Kurt had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes when Mr. Schuster announced that their spring performance would be Romeo and Juliet.

Why he didn't pick something that actually had songs in it was beyond Kurt.

But regardless, Mr. Schuster announced the play and Kurt quickly named himself the head of the costume department. He really had no interest in trying to get any of the leading parts, and he was more than happy to spend hours researching Renaissance fashion for his task.

It was no surprise to him when Rachel was named Juliet and the part of Romeo went to Blaine.

Blaine. Beautiful Blaine.

Who had never even looked at Kurt twice.

Sure they were friends, the best of friends actually, but Kurt had longed for something more for quite a while, and Blaine didn't seem interested. And why would he be? Blaine could have boys and girls falling all over him if he wanted to. With his constantly positive attitude, and soft curls, and smooth voice…

Kurt didn't stand a chance.

~&~

“I don't understand why you don't just tell him.” Rachel said, exasperated, as Kurt pinned her skirt around the hem. Rachel had figured out his major crush when she had caught Kurt staring longingly at Blaine one too many times. He made her swear to keep the secret.

“Because, Rachel,” Kurt stood up and circled around her making sure the hem was even and smoothing out a few wrinkles in the fabric. “I would like to keep my integrity intact and not make an incredible fool of myself.”

Rachel hopped of the pedestal as Kurt began to walk away to move on to another task. “It wouldn't be that bad!” She said scurrying behind him, holding her skirt to keep from tripping on it.

“Who knows? He may even like you back!”

Kurt didn't even try to hide his scoff.

~&~

“Hey, Kurt!” Blaine said as he practically skipped up to Kurt at his locker.

Kurt laughed a little at the sight. “Hi, Blaine.”

“Sooooo,” Blaine continued, “will you help me run lines tonight?”

“Blaine. Haven't I been helping you run lines for the past two weeks?”

Blaine nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. Just wanted to make sure you weren't bailing on me now.”

Kurt shook his head as he turned back to his locker to pull his things out. “Never.”

“Great! So, your house or mine?”

“Up to you.”

“Okay then, I'll pick you up at 8!” and then Blaine skipped away to his own class.

Kurt would normally protest, he has a car and can drive himself thank you very much. But…

He knew it wasn't, but dammit, if that didn't sound like a date, he didn't know what would.

And he sure as hell didn't complain when later that night, after they finished rehearsing lines, Blaine insisted they watch William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (“For inspiration, Kurt!”), and he sat so close to Kurt that their sides brushed every so often. 

~&~

Kurt was going to die.

Roll over and die right here on the spot.

Kurt was eye level with Blaine's crotch, and he was going to die.

He had to take Blaine's measurements for his costume, and he could hand the job off to one of his “helpers”, but he knew they would do it wrong, and he would end up having to re-do them anyway.

He figured the best way to go about this was to just get it over and done with. He quickly measured Blaine's inseam – quickly but accurately- and jotted down the numbers. Kurt relaxed a little bit. This didn't have to be awkward if he didn't make it that way.

“How are the lines coming?” Kurt asked conversationally as he measured the outside of Blaine's leg.

“They are going really well actually. I finally nailed that speech after you left the other day. Im just a little worried about tomorrow's practice.”

Kurt stood up and measured down Blaine's back and his shoulders. “What's tomorrow?”

“We are practicing the kissing scenes.”

Kurt froze for a moment. He had tried to forget about those parts of the play. The thought of someone else being able to kiss Blaine all they wanted…

This was silly. He had no claim over Blaine. They didn't mean anything to each other, besides just being friends.

Kurt tapped at Blaine's elbow, “Hold your arms out for me.”

Blaine did as he was told, as Kurt measured along his arms and waist, and Blaine continued talking, “I mean, I know it's just a play, but I feel like it's going to be weird. I just don't know how Im going to be able to portray feeling anything when Im not able to kiss someone that I actually care about,”

Blaine turned his head when Kurt was measuring at his shoulder, and they were all of the sudden very close. Almost too close. “You know?”

“I…” but Kurt was at a loss for words. Blaine was so close, he could feel his warm breath against his lips.

He saw Blaine's eyes flick down to look at his lips, and Kurt's breath hitched.

“Blaine! We need you on stage!” Rachel called out from somewhere in the theatre.

They both snapped out of it, and Blaine scurried off toward stage, but not before looking back over his shoulder to smile a little at Kurt.

~&~

It was the final night before the show. Kurt had been rehearsing lines with Rachel earlier in the day, and then he went to Blaine's house to run them one more time. He was also working on finishing up final accessories for the costumes. He was sewing a feather to a hat when Blaine fell back onto his bed.

“Kuuuuurrrrrrrt, I don't want to run lines any more. I feel like they will be forever ingrained into my brain. I had a dream the other night that was completely in the Shakespearean form!”

“Fine, but don't blame me if you mess up tomorrow,” Kurt said without looking up from his work. “Besides, I don't think that a Shakespearean dream would be that bad.”

Blaine laughed. “No, I guess not.”

There was silence between them for a while before Kurt looked up as he finished the headpiece.

Blaine was draped over his bed and fast sleep. Kurt couldn't look away. Blaine's long eyelashes and serine expression had caught his attention, and he was hit hard with the fact that he was completely in love with him.

But he couldn't do that to Blaine. They were best friends. If he tried to make something more of it, he would destroy their friendship and he didn't want to jeopardize that.

But still…

Kurt had waited so long for someone like Blaine to come along. Someone with his same interests, who was sweet and kind and the perfect gentleman. It didn't hurt that he was extremely attractive too. Kurt was head over heels in love with him, and before he realized what he was doing, he was sitting on the bed next to where Blaine slumbered.

Kurt thought back to the play that they had all been working so hard on for the past two months, and he wondered what it would be like to have someone be in love with him like that. That the other person would do anything to be with him, that they would even die for him.

Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.

O churl, Drunk all, and left no friendly drop

To help me after?

The lines from the play were running through his head constantly. Kurt wasn't even thinking about what he was doing anymore. He found himself softly tracing Blaine's bottom lip with his thumb.

I will kiss thy lips.

Haply some poison yet doth hang on them

To make me die with a restorative.

Maybe it was the constant repetition of the scene that he had helped practice over the past few weeks, maybe it was the combination of too many costumes and too little sleep, or maybe it was the effect of being so close to the boy he was completely in love with; whatever the reason, Kurt found himself leaning down and capturing Blaine's soft lips with his own.

Kurt couldn't help himself but to think, Thy lips are warm.

When he slowly pulled back and opened his eyes, he found pools of honey staring back at him.

Kurt gasped and sprung off the bed, and did his best to make considerable distance between himself and Blaine, who was staring at him with wide eyes.

O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath.

“Kurt...” Blaine was still staring at him in disbelief.

Kurt didn't think. He quickly grabbed his bag and ran to the door. He was down the stairs and out the door as fast as he could, paying no attention to the calls of “Kurt, wait!” behind him.

There rust, and let me die.

~&~

The opening night of the play was a success. The audience loved it and the cast received a standing ovation. Kurt had worked in the back with the stage hands, and everything went off without a hitch.

The night was perfect, and Kurt was able to avoid Blaine the whole time.

He was so embarrassed about what had happened the night before, and he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to face Blaine again.

After going to the cast party for a little while (still evading Blaine), he went home for the evening.

It wasn't until he was alone in his room, away from the adrenaline of the play and the craziness of the cast, that what he had done started to sink in.

He had kissed Blaine. 

He had kissed Blaine, and he hadn't reciprocated. Nothing came of it.

And he had probably lost his best friend.

O Romeo…

Kurt put his head in his hands as the first tears sprang to his eyes.

Then he heard a small ‘tap' against his window.

He looked up from his hands just in time to see a small stone hit his window and make another ‘tap'.

He stood and wiped his eyes before cautiously walking over to the window.

When he saw Blaine standing below, tossing small pebbles up at him, he quickly went to the window and threw it open.

“Blaine! What the hell are you doing?! If my dad sees you here this late he might actually kill you! What are you doing here?”

Blaine dropped the rest of the stones that had been in his hand and seemed to gather himself before speaking. “With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls, for stony limits cannot hold love out, and what love can do, that dares love attempt. Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me.”

Kurt tried to ignore the way his heart started to speed up at “love's light wings”.

It's just the script, Kurt thought to himself, don't read anything into it.

“Oh my god, Blaine, you are an idiot. What are you doing here?”

“By love, that first did prompt me to inquire,” Blaine said as he walked over to the base of the tree that extended up the side of the house, and next to Kurt's window.

“He lent me counsel,” Blaine jumped up onto the first branch, “and I lent him my eyes.”

“Blaine. Don't you dare. Get down from there!”

“I am no pilot,” Blaine went on, as he continued climbing up the tree, “yet, wert thou as far as that vast shore, washed with the furthest sea, I should adventure for such a merchandise.”

By the time Blaine ended his speech, he was perched on the branch closest to Kurt's window.

“Blaine, you are crazy,” Kurt said with a small smile that he was trying to hold back. “Why are you here?”

Blaine grinned back at Kurt and extended his hand dramatically toward the sky, “By yonder blessed moon I vow—“

“O, swear not by the moon, idiot” Kurt interrupted him as he grabbed Blaine's hand and pulled him in through the window.

And then Blaine was standing in front of him, and looking as gorgeous as ever. Kurt had to stop himself from fiddling with his hands, he was so nervous about what was going on. What was going on?

“Why are you here?” he heard himself say again, breaking the palpable tension in the room.

The suddenly, Blaine reached up and brushed a strand of hair off his forehead, then stroked his cheek. Kurt's breath hitched at the close, dare he say it, intimate contact.

“I love you, Kurt.”

And then Kurt wasn't breathing at all.

Did he just hear that right? Had Blaine actually said those words that he had been longing to hear for so long?

Kurt guessed he did, because Blaine was leaning forward and kissing him. Kurt relaxed in Blaine's embrace, as if this was what he had been waiting for, so that he could finally just let go. 

He kissed him back, arms winding around Blaine's waist as Blaine's hands cupped his face. They kissed for a while, until the need for air was too much, and they both pulled back, resting their foreheads together.

When Kurt opened his eyes, and saw Blaine standing in front of him, he couldn't help but let out a giddy giggle.

“What is it?” Blaine asked, smiling back at him.

“You climbed a tree and quoted Shakespeare at me.”

“So? I thought I was being romantic,” Blaine said, slightly pouting at Kurt.

“You are ridiculous,” Kurt said, capturing Blaine's lips again. “but I loved it. Quite romantic.”

Blaine beamed with pride, and planted a short kiss to Kurt's lips, then he kissed his cheek, and made his way down to Kurt's neck. He continued kissing there, and soon the kisses turned into small sucks and nibbles. Kurt couldn't help but let out a little moan as he tangled his fingers in Blaine's hair. He couldn't believe this was happening. But they couldn't continue like this. His dad was right down the hall, and he could come in at any moment.

“Blaine? Ugh, oh god, Blaine, we have to stop.” He said reluctantly pushing him away.

Blaine pouted at him again. “But why?” he all but whined. 

“Because, my dad is here, and you are not supposed to be here. He could come in and see you at any moment. You should go.” He unenthusiastically started moving Blaine toward the window.

“Alright, alright.” Blaine turned back to him just before he was about to leave.

“O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?”

Kurt knew what was coming next, and he was ready for it.

“What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?” Kurt returned with a grin.

Blaine looked at him nervously, “Umm… the exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine? Maybe?”

Kurt laughed, “You are such a dork. But yes, I love you too.” He leaned forward and kissed Blaine again.

I gave thee mine before thou didst request it.