Chapter Text
“Hold for 3… 2… 1… And, come to rest in tabletop position.”
Blaine planted his knees back on the ground, grateful that he forked out $10 more for a mat with a little extra padding. To say he had been dancing and boxing since high school, he was surprised by how much he trembled trying to hold some of those poses.
“Great job, everyone. Now, swivel your feet to one side and gently lay back for savasana- otherwise known as the corpse pose.” Their instructor paused. “Which, by the looks of things, is how I’m guessing a lot of you guys are feeling, huh?”
The class laughed amongst themselves, making him smile in the way that caused his nose to scrunch up and his eyes to twinkle.
Not that Blaine was staring or anything.
He had been recommended the classes by his Dance 401 instructor, who- after one particularly dreadful class involving Blaine wobbling and stumbling his way through the barré exercises- told him that a summer of slacking off on his fitness had left him with all the core strength of a jellyfish. Harsh remark aside, he figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a go. If he could survive Sue’s bootcamp back in high school, he could surely handle an hour of yoga?
“Deep, meaningful breaths, guys. Remember the intentions we set out at the beginning of class. Find your place of inner peace.”
Well, that was until he turned up to the first class and discovered their instructor was a far cry from the handsy old lady in bright teal activewear he had imagined.
Kurt had been teaching yoga in the NYADA studios for a couple of years since graduation, initially to tide him over during audition season post-senior year, but now mostly for his own enjoyment and to retain his flexibility in between roles. Turns out he had quite the knack for commanding a room, when given the chance. He was kind, but firm, easing them into the harder poses so smoothly that Blaine hardly noticed he was doing them until he felt the burning creep up through his shoulders.
Objectively, he shouldn’t have any issues with it. He was young, active, and just about bendy enough to accommodate even the slightly more ruthless positions Kurt put them in. Everything would be fine were it not for Blaine’s embarrassing and unbridled infatuation with him.
Tall, but delicately elfin, with lean muscle clad in sinfully tight leggings that did incredible things to everything from the hips downwards (and always carefully chosen to complement his mat and gym bag, he noted). His hair, despite him spending the majority of the class bending forwards or upside down, always managed to stay perfectly coiffed and silky smooth. And those eyes … Blaine was glad that he usually wound up a little red and sweaty anyway, because he was positive that he would die if Kurt noticed how hard he blushed whenever he glanced over to check how he was doing.
“Okay, guys, that’s it. Thank you so much for your time, and I hope to see all of your lovely faces again next week.” Kurt said, allowing his eyes to flicker briefly to the cute guy with the curly hair in the second row, quickly looking back up to smile at the rest of the class. “Namaste.”
Like that . Blaine swallowed thickly, running a hand over his curls to smooth down any that had broken free from their gel prison.
“Namaste.”
Slowly, people began to rise and gather their things, making their way to the doors at the front of the studio and thanking Kurt before leaving. Blaine took his time, rolling up his mat tightly so it wouldn’t spring open on the subway home, pulling tennis shoes on his feet and a sweatshirt over his head.
“Nice job today, Blaine,” Came a soft voice from behind him. Blaine jumped, twisting around to see Kurt standing behind him. “Your downward dog is really improving.” He said with a sweet smile.
Shit, shit, shit- don’t say anything stupid!
“Oh! Uh, thank you.” He offered what he hoped was an equally sincere grin, but came off a little bashful, Kurt noticed. “I was worried I kind of sucked, so that’s- um- good to know.”
“On the contrary,” Kurt said, brow raised. “You’re one of my best students. The dancers always are.”
“How did you know I dance?”
It was Kurt’s turn to flush, the warmth creeping up the back of his neck. Definitely not because he was checking out his ass.
“I, er, saw you in here earlier this week? You take Cassie’s senior class, don’t you?”
Blaine’s eyes widened, slightly mortified at the thought of Kurt seeing him trip up no less than three of the ballet majors sharing his bar. “I.. Yeah, I do. She’s…”
“Evil?” Kurt suggested, making the pair of them snicker.
“Well, she definitely has interesting methods…”
“Believe me, I know. I used to be TA for her freshman class. She’ll grill anyone, given the chance, but she’s especially ruthless with the newbies.”
Blaine slung his gym bag over one shoulder. “God, I remember my first class with her. She threw that giant cane at one girl for her ‘sub-par jetés’ . It missed her and went straight through the window. Rolled right into moving traffic…” He trailed off, worried he was boring Kurt with his rambling, but perked up delightedly when he realised he had burst into loud, angelic laughter.
“Wow… That’s Cassie for you.” Kurt shook his head, turning at the sudden sound of his afternoon class trickling into the room. “Ah, my seniors are here. I’ll have to let you go now, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, of course! Sorry for keeping you, I didn’t mean to distract you or anything, you just- I mean, I just- um…”
He was cut off by Kurt’s hand cupping his shoulder. Blaine held his breath, willing his heart to stop beating so damn fast when he noticed how Kurt’s eyes were an even deeper shade of blue up close, warm and comforting.
“It’s alright, you didn’t keep me.” Kurt said, keeping his hand there for a second before squeezing gently and dropping it. “I’ll see you next week?”
Blaine didn’t trust himself to speak, so just nodded and shuffled- past the crowd of old people- out of the doors. Once in the corridor, he groaned to himself, rubbing his face to try and relieve some of the redness in his cheeks, praying it disappeared before the time he got back to his dorm so that his roommates wouldn’t tease him too mercilessly for it.