It was two weeks to the big competition. Socks had come on leaps and bounds in every aspect of the competition …apart from jumping. Still.

Socks and Kurt knew the dressage practically off by heart, he moved from transition to transition with effortless grace.

What Kurt found strange was that, Socks could face the cross country course – as the jumps did not look like ‘typical’ jumps, without the coloured poles, he found them easier and he actually went over them, revealing that Socks could actually jump… and was pretty darn good at them.

Kurt and Blaine were sat on the grass outside the barn, eating while the weather was nice. Blaine had been quiet for a while and he was staring over at the coloured show jumping poles intently. Kurt nudged him gently in the ribs. “Blaine? What’s the matter?”

“It’s only the coloured poles he is scared of” he said, not particularly answering Kurt, more just thinking aloud.

“Um, yeah, thought we already knew that” Kurt said, turning back to his lunch.

“No, I mean he can jump brilliantly, we know that, it’s the pole he is scared of. So, why?” Blaine said looking expectantly at Kurt who frowned.

“Kurt, I mean why is afraid of just the coloured poles? He was abused in the past right? He had broken ribs? That could have been broken by being hit with poles? Are you getting any of this?” Blaine said, eagerly. “If we knew why he was scared, we could help him!”

Slowly, Kurt nodded and smiled. “One second.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Rachel Berry.

“Kurt! Hey!”

“Rach, is your dad around?”

“Hmm, sure” she said, sounding a little put off that he wanted her dad.

“Kurt? Hello”

“Mr Berry? Hi! I need to ask you a question about Sock’s injuries.”

“Go ahead”

“The broken ribs he got? Could he have broken them by being hit by a pole? One of the show jumping poles?”

There was a pause while Dr Berry thought about his answer.

“Yes, yes, I suppose, they were cracked and broken on the outside. They could have been hit by a pole.”

“Thank you Mr Berry, tell Rachel I will call her later for me please?”

“Sure, bye Kurt!”

“You, Blaine, are a genius! Thank you!” Kurt was about to just stand up and leave before rethinking his actions and kissing Blaine quickly on the cheek. Blaine sat there in a complete daze, raising his hand to his cheek as Kurt ran off. Stop it, Blaine, you’re blushing, he thought to himself.

“Kurt are you sure this is going to work?” Blaine asked, worry wavering in his voice.

“No” he replied. He had found some old jumping poles, where the paint had begun to peel off and its colour was way past its best and was setting them up around the school. Blaine was holding Socks whose brown eyes were set on the poles warily, but he wasn’t struggling …yet. Every few seconds, Socks nuzzled his nose into Blaine’s shoulder, almost if asking Blaine to confirm the poles won’t hurt him anymore.

Blaine stroked the horse down his neck and patted him softly, to keep him calm.  

Kurt was finally satisfied with the course he had set up and he smiled briefly at Blaine before saying “Let’s do it”

Kurt took a deep breath and sat himself comfortably on the horse. He felt Socks tense underneath every time they walked past a pole as he warmed the horse up gently. “Blaine, if I end up on the floor, promise you will call me an ambulance immediately okay?”

“I promise” Blaine said, smiling at Kurt to try and keep him confident…on the inside though, Blaine was worried – it was only a hunch he had gone on here and Kurt could end up seriously injured.  Blaine moved to sit on the fence of the school, Pepper the dog was sat outside, waiting patiently, watching the horse and it’s rider with his brown eyes, Blaine gave him a quick pat on the head before turning his full attention back to Kurt.

“I think we’re ready” Kurt said, lining Socks up towards one of the jumps. “Come on boy. We can do this. You’re safe now. It will not hurt you” Kurt didn’t want to go in as a full jump to start with, so the pole was only a few centimetres off the ground in order to try and get Socks to at least walk over it.

Kurt gave Socks a little squeeze with his legs to get him to move forward and he did so, but warily. He put each foot down carefully and his normally turned forward ears were set back in worry. Blaine’s breathing had slowed down and he was watching them anxiously. Kurt’s eyebrows burrowed in concentration as he focused on the wooden pole. Socks had come within about ten centimetres of the pole, when he decided he couldn’t go over it and he began to rear up violently. The whites of his eyes became larger and he moved himself backwards while on his hind legs. Kurt pulled sharply on the horses’ mouth and pushed his feet down into the stirrups as hard as he could; making sure all his weight was on the horse so Socks had no choice but to go back to four legs.

Blaine had jumped off the fence and ran to Kurt’s aid, grabbing Socks’ reins once he had come back down to Earth. “Are you okay?” Blaine asked, his hand reaching out to grab Kurt’s thigh to keep him on place on the saddle.

“I’m fine, I’m fine” Kurt gushed. “Is he alright?” he asked in concern, looking at his horse and trying really hard not to make a big deal of the fact that Blaine’s hand was still holding his leg.

Blaine shushed the horse and seemingly, he was fine. He just didn’t want to jump at all. “You wanna try again?” Blaine asked.

“I have no choice. The competition is in two weeks. We have to get him to do this. I can’t be the laughing stock already, Julie has so much faith in me” Kurt said, his entire face an expression of anxiety.

“I’ve told you. You can do this” Blaine smiled and suddenly realised, his hand was still gripping Kurt’s thigh rather intently and pulled it away instantly. “Sorry” he murmured. “I will be over here” he swallowed and walked back over towards the fence of the school.

Kurt lined Socks up again in front of the jump, however this time, the horse had sensed something he had to do for Kurt, if not for himself. He looked warily at the jump. Socks hadn’t been hurt by these poles before and he trusted the people here. The boy who looked after as young horse who had come back into his life like a miracle and his curly haired companion wouldn’t hurt him. Maybe he could do this.

From his position on the fence, Blaine whispered to the wind, “Come on”

From his position on the horse, Kurt whispered to Socks, “You can do this”

Socks walked towards the jump, each step a little more confident than the other. Finally, lifting his feet a little higher, he stepped over the wooden pole gingerly with one hoof. Realising, it wouldn’t do anything; Socks brought the other legs over the pole and he was safely on the other side. Both Kurt and Blaine’s faces erupted into smiles. Kurt patted Socks on the neck happily and leant down to kiss his mane. Blaine rushed towards them and grabbed Socks by the nose, kissing the horse’s muzzle quickly, then receiving a high five from Kurt.

“You did it!” Blaine exclaimed.

“We did it” Kurt said, satisfied.

12 days until competition

Two days later and Socks had successfully walked over every jump. Kurt decided it was now time to actually get him to jump. Blaine set the jump up so it was about 70cm off the ground, not too small but nowhere big enough for the championship jumps. They knew Socks could clear the cross country ones okay so the bigger show jumping ones had to be just as a good. It was just a case of getting Socks there.

Kurt lined him up and set Socks off into a quick but controlled trot, moving towards the jump. Socks jumped it but hastily, almost as if he shut his eyes, jumped and hoped for the best. The jump made Kurt unbalanced and he had to grab the saddle quickly to stop himself sliding off the side. “Whoa, boy, little more careful next time please!” Kurt chuckled, once he was back in control of the horse.

After a few more attempts, Socks managed to get over the jumps without the threat of throwing Kurt off each time. After an hour, Socks could get over the jump perfectly, without knocking it down, without injuring Kurt and not being scared.

Although this was a massive step for Socks, these jumps were nothing like the ones in the competition and Blaine was concerned. The jumps in the competition were a lot bigger and a lot more colourful. Socks still skittered at any of the coloured poles.

Kurt was busy congratulating the horse but Blaine stayed silent, as he watched them.

Two hours later, Kurt was grooming Socks and was letting the horse lazily munch on some hay.

Blaine walked in, Muffin the cat at his heels. She seemed to have taken a liking to Blaine.

Kurt smiled when he saw Blaine leaning his arms on top of the stable door. “Hey, gimme five minutes then we can go” Kurt said. They were meant to be going out for coffee after they had finished work.  Blaine nodded and only gave a small smile in return.

“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet all afternoon” Kurt asked, concerned.

Blaine took a deep breath in, figuring he may as well just jump right into it. “I, er, I’m not sure using Socks in this first competition is a good idea” Kurt froze for a second, but he turned away from Socks and gave Blaine his full attention.

“What do you mean?” Kurt said, his voice cold and his eyes narrowing.

Blaine reached a hand up to the back of his neck and rubbed it nervously. “You are allowed to use different horses for each competition if you want to. Sure, Socks is great in the dressage and the cross country but if he doesn’t do well in the jumping, you’re out. You are too good a rider to be out at the first hurdle. I’m just thinking maybe if you used Darcy or another horse for this first part. Train Socks up, use him for the rest of the competition. Get through this one first” Blaine said.

“So then all of this training has been for nothing then if I don’t use him now? No, we use Socks for all the competition. All of them. No other horse has ever connected with me like this. I don’t think I could do it on another horse. I trust him, he trusts me. This isn’t about the winning to me Blaine, this is about doing something I love”

“But you never would have agreed to do the competition if a small part of you didn’t think ‘you know I could actually win this!’ “Blaine argued, his voice raising a little.

“Of course, I hope I can get somewhere in this competition but at the end of the day, there will be other ones! I want to do this on Socks. He’s my horse!”

“But he can’t do the jumping!”

“He did it today”

“Yeah, one that was about half the size of the smallest jumps at the competition. Plus, if he sees colour, he will freak! All I’m saying is maybe you could get through on a different horse! The second competition isn’t for another two months. Get Socks to the best he can be and then use him!”

“Have you not been listening? I want to ride Socks now Blaine!” Kurt was getting angrier by the second now. Socks was peering at the boys with interest.

“Yeah, I heard you say that. But why don’t you listen to me? The competition is in twelve days Kurt. As much as I have faith in you as a rider and as much as I love Socks, I don’t think you are good enough yet”

“So I’m not a good enough rider, is that what you are saying?” Kurt asked, his eyebrows shooting upwards.

“No! Of course not! I’m just saying the horses in this competition will be jumping a lot stronger than he is right now. I get he is scared and I want to help him”

“How would you know what he feels like Blaine? How would you know what a scared horse feels like when you are riding them? You’re just a groom”

Blaine’s eyes fell with hurt, as painful memories came flooding back about Samson, his first horse. Blaine knew exactly what it felt like to be on a scared and scarred horse.

“I take it our coffee date is off?” Blaine said coldly, he turned on his heels and walked away.

Kurt placed his face in his hands with regret when he realised what he had just said. Of course, Blaine was a rider. Kurt thought about going after him but Blaine had hurt his feelings too. Did Blaine really think Socks couldn’t do this?

Maybe tomorrow would be better.

11 days until the competition

The next morning, Kurt was sat outside Socks’ stable, his head resting on his hands, he knew Blaine was here, he had seen his car outside but obviously, he was avoiding Kurt.

They were meant to be having another training session for Socks in twenty minutes but seeing as Blaine hadn’t turned up yet, Kurt was wondering whether he should just do it alone. And as much as he hated to admit but, when Kurt was lying in bed the previous night, he couldn’t help but wonder whether Blaine was right, maybe he would have to ride Darcy or someone else for this one competition.

There was a cough from the doorway of the stable barn. Kurt looked up to see Blaine standing there, looking a little sheepish.

“Umm, Hi?” Blaine said, warily.

“Hello” Kurt said, offering a tiny embarrassed smile, standing up to face Blaine properly. Blaine took the few steps forward so he was now directly in front of Kurt. There was an awkward moment of silence before they both starting talking.

“I’m sorry”                 “About yesterday”

They both laughed a little at how awkward it was. “You speak first” Kurt said.

“I’m sorry for yesterday. I should never have doubted you and Socks as a team. I’m really sorry. I promise you. I do believe in both of you, you can do this. I was just worried you and Socks were both going to end up hurt if you didn’t train him properly or if you lost at the first competition. But you can do this.” Blaine said, quickly and not really looking at Kurt until the last sentence.

“I’m sorry as well. I didn’t mean it when I said you were just a groom, I respect you and your riding opinions so much. When I said I couldn’t do this competition without Socks, I lied. I also couldn’t do it without you. I understand what you meant. Socks might not be able to do this. But I want to try. What’s life without a little risk?” Kurt replied.

“Friends?” Blaine asked hopefully, his forehead scrunching as he said it.  In answer to his question, Kurt hugged Blaine tightly. Both of them smiled over each other shoulders.

“Come on Anderson, that horse won’t train itself!” Kurt said, pulling back from the hug.

6 days until competition

The training, so far, had been a success. Socks could now jump the competition height poles with ease but today, they had to try with coloured poles. “I don’t know about this Blaine” Kurt said, uneasily from his seat on Socks’ saddle. Blaine had set the jump up small to start with but this time, it had the brightly coloured poles laid on it. Kurt had already felt the horse tense underneath him and they were a good few metres away from the jump.

“All we can do is try and hope” Blaine said, encouragingly. Internally however, he wasn’t so sure either.

Kurt frowned upon lining himself up to the jump. Socks’ ears went back straight away and he attempted to move backwards but Kurt kept his grip on Socks’ mouth firm. Horses can sense when their rider is tense or nervous which makes them scared…Kurt was not helping at this moment in time.

Kurt pushed Socks forward but the horse was having none of it and immediately dived to the side. It took a lot of coaxing from Blaine to persuade both horse and rider to try again. “I hate making him do this Blaine” Kurt said sadly.

“I know, I know you do Kurt, but we have to try” Blaine answered soothingly. “Let me try” he said all of a sudden.

“What?” Kurt said. “No-one but me has ridden him yet. Maybe that’s not a …” Kurt trailed off as he looked at Blaine who was smiling both persuasively and innocently at the same time. “You sure?” Kurt asked Blaine after he had jumped off the horse.

“My old horse used to have a few problems with jumping, I got him through that” Blaine shrugged and clambered onto Socks. Blaine didn’t line up towards the jump straight away; he walked around it in a large 20m circle, spiralling inwards so that Socks had time to inspect the jump and be near it but with Blaine’s thigh staying firmly on his flank, he couldn’t shy away from the jump either. Blaine did the spiral four or five times. Socks’ trust issues had improved majorly, proving this by allowing Blaine to ride him comfortably.

Kurt was sat on the fence, watching them. He just hoped Blaine knew what he was doing. He had made a secret pact with himself – if Socks didn’t jump one coloured pole jump properly, he would do the first competition on Darcy instead. As much as he hated himself for doing that, it’s the best thing to do.

Blaine had lined up a surprisingly calm Socks before the jump. The horses’ ears were back but he wasn’t trying to move away from the jump. Blaine glanced at Kurt briefly before pushing Socks onward. “Come on boy” Kurt breathed out, quietly.

Socks moved forward and with a giant leap, he flew over the tiny jump so his body didn’t touch it in anyway and Blaine lurched forward.

“Blaine!” Kurt cried, almost falling off the fence in fright. Blaine grabbed hold of Socks’ mane and pulled himself back into position. “He cleared it! Holy shit! He cleared it!” Blaine laughed in astonishment, a smile breaking on his face.

 Kurt beamed with pride. “Socks! You beauty!” Kurt ran towards his horse and kissed his mane.

“How did you do that?” Kurt asked, the smile on his face not fading.

“We tried it with my horse Samson. He was scared of jumps for a while. So we made him go near them for a while but not over them and eventually something clicks inside, they realise it’s okay.”

“Thank you” Kurt said, smiling at Blaine, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

“Anytime” Blaine beamed, jumping off Socks and giving him a long pat on the neck.

2 days until competition

Socks had gotten a lot better. He could clear most coloured pole jumps without shying now but occasionally, he remembered. They had jumped one clear round today so Kurt was hoping this was progress and not a fluke.

Kurt was sat on his bed, watching some rubbish on TV although he wasn’t really paying attention to it. He was thinking – and worrying – about the competition. Would he get through? Will Socks be okay? What if he freezes?

His internal worries were interrupted by a loud buzzing sound.

One new message: Blaine (1) displayed Kurt’s phone. Frowning a little, he unlocked it. He knew Blaine was working late tonight but past 9:30 is a little bit ridiculous.

The message read  : Can you come to the yard? – B x

What’s happened? Is Socks okay? – K x

He’s fine, I promise :)  I just have something to show you – B x

Okay, will be there in 10…-K x

Perfect: D – B x

Kurt smiled a little – Blaine was goofy and charming even in text.  “Dad, is it okay if I go to the yard for a bit?” Kurt called out, not really knowing where his father was in the house.

“Why?” came the muffled reply from somewhere.

“Blaine asked me too”

There was a brief pause before Burt replied. “Whatever, be home by 11 at the latest!”

“Thank you!” Kurt smiled, even if his dad couldn’t see him. He pulled a hoodie on over his t-shirt and kept his tight black skinny jeans on. He was hoping Blaine wasn’t expecting him to ride…or look remotely smart.

Kurt pulled his car up outside the yard at about 9:50 and Blaine was waiting by the gate for him. “Hello” Blaine said when Kurt got out the car.

“Hey, so why the late night meeting?” Kurt asked. Blaine smiled and simply linked his arm with Kurt’s, dragging him towards the barn.

“Blaine, what’s happening? oh” Kurt’s voice was trailed off by what he saw in the barn. Socks was standing in the barn, his coat sleek and shiny, his tack polished to the absolute max and there was an enormous banner saying ‘GOOD LUCK KURT’ draped across between the stable stalls.

“Blaine, you did all this?” Kurt asked, in astonishment. Blaine smiled and nodded. Kurt didn’t want to train Socks the day before the competition so he wasn’t tired so Kurt had been planning on cleaning all the tack and sorting everything tomorrow. But it seemed Blaine had done everything.

The tack was clean, Socks’ tail had been done in plaits and his mane had been pulled neatly, the horsebox was out.

“Why?” Kurt said almost breathless.

“Because I needed to make sure that the best rider in the competition that didn’t have to worry about anything before he had to ride. I’m your friend Kurt, I told you, I’m going to help you in any way possible and this seemed like a pretty good way to help”

“Of course it is! Blaine, this is amazing! How can I thank you enough? Come here!” Kurt exclaimed, pulling Blaine in for a hug. “Seriously, this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me” Kurt whispered in Blaine’s ear as he hooked his chin over Blaine’s shoulder.

“You’re worth it Kurt” Blaine replied softly.