Nudge

Mike felt his stomach twist. The whole choir room seemed to be on edge after Kurt had finished his song, a smattering of applause filling in the silence where everyone wished the two boys would just talk. Except, Mike knew that it would be too much to ask; the look in Blaine's eyes when he had glanced over to him during that song… well, Mike wasn't blind.

Mr Schue filled in the awkward silence, and Kurt was sitting too far away from Blaine, and it was just wrong. As soon as they were free to go, there seemed to be a collective pause, as all of them waited. Mike could see the twitch of Kurt's head, as if he was physically trying not to turn around and see what Blaine would do.

But then Blaine just got up silently from his chair, walking out of the room slightly too fast, but not as dramatically as he had after his performance yesterday. Kurt's shoulders slumped, and Mike was only half listening to the buzz from the girls as they swarmed around him, offering advice and guidance for what he should do next.

Mike simply turned to Tina, who was staring at him with sad, painfully understanding eyes. Because, been there, done that. "Raincheck?"

He loved that he didn't need to say more than one word for her to know everything. She nodded, her lips pressed tight as she tried to contain her emotions for Kurt's sake. "Raincheck."

Tina leant over and pecked a soft kiss onto his lips before joining the other girls around Kurt. Mike threw her a grateful, loving smile, before shouldering his bag and disappearing out of the choir room in the same direction as Blaine had gone.

He had to jog to catch up with him – Blaine could be fast when he wanted to be – but he managed to find him outside, heading to his car, "Hey! Wait up!"

Mike watched as Blaine's shoulders visibly tightened from behind, and could practically hear the internal debate Blaine was having as he struggled to decide whether to keep walking or turn around.

Whatever the argument was, something won out, because Blaine was turning just as Mike pulled level with him. The conflicted grief from earlier was gone, replaced by the Blaine they had all seen since yesterday up until about mid-way through Kurt's apology song. The Blaine that was so badly hurt, but really goddam pissed off about it, and lashing out at everything and anything that came close. "I don't want to hear it, Mike…"

No preamble, straight to the point. Mike just shrugged. He had left Blaine alone yesterday, knowing that after such a vicious performance he had needed some cooling off time. But that grace period was done with. "Tough."

Blaine rolled his eyes and folded his arms defensively across his chest. There was a tremor in his movements, so starkly familiar that it tugged at Mike with a remembered pain. "Well, tell Kurt that I'm not ready to talk about it, and that'll get you off the hook!"

Mike blinked in genuine confusion. Did Blaine honestly think that the only reason Mike had followed him was because of Kurt? Didn't Blaine realise they were friends? Hell, by now they were probably closer friends than Mike was with Kurt. He decided to ignore the comment pointedly, "My parents are working late tonight, so they left me some money for take-out. You wanna come over for some pizza? It's seriously like the only time I get to order food that isn't Asian… You know how weird my mom can get about stuff like that…"

And Mike knew that he was probably babbling, and if Tina were here, she would probably be shaking her head in fond second-hand embarrassment for him. But Blaine just stared at him, and that horrible defensive anger seemed to melt into the tiniest of smiles, "Oh… That'd… yeah, I mean, that'd be nice…"

Mike grinned, "Awesome. I need to grab my car. I'll meet you at mine!"

"I'm just saying – pineapple on a pizza is wrong on so many levels!" Mike exclaimed with a disgusted look on his face as Blaine tore into his slice. Mike's half of the pizza box was already littered with tiny chunks of the offending fruit that he had meticulously picked off.

Blaine laughed incredulously, "Then why did you let me order it, moron!"

Mike just shrugged easily, "You said you liked it." Blaine faltered slightly for what must have been the tenth time since he had arrived. Mike had no idea why he was so on edge – it wasn't like this was an irregular thing for them. Sure, sometimes all the Glee guys were piled round, or else it was just Brittany who was demanding the two of them learn a new routine with her, but very often Blaine and Mike would just hang out. They were both pretty relaxed guys most of the time, with the same positive attitude and, Mike was delighted to discover back when Blaine transferred, full of the kind of energy that is best expressed dancing.

Speaking of which… "Oh, yes!"

The playlist they had been blasting for the last hour switched track, and Mike was up on his feet in an instant. Blaine groaned, "Oh my god, how can you dance at a time like this without throwing up?"

Mike grinned, pulling off an impressive spin that kicked off the arm of the sofa, gesturing for Blaine to get up, "Pizza is never an excuse! Come on! You and Britt put together some kickass choreography for this a couple of weeks ago!"

Blaine laughed, but let himself be dragged up nonetheless, "No, you and Brittany put it together; I just put my feet where you told me!"

Mike retort was cut short by a high-pitched beeping that rang over the music, and Blaine's whole body seemed to tense as his mind came back to itself. They both turned to the offender; Blaine's phone sitting innocently next to a half eaten pizza slice. For a moment, neither boy moved, but then, ever so slowly, Blaine walked over to it. Mike watched with tense anticipation for his friend's reaction.

There it was.

Blaine sat heavily down on the sofa, still staring at the screen. His flighty anger was returning rapidly, accompanied by that tell-tale tremor which Mike had nearly managed to erase in the time Blaine had been round his house.

Denial is always brief. Mike thumbed the remote for the music to lower the volume slightly, before hoisting himself over the sofa to sit on the arm, his socked feet resting close to Blaine's legs. After a couple of minutes of silence, in which Mike really wished his only form of occupation hadn't been to simply watch Blaine's heartbroken face, the other boy finally seemed to settle on an emotion.

Blaine threw his phone violently onto the couch, where it bounced with an unsatisfying reaction, "He wants me to go with him to Miss Pillsbury tomorrow morning. For couple's therapy. Like a stupid school counsellor can fix this!"

Mike bit his lip, not really knowing what to say, not really having enough of a picture to know what was really going on with Blaine and Kurt. Oh, sure, he had been given the shortened version from Tina yesterday, but if there was one thing both of them had learnt from being in New Directions, it was that you should always know both sides of a couple's story. "What is actually happening between you two?"

With Blaine's expression, Mike was pretty certain that this was the first time anyone had actually asked him properly. "Kurt cheated on me. With this guy named Chandler." Sometimes Mike was surprised at how much venom Blaine could inject into his voice when he wanted to, "I found these texts…"

And Mike got the whole story. He listened quietly as Blaine's voice wavered, alternating between anger and a deep hurt, all the while speaking with a solid bass line of honest confusion. The tremor had returned full force, his twitchy movements erratic as he tried to make sense of it all in the retelling.

"Are you going to go?" Mike asked the question, even though he already knew the answer. It was just Blaine who needed to work it out.

"Why bother?" There was that hopeless tone, the god-awful breaking hysteria that weaves through even the strongest of voices when the hurt gets too much.

You wanna try out a new routine for next week's song with me?

Why bother? Brittany can keep up with you better than I can, and I have history homework anyway. I don't really have time for a glee performance this week… Don't worry, you do one without me.

"Because you guys are in it for the long haul." Mike replied simply.

Blaine shook his head violently, no longer reaching Mike's eyes, "Says who? Clearly I can't make him feel as good as Chandler can!"

Awesome dance…

You don't sound like you though it was awesome…

Yeah? Well maybe I'm just sick of seeing you dance with other people!

"Blaine… I'm not saying what Kurt did was right, or even okay, but is that really the issue?"

Blaine twisted to look at him in disbelief, "What else would be the issue here?"

You told me to dance with Brittany! And the Cheerio girls! You've basically told me to dance with everyone but you, and now you're getting mad at me?

Yeah, well it's gonna be more than just Brittany and a few short-skirted girls next year, so I'm just getting in some practice…

What's that supposed to mean?

Mike shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to push things too far with his friend as upset as he was, "Dunno…"

Blaine fidgeted uncomfortably, swallowing thickly, "We don't talk anymore… I mean, we do, but…"

Have you any idea how much it kills me to watch you dance? I love you, Mike, and I will be forever proud of you and your dancing, and how you're gonna make your every dream come true. But each time you dance something new, I can't stop thinking about next year, and everything I'm going to miss. You're not gonna dance with me, you're not gonna be near me. You are going to be starting a brand new life, starting your dream, and I'm going to be stuck in Lima. Alone. It's self-preservation… I guess I just wanted to try and prepare myself for next year, when I won't have you…

"Well, maybe that's what you guys need? Maybe there are just some things you need to tell him. I know firsthand how dense guys can be when it comes to unspoken drama – and your relationship has two."

Blaine snorted, "I don't think I can…"

Why didn't you just tell me, Tina? I'm not going to leave you, you won't be alone! We live in the age of technology and I intend to make full use of it to bug you every minute of every day!

What was I supposed to say? That I don't want you to go? That I don't know if I can survive next year without you? I won't stand in the way of your dream, Mike, I could never live with myself if I even put the slightest doubt in your head. I just thought I could pull away a little…make it easier when you do go…for both of us…

"Do you love him?" Mike asked simply.

"Of course!" The reflexive answer was immediate, slicing through the cloud of hurt anger that hovered over the other boy.

"Then you can tell him. Anything. Trust me, he'll want to hear it." Mike paused, waiting for the full weight of his words to sink, hoping that their full meaning registers in Blaine's head. "So, you gonna go with him tomorrow?"

Blaine gave a one-shouldered shrug, and didn't raise his head. Mike didn't push it. He just took it for the confirmation he hadn't really needed.

When Tina caught a glimpse of Kurt and Blaine the next day at school, her breath caught in her throat, and her hand reflexively tightened around Mike's as she pulled him back around the corner, out of sight.

The corridors had already begun to empty for the next class, so it had been hard to miss the two boys. Especially as Kurt had his arm almost possessively tight around Blaine's shoulders, while Blaine's arm rested slightly tentatively, but no less tightly, around Kurt's waist, almost disbelieving. Both boys had raw expressions, and even at a distance Tina hadn't missed the telling glimpse of red rimmed eyes.

She turned, smiling softly at her boyfriend, "They're talking again."

"Good." Mike grinned in return, happily accepting the kiss Tina pulled him into. When they parted, he looked at her more intently, "You okay?"

She shrugged softly, understanding the multitude of unspoken questions in the simple query, "Yeah. I've got Blaine, and he'll have me. It's only one year."

"Only one year." Mike echoed, clasping Tina's hand tightly.

They could do this. They would make it work, just like Kurt and Blaine.

Couples like them, they were in this for the long haul, through the pain and misunderstandings just as much as the happiness and the laughs.

What was one year in a lifetime?

FIN