Chapter Four
It had been about a week since Blaine had first started to work on the yard and so far, he had proved more than competent. He spoke to the horses in a calm and gentle voice, he made sure no horse was without water or food at any point, he cleaned the tack so well Kurt could have sworn he could see his face in it – but best of all, he stayed behind with Kurt to help with Socks.

The pair had been nursing Sock’s injuries back to health. Socks still only really trusted Kurt to get totally near him but slowly and surely, he was letting Blaine in …and so was Kurt.
The times they had been spending together had been precious to Kurt.
Kurt normally shut up the yard on a night but he had been staying an extra hour or two to work with Socks. His ribs still weren’t healed but he was able to walk better now so Kurt had been taking him on small walks every day.

Blaine had noticed that Kurt was staying for longer which is why the next day he said “Fancy some company?” Kurt could only agree.
The two boys had begun to get to know each other. Kurt learned Blaine went to Dalton Academy, a private school about an hour away from McKinley, he was the lead singer of ‘The Warblers’ Dalton’s Glee Club – Kurt was now determined to one day hear Blaine sing. He had learnt to ride when he was about seven, saying he found happiness in horses that he never found anywhere else. He had an older brother named Cooper but he didn’t like to talk about him.

Blaine had learned that Kurt was also in Glee Club – “Hey something else we have in common” Blaine had said when he found out. He learned Kurt’s father had recently remarried so now he had a new stepmother and stepbrother. Kurt had also told Blaine how he had first met Socks which secretly Blaine thought was possibly the cutest story he had ever heard.
They had also both learned one very important thing about the other – they were both gay. And both very much attracted to each other…but that bit they hadn’t discussed.

“Socks, look I know you have been stuck in a stable all day and this is the only exercise you are going to get but please stop running ahead. You will only injure yourself further and I cannot keep up with you” Kurt said matter-of-factly to the suddenly playful horse who kept striding ahead and dragging Kurt along behind him.

Blaine was walking behind the pair and couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable Kurt was. Pepper the yard’s dog had started to follow Blaine around like a …well like a puppy dog. Blaine had never owned a dog before and he liked having the little cocker spaniel as company for when Kurt was fighting to keep up with his horse.

“Socks! Please wait for me”, Kurt raised his voice slightly, struggling with to hold back the horse who had noticed the apple tree near the end of the track they were walking on. “Socks wait… ahh!” The horse had pulled ahead just in time for Kurt to slip on a piece of wet grass beneath his feet. Kurt went crashing to the ground and he gave up on holding the horse’s lead, he let go and Socks bounded over to the apple tree and began to munch happily on the windfall apples.

“Kurt? Are you okay?” Blaine said, not hiding the laughter in his voice particularly well. Kurt was still lying on the floor. “Just swell” he answered also trying not to laugh. Kurt reached up his hand for Blaine to pull him up. Blaine responded and went took Kurt’s hand…when he soon found himself being dragged down to the floor.

“And that was for laughing at me Anderson” Kurt said, chuckling as Blaine toppled down next to him. “Okay, okay, I deserved that one, I’m sorry for laughing at the fact that your invalid horse can reduce the Kurt Hummel to the floor” Blaine said smiling.

Both boys laughed but at the same moment, the laughter started to die out, they turned their heads towards each other.
Kurt looked into Blaine’s eyes and both of them mutually began to move their lips slowly towards each other. But “Ewww, Pepper” Blaine cried all of a sudden, the dog had wiggled between the two of them and was happily licking Blaine’s face.

Blaine smiled at Kurt, almost wistfully but he stood up and pulled Kurt up by the hand.

The whole walk home, neither of them said anything but it was a comfortable silence, possibly because Blaine never let go of Kurt’s hand.
What just happened? Kurt thought to himself. It also confirmed that this wasn’t just a crush he had on Blaine, he was pretty sure he was falling in love.

It was a Saturday so Kurt was spending the entire day at the stables. Socks has been looking better recently and Dr Berry had informed Kurt that Sock’s ribs were almost healed which means he could have a saddle put on him but no rider just yet.

Kurt had been cleaning tack, sat on the hay bale outside Socks’ stable for the past hour. It was beyond him how Penny, one of the tiniest and the oldest horses on the yard, managed to get her bridle so mucky. Every now and again, Socks whinnied just to make sure Kurt hadn’t left and this warmed Kurt’s heart, the horse was finally beginning to trust him again.

“Kurt?” he heard Rachel’s voice call from outside. “In here” he replied. She smiled at him as she walked into the barn, she was carrying Muffin the cat in her arms – the cat had a strange fondness of Rachel – while also trying to balance a small paper bag with the Starbucks logo on it.
“Thought I would find you here” she said, handing Kurt the paper bag. “Brought you some lunch seeing as I know you wouldn’t have brought any yourself and you couldn’t bear to leave your horses” The bag contained a sandwich, an apple and to-go coffee.
“Rachel, you are an angel, thank you” Kurt said, biting into the sandwich. He’d forgotten how hungry he got working here.
Rachel and Kurt chatted for a while the cat was slowly falling asleep on Rachel’s lap.
Blaine walked through the barn door, dressed in black jodhpurs and a white polo shirt, smiling at the pair. “Hi Kurt”
“Hi… what are you doing here? I didn’t think you worked until 4” Kurt asked him.
“Got bored at home, figured I would be more useful here, anything I can do?” He suddenly noticed Rachel perched on the hay bale next to Kurt. “Oh hello, I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Blaine” offering his hand for her to shake.
“Rachel Berry” she said with a quick smile. “Wait, I know you! You’re the lead singer of The Warbler’s from Dalton right?”
“Guilty as charged”
“You have an amazing voice you know Blaine, I would know as I have an amazing voice myself. I watched a recent performance of yours on YouTube. But you know you really ought to-”
“Rachel, leave the man alone, he came here to do his job, not be harassed by you” Kurt interrupted with warning in his voice but he was chuckling slightly.
“Sorry” she said to Blaine. “I don’t know when to shut up half the time”
Blaine smiled at her, before adding to Kurt “So is there anything I can do?”
“I’m not sure the horses in the end stables have got water, Mike had to leave early this morning and I haven’t had time to check them yet” Mike Chang was a fellow glee-clubber with Kurt and Rachel but he worked part-time at the stables.
“Okay, be back in a bit” Blaine said, before wandering over to the other end of the barn.

After he was out of earshot, Rachel turned to Kurt. “Now, he is hot. With a capital H”
“Don’t get any ideas, he’s gay which means I call dibs” Kurt said, almost protectively which startled him a bit.
“I’m joking, Kurt, I’m perfectly happy with that step-brother of yours” Rachel laughed. “So, you like him then?” She asked Kurt quietly.

“Rachel! He’s only over there! Shush!” Kurt said, in a fierce whisper.
“I said it quietly! And you didn’t answer my question.” She looked at Kurt pointedly.

“Fine, I like him, but please don’t try to set me up, let me go about this myself” he said.
“Ha, I knew it. You’ve been a lot happier recently Kurt and I didn’t think it was just because you got your horse back” she smiled at him. “Go for it, Kurt, his face practically lit up when he realised you were in here, I would say he likes you too”

Kurt didn’t answer for a while but just smiled at the ground. “Really?” he said after a few moments.
“Really, Now go get your man Hummel!” she winked at him. Kurt shook his head in despair.
“Go on, get out of here, you’re distracting me” Kurt said. She smiled at him again, before kissing him on the cheek and walking out of the barn. Muffin the cat ran away,
“Thank you for lunch!” he called after her.
“Anytime” came the reply.

Blaine had been watching the two friends from the other side of the barn. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but he was pretty sure it was about him. He had finished filling up the water buckets in the last few stables and he was currently stroking the nose of Gibson, one of the yard’s larger horses. Rachel left and he took that as his cue to go back and talk to Kurt.

“The waters are done” Blaine said as he walked back over to Kurt.
“Thank you” Kurt said smiling at him. That smile. It was all Blaine could think about. He was pretty sure he was falling for Kurt and after what happened the other night; he hoped Kurt felt the same way. He just had to find the right moment to make his move.
“So how is Socks doing?” Blaine asked. He tentatively reached out his hand to pat the horse and to his surprise, the horse allowed him too. Socks was coming to learn that not all people were bad.

He stroked the horse slowly down his neck and Socks let out a little sigh on content. “Good boy, Socks! You finally learnt that Blaine won’t actually hurt you!” Kurt laughed.
“What can I say? It’s my natural charm” Blaine said, giving Kurt a wink.
“Reckon we could try putting a saddle on him today?” Kurt wondered, looking to Blaine for a response.
“Well, seeing as I wasn’t actually meant to be here for another two hours, I got time. Let’s do it!”

Half an hour later, the pair had managed to get a saddle on top of Socks comfortably so it wasn’t hurting his healing ribs. It was getting the bridle on him that had proved difficult. Socks didn’t like the bit in his mouth and kept trying to spit it out, nearly biting Kurt on one occasion.
“I knew he wouldn’t like it, those men I took him from used to yank him by the mouth” Kurt said disheartened.

“Wait, let me try something” Blaine had said, disappearing for a while.
Kurt played with Pepper the dog while Blaine was gone. Oddly, Socks had no problems with Pepper or Muffin, he let them stay in his stable a lot of the time, it just seems to be humans he had a problem with.
Blaine had returned with a bowl full of mashed up apples and a bit of honey. He dabbed a little of the mixture onto the bit and Socks eagerly took the bit into his mouth this time. “Yes!” Blaine had said triumphantly. “We had a horse at my last yard who hated the bit too, but we tried this on him and it worked like a charm” Blaine explained.
Kurt had put a lunge rein on Socks’ bridle and he was standing in the middle of the yard school, helping Socks to walk around. “He seems to be going well” Blaine said.

Blaine was sat on the fence of the school with Pepper sat obediently near his feet. Pepper seemed just as interested in what was happening with Socks as Kurt and Blaine were. He watched the horse move around the school, panting happily.

Now his leg had healed properly, Socks didn’t limp anymore. He moved very gracefully and carefully. It was obvious at some point, he had been a dressage horse but Kurt knew he must have done a lot of jumping as well because the muscles Socks had were built up very strong above his legs and near his shoulder.

“Kurt, why don’t you try to get him to trot? He’s been walking around for ages now” Blaine said.
“I don’t wanna rush him” Kurt answered.

Blaine sighed and jumped off the fence. He walked towards Kurt, and put a hand on his shoulder from behind. “He’s been cooped up in a stable for days with only short walks for exercise, he probably wants to run, have faith in him” Blaine said softly.
Kurt smiled and slowly picked up the lunge whip he had on the floor next to him. He couldn’t make any sudden movements with it as he knew Socks would freak.

He tapped Socks’ behind with a single fluid movement and the horse immediately picked up the pace and moved into a smooth trot. Socks had one of the most beautiful trots Kurt had ever seen. His legs moved carefully and he looked almost happy to be running again.

Kurt looked at Blaine and Blaine looked back at him – both were thinking the same thing. Blaine nodded. “He will love it”

Kurt tapped Socks’ flank again and pushed him into a canter which Socks’ willingly did so. Socks’ canter was graceful and peaceful; he didn’t look too bouncy or uncomfortable. Kurt couldn’t wait to finally ride him properly.

They let Socks run for a little while longer before slowing him down and
letting him cool off.
Back in Socks’ stable, they were both un-tacking the horse. “Thank you” Kurt said all of sudden.
“For what?” Blaine frowned.
“For making me push him a bit, you were right, he needed to run, he needed to be shown he can have fun again”
Blaine smiled, “You’re welcome, although I’m pretty sure you would have realised soon enough”

They went back into silence again until Kurt suddenly burst out “Do you want to come for dinner tonight?”


Blaine looked a bit taken aback but answered “umm, sure”
Kurt himself wasn’t quite sure why he asked but it seemed like the right thing to do. He was just asking a friend over to dinner. Nothing wrong with that. No. It just happened that he liked said friend in that way.