Blaine sits at his desk, editing an article from one of his juniors. It’s good, he thinks, potential. The news room is so loud he can barely think, phones, voices, printers but he loves it, he loves the chaos, the disorder. He loves this time, the 10 o’clock rush as it’s fondly called in the office. The journalists and editors have 2 hours before the paper goes to print, those two hours can be the difference between a job and unemployment. The difference between their crummy 20 word columns to a top reporter with their own spread. ‘This article’, they all think, ‘this article will be my big break, this will get me noticed, get me that job on the news/in editing/at that huge news cooperation’ and they hit ‘send’ with confidence and assurance.

Blaine’s sent his already, now he’s editing the rest of his section, he certifies one and turns on his swivel chair, pushing off the floor with his feet. The chair glides over to the printer, an outreached hand ready to catch the warm paper as it rolls from the depths of his printer.

He misses.

He hasn’t missed for 5 years. The fact would have bothered him, had his heart not just stopped. There, in the doorway, both hands clutching the shoulder strap of a brown, leather messenger bag, clad in a black military coat that is both tight fitting and manly, stands the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on. His eyes flash round the room as a small, awkward smile plays around his lips. The editor, a large, bear-like man with a friendly face, stands with a huge hand on the man’s delicate shoulder.

‘SILENCE’ he roars and the phones stop ringing, the voices shut up and the printers fall to a grinding halt, Blaine’s always impressed by that voice, its ability to seemingly silence the whole of new york. No sirens, no shouts, no taxi horns can be heard. ‘Thanks’ says the editor in his drawling British accent ‘Guys, I want you all to say hullo to Kurt’ a few mumbles of ‘Hi, Kurt’ sound like the voices of reluctant kindergarteners. ‘Kurt’s our new fashion editor’. Blaine’s heart leaps, that’s the desk next to his. ‘I know we’ll all miss Lucy…’ if the room had been silent before then this was something else, the news of Lucy’s death still hangs , stale, in the air of the office. Blaine looks down at his lap, ‘But Kurt is a great guy so let us all welcome him to our family!’ A genuine burst of applause thunders through the silence. Blaine watches the editor say something to Kurt and point to Blaine, then to the empty desk by his side. He grabs some stray papers that have made their way over the low partition and grins at Kurt as he approaches.

‘Hi’ he says over the phones, voices and printers. ‘I’m Blaine Anderson, political editor’ he reaches out a hand, Kurt takes it gently,
‘Kurt Hummel’ he smiles and shakes the proffered hand. Close up, Blaine can see why he’s fashion editor, a Tartan trilby, boots that Blaine knows are women’s (sitting next to the fashion editor does grace you with a bit of an insight into the fashion world) yet Kurt manages to make look masculine. Kurt sits at the desk and Blaine watches as his eyes regard the bare, partition walls, slip over to Blaine’s side, see the patchwork of photos, trinkets and cards that make Blaine’s desk Blaine’s and slide back to his side. ‘I’m gonna have to decorate this place, huh!?’ he says. Blaine grins and nods, ‘Goof’ he thinks to himself, but he’s unwilling to unstick his throat lest something even more idiotic came out. Kurt looks over the low partition again and his eyes fall on the little black-and-white ultrasound photo tacked to the corner of his monitor. ‘Oh,’ he says ‘yours?’ he says lifting his blue, blue eyes to Blaine’s honey coloured.
‘Yeah’ Blaine says and thanks his lucky stars that that came out normal.
‘Do you know what it is yet?’
‘My wife does, I want a surprise’
‘Ah,’ says Kurt, 'I think I agree with you there,how far?’
‘7 months, only 2 to go!’ Blaine kick’s himself, any idiot could see there was two months left. Kurt nods and smiles.

They fall silent and Kurt begins aquatinting himself to the production system and reading the employee’s manual. Various people stop to introduce themselves on their way out. It’s pretty obvious Kurt’s gay and Blaine can see the delight in his body language grow, no one is bothered around here, but Kurt obviously comes from somewhere quite different. ‘So,’ Blaine says as the last greeter files out, Blaine finished almost an hour ago but he wanted to stay and talk to Kurt. ‘Where were you born and bred?’ Kurt seems to grimace for a second then his smiles back,
‘Ohio’
Blaine’s taken aback ‘No way,' he says, 'really?’
Kurt Nods ‘Lima’
‘I went to school in Ohio’ Blaine says, thanking the good Lord he’s found something they have in common,
‘Oh, really? Where?’
‘Dalton?’ says Blaine ‘Do you know it?’
‘Yeah!’ confirms Kurt, ‘My show choir competed against them, the warblers, right?’
‘So you went to..?’
‘McKinley’ says Kurt immediately
‘Think I was a little before your time’ says Blaine, Kurt’s quite obviously early twenties, whereas Blaine’s 28.

They talk about anything and everything but it’s not until Blaine notices the clocks on the wall that say it’s 1 am that he calls there conversation to a halt. ‘Fuck!’ he yelps, ‘I should have been home an hour ago!’ He gathers his stuff frantically while apologising to Kurt and promising to talk more tomorrow, perhaps over coffee he asks and when Kurt says he’s be delighted his heart swells. ‘Until tomorrow then’ he says as he sidles past Kurt’s chair towards the door, Kurt nods and grins shyly up at Blaine.

*******

Blaine thinks hard as he sits on the subway, a battered copy of ‘Great Expectations’ sits in his hands. He’s not reading it, he just uses it as a barrier, avoiding late night, often drunken and awkward conversations with strangers. Blaine’s always known he was attracted to men, he’s slept with many and loved it more than sex with any girl. Shit, he’s even had relationships with men but he’s still married to a woman, he still has a child on the way. He always found men empty compared to women,but he loves both, he knows that, technically, that makes him Bisexual, but it’s more complicated than that. And right now he can’t stop thinking about Kurt. He hates himself, he knows he should be thinking about the woman carrying his child, but he can’t. He’s completely besotted.

With Kurt.