I can’t hold both at the same time, could you help with that?” Blaine said while busying himself with the beverage.

“Okay. And what was it you really wanted to say?” Kurt asked smiling knowingly. “Blaine, you have the skills to manage a car with your separate limbs but you can’t pour a drink from one container to another? Come on, talk to me.” Kurt gestured to Blaine to close the trunk and follow the others. Blaine quickly gathered everything in his hands and followed Kurt’s lead.

“Okay, okay, you got me. I just don’t want you to feel weird because of what David told you in the car. Or must have told you, I should say, since I wasn’t there.”

“Shouldn’t I feel weird?” Kurt asked, trying to stay neutral.

“No! I mean, please don’t. I swear I didn’t plan to recruit you or anything like that.”

“Then what was the whole recommending-me–a-play-you-happen-to-work-on-right-now-and-invite-me-on-a-little-talk thing all about?” Kurt said under one breath.

“There is such a thing? Wow!” Blaine chuckled.

“Haha, very funny.So?” Kurt didn’t want Blaine to escape from giving an answer. A lot depended on this.

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“Okay. You knew who Vonnegut was, you used your words to try and cheer me up with that quote on the cup, and you wanted to read Marquez. I thought these three things in one person were reason enough to recommend you something so near dear to my heart.”

“Good answer.” Kurt laughed softly. “Go on.”

“Kurt, I couldn’t be sure we’d run into each other ever again after the Prospero’s meeting. I just wanted you to have something I genuinely thought you would like. And then we met at the march and I realized we might have totally different approaches to everything, and I felt like I needed to hear what you thought about the play. And Marquez. And other things.”

“Okay, I believe you. Plus, you couldn’t have known what my major was, so how would you recruit me in a play, right?”

“Right.” Blaine said, relieved that Kurt didn’t doubt him on the matter anymore.

They stayed silent for a few seconds, then Kurt spoke.

“I read them.”

Blaine’s head slowly turned towards Kurt, the smile already playing on his face showing that he heard what Kurt just said.

“You did?”

“Yeah. I finished the novel a couple of days ago. The play a few days earlier.”

“And? What did you think?” Blaine couldn’t hide his excitement.

“You were right. About the velvet-y thing. Your words kept coming back to me while reading. “

“I’m glad. His other novels are great, too, but I think One Hundred Year is by far the best.”

Blaine didn’t push to ask about the play. But Kurt sensed his buzzing interest, and he had no problem talking about it.

“And the play. Well. Since I haven’t read much by Master Will, I’d say this was different from anything I’ve known so far. But it was amazing!”

“Isn’t it?” Blaine looked like a child right now, a small kid beholding a precious gift. And as far as Kurt could tell, this wasn’t the observant look of a director, fishing for more input and information. This was pure curiosity, openness, the yearning for ideas about something he was passionate about.

“Yeah. I kept laughing, his wit is amazing. And the language, it’s just so rich. And the characters. You can say some were meant for really good actors with all their dimensions, and some others are just plain and tasting of paper, you know? And the sarcasm of the whole play. But then again, it’s celebrating life so genuinely, if you interpret it that way, but it also talks about corruption, and betrayal, and mocks love, at the same time praises it for all its value. And the structure of the play is just pure genius. And Jaques? Don’t even let me start on him. Amazing. And Touchstone? Wow! And the dynamics when all the fools meet. Wow, I could just go on and on…”

“Please do.” Blaine said softly, in an almost whisper. He seemed mesmerized by Kurt’s momentum, and how he rambled on and on about the play he spent the last few months of is life analyzing.

Kurt saw that they almost reached the others at this point, but they seemed all right, Kate was walking along David’s side, talking freely, and in front of them Cooper seemed engaged in a conversation with Anthony and Mary. Kate looked back for a moment, and saw the boys approaching, but made no effort to wait for them. Kurt was okay with that.

“No, I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. Sorry.”

“No, that’s the amazing part. With Shakespeare, and I guess… with you.”

Kurt looked at him questioningly.

“Actually this is exactly how I imagined. If we had the play here right now, and we were to read from it, out loud, you’d come up with a different and brilliant idea every ten seconds. While me, well, I have a totally different approach. Most often I start reading a play, and I have only one idea stuck in my mind, and focus everything else around that one thing.”

“And what was it with this play, this time?”

“You remember the scene when Rosalind pretends to be Ganymede and pretends to be courted by Orlando?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you see, in Shakespeare’s time the female protagonist was played by a young male. So if you think about it, in that scene you have a boy, dressed as a girl, dressed as a boy, pretending to be a woman…”

“The ultimate cross-dressing.” Kurt breathed with realization. “So that’s what you referred to in the shop.”

“Yeah” Blaine admitted with a soft laugh. “Progressive enough?”

“I guess so…”

With that they fell into a comfortable silence, and moved closer and closer to the others. There was a non-verbal understanding between their bodies, or so it seemed, because once they reached Kate and David, they smoothly switched partners, and Kurt had the chance to be with Kate for the first time since they were introduced to the others.

They didn’t speak much, they were trying to take in the warm and so so green forest around them, and they sensed that the woods got less and less dense.

They were far enough from Blaine and David to hear what they were actually talking about, but close enough to see the way the boys behaved. Almost like brothers. With a great amount of familiarity, but respect at the same time. It was different than what Blaine was like with Cooper, but that’s understandable. They were one flesh, one blood. This, with David was a different brotherhood. Perhaps less unconditional, and intimate, but very comfortable.

“We’re almost there” Blaine said looking back over his shoulders.

Kurt nodded, but turned immediately to Kate, questioningly. They both realized Kurt didn’t have the chance to go through a mental trip-plan with Blaine, because they ended up in different cars, and since they arrived, they were occupied with other things.

So Kurt was definitely caught by surprise when a couple of minutes later they woods loosened completely, letting sunshine enlighten the whole area, and they arrived at a cliff, under which, in the radiant sunlight a breathtakingly picturesque lake appeared 40 feet below them. On both sides of the cliff there were footpaths leading down down down, not in a dangerously stoop manner, but pleasantly, combining the great view and a comfortable walk, rewarding the persistent hikers with the fresh water.

The others, who have already been here before, didn’t even take a minute to stop. But Kurt and Kate stood there, dumbfounded, and for a good minute their mouths hung open, and couldn’t get enough of the sight.

Blaine stopped a few feet into his journey downwards, already significantly below Kurt’s and Kate’s level, and looked at them. At Kurt, to be more precise. Kate caught the gaze, and smiled softly. She knew Kurt was gorgeous, but it filled her with a certain amount of pride to witness the way Blaine looked at her roommate standing so majestically on the cliff.

Blaine quickly moved on, and Kate reached for Kurt’s hand, to prompt him to go after the others. She was itching to sit down now, to rest a little, and maybe dip into the water later.

“Okay, guys, it’s a quarter to eleven now” Blaine said in a smooth, authoritative voice. “what do you say we set our ‘camp’ here, rest a little, eat something, and let the water warm up a little bit more. I think by one it should be okay to swim in. Sounds good?” He wasn’t overly bossy, he just knew he was the common denominator in the company, so he took up the responsibility.

They all agreed, and started to get out the content of their backpacks. There were blankets appearing, and snacks, and drinks, and Mary got down to her swimsuits, and somehow little traveling table games came out, and soft, excited murmur filled the area of the perfect scene.

Kurt stayed close to Kate, mostly because they were at a point in their relationship where they could spend hours in silence, still knowing where the other’s thoughts were. And Kurt wanted to spend a little time observing the group he knew so little about.

David was now engaged in a sports conversation with Anthony, and Blaine finally had time to speak to his brother. Again, Kurt could see a different side of his. They seemed to be talking about something very serious, in a low voice, but both conveyed support and comfort towards the other, as if saying I’m here, no matter what.

The scenario changed when David called for Coop to back up one of his arguments against Anthony, and Mary scooped closer to Kate, asking her to apply the sun lotion to her back. Kate gladly obeyed, and the girls got caught up in a conversation Kurt didn’t want to interrupt. About whether the new trend in triangle tops are comfortable or not.

He was kind of saved when Blaine, who was left alone, came to their little trio, and asked them.

“Would you guys want to go to the little lookout tower nearby?” he pointed in the general directions of where they came from. “It’s not far, and not extremely challenging. A little climb, but so worth it. You can see everything from up there.”

“Would you mind terribly if I said no?” Kate asked, not wanting to sound ungrateful. She really did want to rest for a while.

“No, of course not. Whatever you’d prefer. Kurt?”

“Yeah, I’d love to. If it’s not too far.” He added, playfully.

“No, we’ll be back before it gets too hot.” And with that the two boys left the others, and set out on their little adventure.

Kurt followed Blaine in silence for a few minutes, until they reached the cliff where Kurt first beheld the wonder-lake, where Blaine took a sharp right turn, and stepped on a path that was just wide enough for the two of them. Once Kurt realized the path wasn’t going to be terribly steep, he spoke.

“I think it’s amazing how you can handle the guys. I mean we are from four different segments of your life, and you still know how to balance it. I think it’s great.”

“Thank you, that’s very sweet of you to say, but it’s really no big deal. I think it kinda comes naturally. When you want to know so many different people, and let them know each other as well, you have to be able to cope with it. I guess it takes some conscious effort, but the longing for it is in me naturally, so, you know, I do what I can.”

“Yeah.”

Kurt’s thoughts started to wander at that. It must have been awfully difficult to be in that situation. At least that’s how he imagined it. You have your current roommate here, who knows your college self, and his girlfriend, who knows the same, through a filter. You don’t have much in common, but you still live together. Then you have two total strangers here, not knowing what they’d like, or dislike, or what’s taboo for them, and what’s not. Then you have a high school pal, who probably knows more about you than either of you’d care to admit, and treats you like a little kid and a god at the same time. Plus you have your brother here, who’s probably only visiting for a few days, and you know almost everything about each other, since you come from the same home, but you know so little, since that’s the only identity you’ve truly shared. Yeah, you do what you can…

Then Kurt remembers how first Kate thought Coop was Blaine’s boyfriend, which turned out to be false. But they met at the Pride. But Kate’s straight. And suddenly Kurt can’t hold back the question bubbling from his mouth.

“Are you gay?”

For a moment Blaine looks confused. But probably only because the question is seemingly so out of the blue. After thinking for a quick second he smiles softly and answers.

“Yes, I am.”

Since he doesn’t say anything else, Kurt mildly panics. Gosh, was that offensive? Or should he say something about himself? Or should he just abandon the whole thing? In the end, he decides on explaining himself.

“I didn’t mean to be invasive, sorry. It’s just, we met at the Pride, but the guy I thought was your boyfriend turned out to be your brother and I just realized I didn’t have that piece information about you.”

“Yes, I understand. Don’t worry about it. And as you said, we met at the Pride. I kind of felt, that in itself sort of states that the question of civil rights is important to me, and that I’m proud to be part of a march like that. The fact that I’m gay is more personal than that. You know? It’s a different matter. I feel like me standing up for gay rights is a public issue. Me being attracted to somebody or being in love with somebody is private. Up to me to share, you know?”

“Yeah, I understand.” And he really does. He never really verbalized it like that, but that’s kind of how he feels. But it’s understandable, this was his first Pride. A first to be proud of being involved in this social-political issue. “And I think I agree with you.”

Blaine nods. As if thinking about the complexity of the whole matter. His thoughts are interrupted by Kurt’s voice that is suddenly angelic, full of kindness and caring, and gratitude.

“Thank you for telling me.”

Blaine nods again. Not asking anything. But he understands. He sees that Kurt cares, that Kurt really listens.

“Me too.” Kurt finally breathes. It’s not the fact that he comes out that’s important here. He knows it, and Blaine knows it. It’s the fact that knowing how private this is, he wants to share this with an almost stranger. Because he can’t explain, but Blaine reassures him more and more with every spoken and unspoken word, with every gesture and every breath.

At this Blaine stops, turns to Kurt, and acts on an impulse. He needs to convey that he understands how big this is. He needs Kurt to know that he cherishes his trust. So he reaches for the other boy’s hand, hold it for a few moments, soft skin touches warm fingers, warm skin touches soft fingers, Blaine squeezes gently, and captures Kurt’s eyes with his own.

He lets go, and turns back towards their path.

“Almost there.” He says, and soon enough Kurt beholds the look-out tower, not extremely tall, but reaching above the surrounding trees, it takes 30 something stairs to get to the top.

The boys get to it, and Kurt, to fight his fear of heights starts to talk randomly about something, anything.

“You know, I don’t even know what your major is.” He asks, and Blaine is already at the top step, standing securely, looking back at Kurt, making sure the other gets there as well.

He does, and forgets immediately about the question, and about the fear. What he sees leaves him in absolute awe.

Below them he sees an area around the size of 4 football fields. In the blinding sunlight it looks like a mosaic of colors and tiny mirrors. There are dozens of little lakes just like the one they left the other at, all reflecting back the sunshine. Between them are field of all kinds of wildflowers, and other flora, and the number of shades green appears in blows Kurt’s fashion-loving mind.

He looks at Blaine, to say something, but he’s left speechless when he sees how the boy’s face is almost transformed. That glowing light in his eyes, unable to fully fathom what is in front of him. And Kurt’s sure Blaine’s seen this view many times before. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Blaine’s maintained the eyes of a child combined with the understanding of a wise old man. He looks at everything and absorbs. What’s on the surface, and what is beyond. And how lucky he is to be a filter for such phenomena.

Blaine senses that he’s being watched, his trans is broken, and he smiles softly.

“I’m a photography major.” He states simply. And the force of that simple sentence almost knocks Kurt off his feet. He can’t help, but laugh out, nodding brightly.

“Of course you are.” He says. Yes, this boy was meant to capture everything in the world through those talented, seeing eyes.

“Thank you for bringing me here, Blaine.” Kurt says, he really hopes Blaine sees how precious this memory will be for him.

“Thank you for appreciating it.” Blaine says, and they know they’ll never forget this moment.

Not much is spoken between them after that. They head back to the others, who are already playing in the water. Blaine quickly joins them, Kurt is reluctant, since he didn’t bring any swimsuits with him. At least that’s what he tells the others. And himself. But somewhere, deep in his guts he feels there’s another reason. He fears he will burn under the blinding rays of sunshine. He does not really pay much attention to his own thoughts that say those rays of sunshine are the laughter, the voice and the soul of a dark haired boy.