Archive of Our Own ^beta

Blaine stares intensely at his TV screen. He moves his pro controller in his hands with ease and his character on screen mirrors him. In the corner of the screen, the HUD indicates that Blaine can use his special and he presses the right button.

Blaine’s character explodes ink all over the map, just when Kurt’s character got close.

“Damnit!” Kurt yells. Blaine grins. Not that Kurt can see it. At this rate, they should be happy that Voice Chat works, so a video call is out of their reach.

Right then, the match ends. The last minute has passed. Blaine cheers loudly.

Maybe he’s a bit too loud, because his neighbour bonks on the wall.

Blaine lets out a sigh.

“Sorry!” he yells back.

“What was that?” Kurt asks.

Blaine rolls his eyes. “Just my neighbour. Don’t worry about it. I don’t think he likes having fun.”

Kurt barks out a laugh.

“Oh, I wish that were me!” he says.

“How so?” Blaine asks.

“My neighbour seems to have too much fun sometimes,” Kurt says, sounding a bit annoyed, “I just asked him to calm down.”

“Maybe our neighbours should swap,” Blaine says with a laugh.

“Maybe.”

Blaine turns back to the screen. The next match is about to start and even though Kurt and Blaine are on different teams, they still take playing together very seriously.

“Ready?” Kurt asks, while the intro music plays in the background.

“Ready.”

“Hold the door!” Blaine yells as he sprints towards the elevator. He feels relieved when he realises that the other person waits for him, but that relief doesn’t last long when he realises who that other person is.

“Oh. Hello,” Blaine says with a growl.

Mr. 21, which is what Blaine calls his neighbour from apartment 21, gives him a cold nod. The elevator ride to their floor is relatively short, but with this tension between them, it feels like ages. 

“Sorry for the loudness of the other day, by the way,” Blaine says, since unlike Mr. 21, Blaine at least has the decency to act polite. 

Mr. 21 huffs out some air. So much for an apology.

The elevator doors open and Blaine rushes towards his apartment without saying another word. Why bother trying? Mr. 21 moved in about a year ago and he’s never even said a word to Blaine, and that’s not Blaine’s fault. On moving day, Blaine knocked on his door to introduce himself. He even brought cookies as a housewarming gift, and as an apology for future music sessions.

Mr. 21 never opened the door, even though Blaine knew he was home. Some of his stuff was still in the hallway and some movers were walking around with boxes.

Blaine first saw Mr. 21 when they were both leaving their apartments. At first, Blaine needed some seconds to compose himself. He had to admit that his new neighbour was very attractive and Blaine wanted to get to know him.

“Going my way?” Blaine had said, trying to start a conversation with his new neighbour.

Mr. 21 had given him a half shrug and then he left without saying anything else. He didn’t even hold the elevator that time. Maybe that was partially Blaine’s fault, because after that cold reaction, he’d stood in silence, trying to understand what had just happened.

Back then, Blaine had brushed it off. Everyone has bad days.

But Mr. 21 never seemed to care.

Instead, based on Mr. 21’s occasionally annoyed sighs and grunt, Blaine seemed to be a nuisance in his eyes, so at one point Blaine gave up on trying to talk to his hot but unnecessarily rude neighbour. Every time they run into each other, they immediately avoid each other’s eyes. Mr. 21’s awkwardness and rudeness was a huge point of frustration.

The moment Blaine closes his front door, he fishes his phone out of his pocket in order to text his friends about today’s occurrence.

Blaine: Hot neighbour’s at it again

Wes: what happened this time???

Blaine: I actually tried to apologise for some noise disturbance, but he just ignored me as usual 😪

Wes: shocking

Wes: at least this time you can say for sure that you’re the bigger man

Wes: which is quite hard since, ya know, you’re super short

David: GET REKT

Thad: lmao Blaine

Blaine: I hate you

Blaine puts away his coat and he kicks off his shoes. Today was already stressful enough. His shitty neighbour’s behaviour is just a cherry on top.

He needs to unwind.

Blaine changes into something more comfortable, gets a cup of coffee, and he walks towards his office. It’s a music room, and a gaming room. Hopefully Kurt will be online. He turns on his Switch and he fast forwards through Off the Hook while waiting for Discord to start. Living in an old building in New York has its advantages, because it looks really nice, but the main disadvantage is that for some fucking reason, parts seemed to have stayed in the past, like the Wi-Fi.

It's even happened that Blaine got banned temporarily from Splatoon 2 because the internet kept ending the matches. Blaine gets that it’s done to prevent people from intentionally powering off when they’re about to lose, but it sucks.

Since Blaine always ignores Off the Hook (sorry, Nintendo), he uses the menu to check the current stages. Then, the tone of a Discord call rings from the computer screen.

Kurt’s online and he’s calling.

At that same time, Blaine gets a pop-up on his Switch screen of Kurt playing Splatoon 2. He’s here!

Blaine answers his call by saying: “You would not believe the day I’m having.”

“God, tell me about it,” Kurt says knowingly, but there’s something weary in his voice. Blaine immediately checks the date and he almost lets out a sigh of relief when he realises it’s not a significant day, so he hasn’t forgotten anything.

“What’s up with your day?” Blaine asks.

“Just one of those days, you know?” Kurt dances around whatever he’s thinking. Blaine doesn’t mind.

They don’t owe each other anything, and that is what makes their friendship so good. Discord is semi-anonymous. All Kurt and Blaine know about each other are basic things like name, age and the fact that they live in the same time zone. Of course, over the past two years, they have started to learn more about the other, because they talk about their days. Blaine won’t be surprised if Kurt knows that Blaine lives in New York, since Blaine complains about the subway a lot.

Some things are very personal, like Blaine’s now great relationship with his dad and Kurt’s grief, so Blaine considers Kurt one of his best friends, but there are also some boundaries that they never cross, like last names, phone numbers or addresses.

Even though Kurt and Blaine know a lot of personal things of each other, they don’t ever have to tell each other everything. That’s freeing, in a way.

They also haven’t seen each other yet. The lack of proper Wi-Fi isn’t to blame here. They can’t video call through Discord, but they can upload photos. Both have never done so. It’s almost an unspoken rule between them that no one understands. Blaine’s slowly thinking about breaking that rule, but he hasn’t brought it up yet.

“You still there?” Kurt asks.

“Yes,” Blaine says with haste. He’s indeed been silent for a while. Luckily, he has a great excuse. “Sorry, I was distracted. I was checking the current stages.”

“And this is why you never ignore Off the Hook, Blaine!” Kurt sing-songs.

“There’s Rainmaker at Goby Area and Kelp Dome for League. Should we do that? Then I can rant about my day during the match.”

“That bad?”

Blaine lets out a long exaggerated sigh.

“That’s very telling,” Kurt says, sounding sympathetic.

Kurt and Blaine pair up for the League game and they pick out their gear. While Blaine’s browsing through his weapons, he starts ranting. He has a lot to say.

“It’s as if the universe hates me or something. First, there was some technical disturbance on my way to teaching. Then, God, I know she’s a child, but some kids are the worst. You notice that she has no interest in actually putting effort into learning piano. She just stares at me with complete and utter disinterest on her face and she uses every possibility to be on her phone. Sometimes I just want to step to her parents and beg them to stop this, because it’s clear that they are the ones who want their daughter to be great at it, but I can always use the money and they pay royally to turn their child into something she’s not.”

“That sounds like shitty parenting,” Kurt says over the music. They’ve been matched with another pair. The game is starting. “My dad always used to be so open minded about the things I wanted, even if he didn’t understand it.”

Blaine hums in agreement. Every time Kurt talks about his dad, it’s nice. Blaine’s obviously never met him, but it sounds like he was a good man.

The match starts. Both Kurt and Blaine have been playing so much Splatoon 2 since release that they can easily multitask. They always talk during their plays, but it’s true that Blaine needs to focus a bit more. His story becomes a bit more sporadic.

“Yeah, it’s just, it sucks that I am so passionate about- wait, are you grabbing the Rainmaker? Oh, never mind. Anyway, it sucks that I am so passionate about music and yet teaching some kids is all I can do.”

“Didn’t you apply for that one position in- oh, fucking hell, fuck those Tenta Missiles- uh…” Kurt trails off, since his character is being chased by someone from the opposite team, but Blaine knows what he’s referring to. Blaine recently applied to another job.

“Yeah. I’m still waiting for a reaction, but I’m not too hopeful,” Blaine laments. After getting a ton of rejections, he’s learnt to not but all his hopes up. “I’m considering trying something else. I don’t know if I have the qualifications, but I will have to read into it.”

“Not music related?” Kurt sounds surprised.

“No, no, it’s still music.”

In fact, it’s Broadway, but not the way Blaine had dreamt of. Blaine’s always wanted to be on Broadway, no matter how. Playing in the orchestra pit is maybe not the thing that Blaine had in mind, but when Wes told him that he knows someone who’s looking for a musician to sub, Blaine knew he could at least try. Broadway musicians can miss quite some performances, as long as they find someone to substitute them. It’s all about connections, and thanks to Wes, Blaine has them.

He obviously doesn’t tell Kurt all of this, since it might be too personal, and Blaine first wants to breach into photo territory before they move on to more accurate locations.

“Well, in that case, I’m rooting for you. I’m also rooting for you to please use the baller special.”

“Incoming,” Blaine says excitedly. His character rolls towards enemy turf, explodes ink over a player from the other team, and Kurt’s character fires some long-range shots. Another team members swims their way up to the pedestal and slams the Rainmaker on it.

Both Kurt and Blaine hit their desks loud enough so that the other can hear. That’s their way of high-fiving.

“Another round?” Blaine asks.

“Maybe wait for ten minutes?” Kurt suggests, “Then it’s Splat Zones time on Snapper Canal and Blackbelly Skatepark.”

Blaine hums in agreement. That sounds good. Now he also has the time to finish his story. The two of them got a bit too caught up in the Rainmaker match, which was to be expected. He decides to get some more coffee and he takes his phone with him.

“But yeah, I’m definitely not blaming my friends for going back to school and investing in another career path, since the entertainment industry is rough.”

Wes has turned to law, although that wasn’t very surprising, Nick is back to school to become a teacher, Trent’s always had a passion for IT and he’s now working at a software development start-up, Jeff is a communication advisor, David is now studying economics and Thad is the only one who’s still doing something artistic by working in an art shop.

Back at school they all dreamt of making it big and what not. They moved to big places like Los Angeles and New York in order to be that one in a million. Right now, only Wes, David and Thad are left in New York.

Really, Blaine cannot begrudge them for choosing a more stable career path, but it sucks to be the only one left who’s still trying.

“The fashion industry is gruesome too, but I think I am having a much better time,” Kurt says, sounding sympathetic, “It’s great to slowly get back to work after everything.”

“I can imagine. I’m happy everything’s going better.”

“Speaking of things possibly going better,” Kurt says, “I ran into The Guy again.”

“You did?” Blaine asks and he walks back to his office. Blaine doesn’t know much about ‘The Guy’, but Kurt talks about him every now and then. Blaine doesn’t really know how to feel about it. “Did you finally talk to him?”

“Of course not, Blaine, who do you think I am?” Kurt deadpans and Blaine snorts. After a small beat of silence, Kurt adds: “But he did talk to me.”

“Did he?”

“And I ignored him.”

“Oh… Kurt…”

“One day,” Kurt says woefully, “But let’s not dwell on my inability to talk to this hot guy I vaguely know. We have a Splat Zone to hold.”

It’s not a name on the Broadway marquee, but it’s good enough for Blaine. Blaine gets out of the subway and he walks home. He’s almost there and he’s itching to start practicing. During the subway ride, he was already playing air piano out of an old habit. He decides to call Wes to keep him updated and to thank him.

Wes picks up after the first ring.

“And?” he sounds eager.

“Hi, how’s your day?” Blaine says, just to piss Wes off. He knows Wes is impatient.

“Cut the crap, did you get the job?”

“I wouldn’t call it a job, per se,” Blaine says with a smile that Wes cannot see, “It’s still on a more freelance basis.”

“Blaine, I swear to God.”

“Yes, yes, I got the job,” Blaine finally relents and he then has to hold his phone at arm’s length to prevent Wes from shattering his eardrums with the cheering.

“Cool, cool, cool, so The Street, right?” Wes asks.

Blaine hums and nods. He’s indeed going to be part of the orchestra of The Street first. Hopefully he gets to play more shows, since he doesn’t get his hopes up about an actual contract.

“Yes, The Street. I’ll be in the orchestra for at least a week and then I will have to see,” Blaine says.

Wes also makes some affirming noises. It’s not glamorous, but it’s great on Blaine’s resume.

“We have to celebrate this, despite this not being a big break!” Wes exclaims, “Fuck, call David and Thad, we’re going out for dinner!”

“We are not going to your aunt’s restaurant, Wes,” Blaine says with a laugh. He opens the door of his building and the laugh immediately falls of his face when he sees Mr. 21 in the lobby. Mr. 21 and Blaine’s eyes meet and Mr. 21 immediately looks away.

Blaine sighs.

Mr. 21 passes him without another look. Blaine goes in the opposite direction towards the elevators. Wes heard his sigh.

“Come on, man, my aunt doesn’t use that much garlic, you guys are just haters!”

“It’s not that, Wes,” Blaine says, although he has to disagree with Wes on the garlic thing, “I just had another weird and infuriating encounter with the neighbour.”

“As Barbara Streisand would say, do not let that man rain on your parade, Blaine!”

Wes is right, of course. This is good news and Blaine shouldn’t care about what Mr. 21 thinks. Blaine and Wes decide to meet up later today with David and Thad and they say goodbye. Now it’s time for Blaine to practice.

Kurt and Blaine almost always talk daily. It doesn’t have to be a ground-breaking conversation and sometimes it’s in the LGBT Splatoon 2 Server they’re in, not in the DMs.

Still, Blaine couldn’t tell Kurt his big news yesterday, since Kurt wasn’t online and by the time that Kurt replied, Blaine was out with his friends.

Blaine’s already practising hard. He feels bad for his neighbours, except for Mr. 21, because he’s making a lot of noise. He’s tried to soundproof his little studio as much as possible, but it’s still a room in an apartment in New York, not an actual recording studio.

Well, it’s New York. This city is filled with people living too close.  

Blaine’s just finished another practice round and it’s time for a break. To Blaine, a break involves Splatoon 2. He starts his Switch and he’s very excited when he sees that Kurt’s online. He immediately grabs his phone to open Discord and Kurt’s also online there.

forabeatofadrum
I’m online. Want to VC?

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
yea!!!

Blaine clicks on ‘Start Voice Call’ and after a few seconds, Kurt’s voice fills the room.

“Hey! I saw your message yesterday,” Kurt says, “Sorry I couldn’t reply sooner.”

“It’s fine. We’re both busy,” Blaine says. They never have to apologise to the other for not being online all the time. There are set moments where they’re unavailable because of work, but of course they don’t have to share their entire agendas.

“Yes, you said you have big news?” Kurt says, “Rainmaker and talk? I know how much you love Rainmaker.”

“Ugh,” Blaine groans as he checks the stages. Rainmaker on Sturgeon Shipyard and Starfish Mainstage doesn’t sound too appealing, but if he ever wants to go competitive, he’ll have to be able to play all the modes. “You’re on. At least Tower Control is in half an hour.”

“Also, if you hear sudden music, my neighbour’s being really annoying,” Kurt says with annoyance, “He played a lot of loud music yesterday.”

“Was it good music, at least?”

“Yes, luckily. But also familiar and I couldn’t place it, which is fucking annoying. But I have my headphones on, so I am only hearing you and the Splatoon 2 soundtrack. So, what’s the big news?”

“Remember that music job thing I was talking about? Not the big job I applied for, but the other thing I’m trying out?” Blaine asks while the Rainmaker game is about to start.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I got the… gig. I can’t call it a proper job, so it’s a gig.” At moments like this, Blaine wishes they were less secure about their real lives, because it’d be so much easier to just explain how the whole orchestra subbing on Broadway works. “But basically, I get to play a lot of music and if the first thing still doesn’t work out, then I’m fine with doing this on a more freelance basis. I start next week and it’s only for a week, but if they like me, they can recommend me to similar gigs in the industry or I can stay on.”

“That sounds great!” Kurt says enthusiastically.

The two of them then focus on playing a round of Rainmaker. It really isn’t Blaine’s favourite mode and the two other team members aren’t the best players, but it’s always fun. Their team has the lead and there are only a few seconds left, so Blaine grabs the Rainmaker and takes it back to their turf, so that even if the other team gets their hands on it and forces overtime, it’s more difficult to win.

As expected, Kurt and Blaine’s team win. They play a couple of Rainmaker rounds – and one of them ends in a minute, since the other team absolutely obliterates them – before playing a round of Tower Control. Blaine switches to the Glooga Dualies as a weapon.

“Only one round,” Blaine says, “I have to go back to my job preparations.”

“Understandable. I also have some errands to run.”

They lose their Tower Control game, but that’s how it is. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Kurt and Blaine say their goodbyes and it’s time for Blaine to continue his work. He now wants to work on the violin parts of the songs, since he’s also subbing that.

He starts to play and he does feel a sense of satisfaction when his neighbour bonks on the wall, probably asking Blaine to lower the volume. Blaine knows he should feel bad, but he tried to apologise to Mr. 21 for video game related noise disturbance and Mr. 21 was an ass, so he has no qualms about annoying Mr. 21 a bit more with his violin.

forabeatofadrum
OKAY I HAVE BIG NEWS

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
???? 👀👀👀

forabeatofadrum
I told you that my brother lives in LA, right?
Hes been asking me to visit him during the summer
I just realised I can visit him and possibly go to the Splatoon 2 world championship

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
!!!!!!! Blaine that’s perfect!!!

forabeatofadrum
Like I obviously have been following the continental competitions
But this is a new level
If I can I should definitely go and see it in real life

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
It’s a great opportunity
And if your brother lives in LA it saves hotel costs and what not
If you go there you might even find a team

forabeatofadrum
I still wish I could convince you to also look into competitive Splatoon 2

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
😞😞😞😞
You know how I feel about that, Blaine
Gaming became a fun outlet after everything I’ve been through
I want it to remain fun

forabeatofadrum
No no no I get it
Like you obviously do not play with a competition in mind
You don’t even know how to properly use abilities, you just wear gear for aesthetic reasons instead of play reasons

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
LOOK you have your music, I have my fashion, and Splatoon 2 just happens to cater perfectly to both of that with all the in-universe stuff
Anyway, I gotta run.
Talk to you later??

forabeatofadrum
🤗

The week of preparations flies past. Blaine’s working very hard on learning all the tracks. When he’s not doing that, he’s giving his weekly piano lessons or he’s playing Splatoon 2. The 3.0.0 update has been released, but he hasn’t had much time to play video games.

Blaine arrives at the theatre and luckily some others know that he’s filling in, so a violin player gives him a small tour of the theatre. Blaine has to keep the excitement down. Everyone in this production is already used to being on Broadway, so Blaine doesn’t want to look too unprofessional by walking around with a big grin on his face.

He knows that he won’t be fully part of this show, since he’s only here for a week. Many people pass him and some stop to say hi, but everyone’s busy. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes for a Broadway show, and The Street is no exception. He knows he will not see everyone involved, since there different groups are scattered across the theatre.

After all the administrative things have been arranged, Blaine is ready to go to work. He follows his temporary colleague to his place and they pass the wardrobe crew.

Blaine stops in his tracks when he sees Mr. 21 sitting at a table, sewing some extra beads to a costume.

“Hey, you coming?” the colleague asks when she realises Blaine’s standing still.

Mr. 21 hears the colleague talk, so he looks up from his work and his eyes widen when he sees Blaine. The two of them stare at each other for a few seconds before Mr. 21 goes back to his work.

Blaine didn’t expect Mr. 21 to talk to him, but it still feels impolite. Blaine knows that he can be the one to at least say hi to Mr. 21, but if Mr. 21 decides to ignore Blaine in favour for work, then so can Blaine.

“Coming,” he says to his colleague and the two walk to the pit.

When he gets home, he’s surprised to see that he’s gotten some messages from Kurt. Kurt works most evenings and even though Blaine obviously doesn’t know what Kurt’s job entails, Kurt’s said several times that he prefers to go to bed after work. He’s still getting used to working again, so he’s tired.

Now, Blaine has eleven new messages.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
I think I’ve found the first flaw of the job
Kinda.I think it’s weird
although I cannot really call it a flaw idk I have no idea what is going on
But Blaine, Blaine, The Guy was at my work today
THE GUY!!!
And he saw me too!
I obvs immediately looked away because what the hell??
What is The Guy doing at my workplace???
Well, I do know now. I asked around.
Turns out he’s filling in for anther colleague for this week
*another
Like… he’s actually here???
Okay okay I am going home now but what the hell!!!!!

forabeatofadrum
I just got home
you still here?

Blaine gets ready for bed, but Kurt doesn’t reply. That’s fine. It can wait. Besides, Blaine’s never really interested in talking about The Guy. There are better things to talk about.

He falls asleep, thinking about Kurt and The Guy. He doesn’t sleep well.

“Did you get a name at least?” Blaine asks, “Also there is Tower Control at Ranked Battle. We can do Ranked for once to hopefully get to that new X rank.”

“Inkblot Art Academy and Wahoo World,” Kurt sounds a bit distracted. He’s reading the stages from his screen. “Sounds like a plan. And no, I didn’t get a name. My company is very big and broken up in different, uh, departments of sorts. We’re not in the same department, but my colleague has a friend in The Guy’s department.”

“And… is this a good thing?” Blaine asks.

“I don’t know!” Kurt sounds genuinely unnerved, and even though Blaine desperately wants to move on from this topic to focus on Splatoon 2, he knows that Kurt’s really nervous when it comes to this guy.

Blaine doesn’t know much about The Guy, and that’s mainly because Kurt doesn’t know much about The Guy. All that Blaine knows is that Kurt is interested in getting to know this man and that he’s very nervous about the situation.

“Look at me, I used to be confident!” Kurt groans out, “And now I’m… this. If Kurt from high school could see me now…”

Kurt’s silent after that. Blaine pauses his game. Maybe they won’t play this time, and that’s fine, because Kurt clearly has something on his mind. There’s a tone in his voice that shows that Kurt’s more upset about this than originally anticipated.

Which means they’re in hot waters now.

“If it makes you feel better,” Blaine starts carefully, “I never knew Kurt from high school. I only know this version of you, and I’m happy to know you.”

“Thanks, Blaine,” Kurt says after a small beat of silence, “That’s nice to hear. I sometimes just wish I could go back in time and, I don’t know, prevent my dad from dying. But I can’t.”

Blaine puts his controller aside. He has the feeling they won’t play today. They were about to train for the upcoming Soccer vs. Baseball Splatfest, since they’re both going for team Baseball, but that sounds trivial now.

The death of Kurt’s dad is always a sore topic. Blaine knows about it, but Kurt still doesn’t like to talk about it. But he said that it’s easier to talk to Blaine about it, since Blaine never knew him. Back when Kurt and Blaine first met on the LGBT Splatoon 2 Discord, they were two anonymous strangers who occasionally played a match together, but somewhere it became easier to plan their matches in the DMs and things progressed from there.

A few weeks into them being mutuals, Kurt just disappeared for a week. Blaine got worried and asked if something was wrong. That’s when Kurt told Blaine that his dad had died a year prior and that he spent the week visiting his stepmother and closing himself off from the world.

That admission started their actual friendship. From that moment on they were no longer mutual who occasionally chatted about Splatoon 2.

“Kurt, are you still here?” Blaine asks.

Kurt hasn’t said anything and he also hasn’t scolded Blaine for not starting Tower Control, so he’s probably not playing either.

“Sorry,” Kurt lets out a shaky laugh. Blaine’s pretty sure he’s crying. At moments like this Blaine wishes they knew each other offline. He wants to comfort Kurt. He wants to hold him and be close to him. He wants Kurt to know that he’s always there for him. He wants-

Woah.

Blaine shakes his head.

He still doesn’t know how to bring up the face reveal. Location reveal will be for another day.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” Blaine automatically says.

“It’s just… it hits me at sudden moments, you know?” Kurt asks.

Blaine lets out a hum in agreement. His parents are both very much alive, with his mother living in Cebu and his dad still living in Westerville. He doesn’t know what it’s like to lose someone. The only frame of reference is when his grandmother died when he was ten. He was devastated, but it was also years ago and there aren’t that many memories of him and his grandmother.

Still, Blaine tries.

“That is completely understandable! You lost someone important. The littlest things can, you know, evoke something.”

“Well, I didn’t expect it to be The Guy!” Kurt bites out.

Blaine’s taken aback by this sudden snideness and Kurt’s already apologising before Blaine can react.

“Fuck, sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you. You’re a good friend.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just hate this!” Kurt exclaims, “It’s been almost two years since his death and I’m still… still not where I want to be.”

Blaine knows enough to be careful now. It’s grief. It’s pain on an unbearable level. When Kurt’s overwhelmed by it, it’s as if he’s stuck in his own sadness. Everything sets him off.

“But you’re getting better!” Blaine quickly points out to comfort him. He might not be able to hug Kurt, but he still has his words. “Look, we’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but I’ve seen you thrive so much in those past months. You’re working again, you’re dressing up again, you’re slowly going back to school… that’s way different for the Kurt who couldn’t leave his house!”

Blaine hears Kurt sniff.

“Yeah… that’s true.”

“And you went through something incredibly devastating. You fell into a big rut afterwards. It takes a while to get out of there. So one day you will probably have the confidence to talk to The Guy. Who knows? It’s better to try than to wonder what could’ve happened.”

“Maybe,” Kurt still sounds a bit hesitant, “I feel like I spent too long shied away from the world. My friends have moved on. You’re the best friend I currently have.”

“At least you’re slowly reconnecting with your friends, right?” Blaine says, remembering that Kurt did mention something like that.

“True. It’s just… they all knew my dad too, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“And they still want to talk about him all the time. They want me to know how sorry they are. They tell me that he was a good man,” Kurt says, and he sounds a bit frustrated now, “I know that! See, this is also why it’s just easier to talk to you. You didn’t know my dad!”

He really did sound like an amazing man, but Blaine keeps that to himself. That’s not what Kurt needs to hear.

“God, I know I promised my stepmother to live again, but if my dad could see me now… I’ve become so introverted that I don’t even know how to talk to this hot guy. That’s why online friendship like this is so great. Less pressure, you know?”

“Right,” Blaine says and he feels a small pit in his stomach. How can he ever ask Kurt for a face reveal or a meeting when it’s so clear that their semi-anonymity is the thing Kurt likes the most.

Blaine doesn’t know what else to say, so he waits for Kurt.

“Tower Control?” Kurt asks after a beat of silence. He still sounds upset.

“You sure?”

Kurt hums.

“Blaine, I started playing games as a way to escape,” Kurt reminds him, “Trust me. I’m…” he lets out a long sigh. “I just- I don’t want to dwell on this anymore. Please.”

It’s a short term solution, but Blaine gets it. He starts the match. They lose four times in a row.

“Hey dad.”

“Hey Blaine, I didn’t expect you to call.”

“Just… wanted to say hi,” Blaine says as he twirls around on his chair. The conversation about Kurt’s dad made him melancholy.

“Is everything alright, Blaine? You sound a bit sad. Is it the job thing? No worries, you’ll find-”

“No, no, just wanted to talk to you,” Blaine cuts him off.

“But you’re looking into jobs, right?”

“Of course! I have The Street for now and-”

“For now. You’ll have to apply to more positions, Blaine. Give the power to you! The more places you apply to, the better the chances, and if you have multiple positions saying yes, you have the choice.”

“I know, dad,” Blaine lets out an annoyed huff.

It’s silent for a while. Blaine is the one who wanted to speak to his dad, because he is happy that he still has a dad to talk to, but now he wonders if he should’ve waited till he was in a better headspace.

“Sorry, I just worry,” his dad eventually says, “I know you’re trying your best and that finding a job in music is killing.”

“Right. Can we talk about LA instead?” Blaine says, “Cooper told me he’s thinking about inviting you too. It sounds fun.”

“It does,” his dad sounds genuinely excited, “Let me clear my schedule.”

“Great!”

Blaine means it. His dad might drive him mad, but he means well. Blaine can’t wait to see him.

The Street has given Blaine a schedule for the week. He gets up, practises, plays Splatoon 2 with Kurt, and then leaves for his job. At The Street, he ignores Mr. 21, networks and plays a lot of music. It’s not a dream job, but he’s content.

Before Blaine knows it, the week is over. Luckily there are two shows on Sunday. Around noon, Blaine leaves his apartment to go to work, but the moment he’s out of the door, he’s greeted by the sight of Mr. 21, who is also leaving.

Blaine realises they’re probably heading to the same destination, namely the Brooks Atkinson theatre.

Blaine’s already in a sour mood. His gig at The Street is ending on the same day that he got a rejection from that the other job that he applied to. The last thing he needs is Mr. 21 bothering him, so Blaine passes Mr. 21 without acknowledging him. He’s still decent enough to hold the elevator, but he’s really not in the mood for fake pleasantries, especially since Blaine’s always the one doing them.

It’s incredibly awkward in the elevator. And on their way to the subway station. And on the actual subway. Usually, Mr. 21 is already at the theatre when Blaine arrives, so they never have a reason to travel together.

They arrive at the theatre and it’s once again awkward when they are determining who can enter first. Mr. 21 lets out an annoyed huff.

“No worries, it’s my last day. Then you’ll be free from my presence,” Blaine snaps and Mr. 21’s eyes widen. For a second, Blaine thinks Mr. 21 is going to apologise, but as usual, Mr. 21 looks down and walks away without a word. At least this time it seems to be out of embarrassment instead of annoyance.

Blaine plays the piano for the matinee. During shows, he prepares to switch to violin. He has a couple of hours of free time between shows and he checks his phone. Kurt’s sent him several DMs.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
ALERT! ALERT! I MESSED IT Up!!
With The Guy, I mean
I was unnecessarily rude, as always, but that’s just my nerves
ah man and he’s leaving the company after today!

Blaine’s thumbs hover over his screen. He wants to tell Kurt to go for it, that today’s his last chance, but his chest feels heavy at the thought of that. Which is ridiculous. Kurt’s his friend and he clearly wants to talk to The Guy, so why shouldn’t Blaine encourage that?

Blaine’s still thinking about an appropriate response when someone calls his name.

“Hey!” one of the brass players gives Blaine a firm but friendly pat on the back, “The music coordinator wants to talk to you.”

Blaine has no idea what the music coordinator might want, so he pockets his phone and he hurries to her office.

“Blaine Anderson?” she asks when she hears Blaine’s knock.

“Yeah, you wanted to see me, ma’am?” Blaine pokes his head inside of the office.

“I need to discuss something with you,” she says seriously, but not unkindly, “Please, have a seat.”

Blaine does as he’s told. He’s still confused. He knows that he has to check in after his last show, but that’s hours away.

“I’m going straight to the point,” the music coordinator looks at Blaine with a piercing gaze, “You’ve been subbing this week for Edward Cadillacs.”

“Yes.”

“Earlier this morning we got the unfortunate news that Edward has to take a leave of absence due to a personal issue,” she says with a heavy sigh, “I know this is very last minute so I don’t know if you have anything else lined up, but are you able to substitute for at least two more months? May and June?”

Blaine blinks a couple of times. He processes what he’s just heard. The music coordinator mistakes his silence for doubt, so she immediately starts talking about how Blaine has shown a lot of talent as a multi-instrumentalist covering different sections and how she’s sorry that she cannot offer him a more stable job instead of substituting, but Blaine’s silent because he can’t believe it.

“Yes, of course!” Blaine interrupts the music coordinator, “I mean, I am available.” Then he remembers the World Championship. “Except for June 9th till June 13th. I will be visiting family.”

Crap. Maybe Blaine should’ve lied about another job opportunity. But the music coordinator nods.

“Alright, please come to my office after the second show, so we can handle the administration.”

Then she stands up and holds out her hand. Blaine shakes it.

“Thank you!”

They say their goodbyes and Blaine walks back to the orchestra pit to grab his stuff. He’s heading out into town for late lunch or early dinner before the next show. He also needs to text Wes as soon as possible.

He’s ecstatic. Maybe it’s a good thing that the other job application didn’t work out, because Blaine realises that he likes playing for The Street. Nothing can ruin his good mood, not even the sight of Mr. 21 and some of the wardrobe crew.

Blaine does stop when he sees that Mr. 21 and his colleagues are holding Nintendo Switches. He didn’t expect Mr. 21 to play video games. Then again, he didn’t expect Mr. 21 to be capable of having fun. This is actually a great idea for two-show days. Blaine should take his console with him to work as well.

Mr. 21 looks up from his Switch and his face falls.

Right, of course, Nintendo Switch or not, Mr. 21 still hates the sight of Blaine.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ll be here for two more months,” Blaine says shortly.

Mr. 21’s mouth falls open and Blaine almost laughs. Is Mr. 21 really that shocked and upset about the news? It feels weirdly satisfying. Blaine walks away with a grin on his face.

There’s no malice in David’s voice, though. In fact, he sounds proud. Blaine always feels warm with affection when it comes to his friends. No one is bitter about the fact that Blaine managed to land a job in the industry, albeit temporarily.

“My job has one big flaw, though,” Blaine says as he looks over the menu.

“Don’t tell me it’s-”

“It’s the neighbour,” Blaine finishes Wes’s sentence. Wes rolls his eyes.

Thad suppresses a laugh. David also looks amused.

“What?” Blaine asks.

“Come on, Blaine, you said so yourself. You barely see the guy,” Wes says, “He’s part of the wardrobe crew. He fixes costumes and helps with quick changes while you spend your time in the pit under the stage. Just ignore him.”

“It looks like he’s ignoring you,” Thad says, “So who cares?”

Blaine slumps in his seat. His friends have a point. It’s ridiculous that Blaine can’t stop thinking about Mr. 21, but merely his existence annoys Blaine. He’s so rude and annoying and standoff-ish. Yes, he has a Switch, but that doesn’t mean that Blaine’s going to start playing with him. Avalon, his colleague from the brass section, told Blaine that multiple people play video games during break and they asked if Blaine wanted to join, but Blaine’s not in the mood of voluntarily spending time with Mr. 21.

“Is he still hot, though?” David asks.

“Unfortunately,” Blaine sneers. Especially now that Mr. 21 is dressing up more. It makes sense, since he’s from the wardrobe crew. Mr. 21 was always hot, but when he first moved in, he seemed to care less about his appearance.

Why do all the rude men have to be so attractive?

Wes raises a finger, indication that he is going to say something.

“Hotness and kindness are not mutually exclusive!” he says with a very serious tone, as if he’s read Blaine’s mind, “We don’t care if he’s hot if he’s a dick.”

“Hear, hear!” Thad hollers.

Blaine hides his face behind the menu. Why are his friends like this? Maybe Blaine should stop updating them on Mr. 21’s whereabouts, since it’ll only lead to teasing. This is why he should only talk about Mr. 21 with Kurt. Blaine told Kurt that there’s an annoying colleague and that’s that, and Kurt lets him rant when he wants to.

It beats talking about Kurt’s job, since The Guy has apparently gotten an offer to stay for a couple of more weeks. Kurt’s still working up the courage to talk to him and Blaine is not really helping.

“Can we change the subject?” Blaine asks, “What are you guys ordering?”

“Awww come on, man! Okay, screw Mr. 21. What do you love about your job?” Thad says. He sounds very excited and interested. Really, Blaine’s friends are fine with their new career fields, but they’re still curious to hear Blaine talk.

Blaine smiles.

“Alright, it’s fun to play music,” he starts, “And it’s nice to have some sort of schedule to follow. You know what you’re doing and you know you’re good at it. I like that I can play multiple instruments, although I’m mostly doing piano now, since that was Ed’s main instrument. And apart from Mr. 21, the people are really nice. Avalon from the brass section is becoming a great friend.”

“Ready to replace us?” David says with a wink.

“Never! Once a Warbler-”

“We get it,” Thad quickly says, “I don’t think the other patrons of this establishment would appreciate it if we start making loud Warbler calls.”

“But yeah, it’s good. Avalon is very friendly and they’ve already invited me for lunch with the others several times,” Blaine says. Now that Blaine’s staying for a while, others pay more attention to him. He gets it.

They are interrupted by a waiter, but after they’ve placed their orders, the conversation resumes.

“So, is this orchestra thing the job you’re going to pursue?” David asks, “Like, are you going to sub more, or are you going to look for an actual contract, or are you still moving to other things?”

Blaine shrugs. He doesn’t know yet, but he likes playing for the orchestra more than he had expected. He always wanted to be on the foreground, but this is also fine. He gets to do something he likes without a thousand judging eyes watching him.

“I’ll see.”

They’re between shows and Blaine is playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with Avalon. Avalon is wickedly talented in video games. They finish every race in first place.

“Damnit, no one is a match for you!” Blaine says with a laugh. His character is once again in second place. “One day I’ll beat you at a race.”

“Please no. I have a reputation to maintain,” Avalon says and they flip their hair in a dramatic fashion.

“Blaine, Avalon, are you guys coming with us for lunch?” Viola from the string section asks. She’s the person who gave Blaine a tour on his first day and she’s also making sure that Blaine’s included. Blaine thinks it’s brilliant that a violin player is called Viola.

The musicians walk to the exit of the theatre, but Viola tells them to wait a little bit longer. Someone from the ensemble is joining them.

They’re waiting at the door when some of the wardrobe crew pass them. Mr. 21 is among them. He and Blaine look at each other. Blaine wants to put on a rude look, but Mr. 21 nods politely before walking away with the others.

Avalon raises an eyebrow. They’re as confused as Blaine. After all, they noticed the tension between Blaine and Mr. 21, so Blaine’s explained the situation.

Avalon and Blaine look at each other.

Usually, Mr. 21 straight up ignores him. Now, the look lasted a couple of seconds and then Mr. 21 nodded. It wasn’t even a cold nod. More of an ‘hi’ nod.

“Wohoo!” Viola cheers when her friend is finally arriving. Blaine focuses on them instead. He’s finally getting to know his colleagues. Mr. 21 can wait.

Kurt and Blaine are playing Splat Zones on Inkblot Art Academy and they’re just talking about their days. The internet is having a bad day, so sometimes they break up.

“I am slowly working up the courage to talk to The Guy,” Kurt says at one point, “I didn’t immediately look away because of nerves. I think I even gave him a friendly nod.”

“That’s… great,” Blaine says lacklustre-y. He should sound more excited, but he isn’t. If Kurt notices, then he can pretend that he’s too concentrated on the match. He should’ve picked a more long ranged weapon for Splat Zones.

“It’s progress,” Kurt says.

“Hmm, yeah, speaking of nods, I think the douche at my workplace is also, I don’t know, warming up to me,” Blaine quickly says to move away from The Guy.

“Also progress!” Kurt sounds chipper.

“I still don’t trust him, though- let me use my special.”

“One thing my counsellor told me is that you can never look inside people’s brains. You don’t know what he’s thinking, Blaine,” Kurt says.

Blaine stops to think about that. He’d never considered that. But then again, what other explanation is there for Mr. 21’s continued unmannered behaviour?

He’s thinking so much about it that he’s temporarily distracted from the match and they lose the zone.

“Blaine!”

“Fuck, right, on it, on it.”

He throws some splat bombs for damage control.

“You need to be focused if you wanna play competitively,” Kurt says, but there’s a joking tone in his voice. This isn’t a competitive match after all. Blaine can afford to be distracted for a second. It’s a great way to move to another topic, though. Blaine doesn’t want to talk about Mr. 21 and he doesn’t want to hear about The Guy.

So instead they talk a bit about the upcoming World Championship. Blaine has scored a ticket to the half-finale and the grand finale. He hasn’t told Cooper and his dad yet.  

He might be procrastinating on that part. Right now, his plan is to tell them when they’re already in LA. That way he can pull the “oops, it’s too late now, sorry!” card.

“That’s a bit of a dick move,” Kurt points out. On screen, he’s using his Hydra Splatling to cover the zone with ink. Kurt’s really good with long ranged weapons.

“I know,” Blaine admits while he splats an opponent, “I just don’t know what to do. You know how I feel about telling people about Splatoon. Especially my dad.”

Blaine’s father is supportive of Blaine and Cooper’s creative degrees now. When Cooper first decided to go into acting, their dad had called him delusional and they didn’t speak for two weeks. They found a compromise. Cooper also did some extra IT classes, so that he has two fields for opportunities. Cooper’s acting career isn’t as lavish as he had dreamed, so the IT classes pay off.

Years later when Blaine decided he wanted to pursue music, Blaine’s father had a similar reaction. The tension got even worse when Blaine didn’t want to do other classes. One degree already sounded stressful enough. His father had laughed and he said: “It’s music, you can hardly call that a degree!”

During Blaine’s senior year, his father came around and he helps Blaine by paying the rent, but he’s very adamant that Blaine gets a proper job to prove that he made the right choice. The orchestra job seems to suffice for now, but Blaine’s father is expecting Blaine to spend his free time polishing up his CV and looking for job offers.

Video gaming isn’t part of that. Of course, Blaine’s father knows that his sons have lives and that includes fun stuff, but Blaine can never show his dad the amount of hours he’s put into this game and he can’t tell him that he wants to play competitively. How will he even explain that?

Kurt knows all of this.

“How about this?” he says when the match is over, “Try it out on your friends. You said that your friends also don’t know about Splatoon 2 for the same reason, albeit less daunting.”

“I can try,” Blaine says. He quickly changes weapons in the lobby before going to the next game. “They know I play.”

“And you play well,” Kurt points out, “You’re saving all of your best plays in order to find a team. Maybe show them what you do?”

Blaine thinks about it. His friends are definitely more approachable than his family, though. The friendship Blaine has with his high school friends has never been conditional. Maybe it’s wrong to think of his father’s support as something that’s conditional, but that is how it feels.

Cooper’s already met whatever condition by having his IT background. No matter what happens to his acting career, he will never fail in their father’s eyes.

Blaine is proving himself with The Street and he should count himself lucky by the extension, but he needs to look further than The Street to make sure his father’s not going to be terribly disappointed in him.

He’s not sure that showing his father some clips of his best plays is going to make a difference. After all, Blaine’s great at music and he’s still on thin ice.

This is all for later, though. He needs to play now.

Blaine focuses on his screen. That’s a good one. He checks the map and he sees an opportunity for a play. His comeback ability makes it easier to get specials, so he ink jumps to home base, ready to use his Sting Ray, when suddenly the screen changes.

Connection error.

The game ends and Blaine’s back in the lobby. Kurt starts cursing. Did he also get kicked out? Usually when a player gets kicked out due to bad connection, the remaining players continue the match.

He can’t fully process that he just got kicked out, because there’s some unexpected noise coming from the other side of the wall. Mr. 21 is angry about something. Blaine cannot make out what he’s saying, since Kurt’s cursing is ringing through his headphones, but he doesn’t sound happy.

“Hang on,” Blaine says. He gets out of his chair and he bonks on the wall. He yells: “Everything alright?”

“What was that bonking?” Kurt asks, “Did that come from me or from you?”

“From me,” Blaine answers, “My neighbour sounds upset about something.”

“You sure? I think my neighbour just got mad at me for cursing.”

Kurt remains silent so that Blaine can listen for an answer from Mr. 21, but it doesn’t come. He shrugs and walks back to his monitor.

“Never mind then.”

The next day, Blaine leaves for his piano lessons. He still gives them and they line up perfectly with the schedule of The Street.

He exits his apartment and when he closes the door he’s surprised to see a note taped on his door.

Sorry for the noise yesterday.
Everything is fine. See you at work.

- K.H, number 21

Blaine takes the note off his door and he stares at it in surprise. First, Mr. 21 acknowledges his existence and not in a snide way, second, he apologises. Blaine doesn’t have time to dwell on this. His reluctant student is waiting. He puts the note in his pocket and leaves.

Blaine didn’t see Mr. 21 today on his way to work and the wardrobe crew is in another part of the theatre. Should Blaine go to the costuming spot after the show to thank Mr. 21 for the note? If Mr. 21 can be well-mannered out of nowhere, then Blaine would look like an idiot if he doesn’t return those manners.

Wait.

Maybe that is it.

Maybe Mr. 21 has decided that his personal vendetta against Blaine isn’t working, so he’s now acting as if nothing’s happened. Blaine crumbles up the paper and he shoves it in the pocket of his jacket.

Then Kurt’s words ring in his ears. Blaine is being ridiculous. He doesn’t know why Mr. 21 acts like he does and he shouldn’t act like he does. After all, if there’s one thing Kurt’s taught Blaine is that everyone has their own lives to live. When Kurt’s stuck in a mood, it’s also easy to get annoyed and angry at him, while he’s just trying to sort out his feelings.

Maybe Mr. 21 is going through something as well. Blaine wouldn’t know what, but it’s not as if Mr. 21 owes Blaine anything.

Blaine sighs. It’s just very confusing. Blaine and Mr. 21 have been feuding neighbours for almost a year. Why change that now?

A signal indicates that the show’s starting and Blaine focuses on that instead. The conductor starts his work and Blaine plays the opening notes of the show.

Things get progressively better after that note. As Smash Mouth would say, the days keep coming and they don’t stop coming, and Mr. 21 is constantly nice to Blaine.

Mr. 21 now always acknowledges Blaine’s existence. First it only happens at work, but now also at their apartment building. One day he even holds the door open for Blaine when he sees Blaine coming around the corner.

Like, who is this man and what has he done to the grumpy Mr. 21 that Blaine’s so accustomed to?

Blaine’s ready to update Kurt on the entire situation, but Kurt immediately starts talking about The Guy. Blaine supresses a sigh. He really should be elated for Kurt. Kurt sounds so genuinely interested in The Guy and it’s been so long since Kurt expressed himself like that, but Blaine dreads every conversation.

They’re playing the current Splatfest. May will have three Splatfests in a row about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’re once again on the opposite team, but look, Leo has a sword, so of course Blaine had to go team Leo. Kurt’s adamant that Ralph is the better turtle.

“Did you know that The Guy also plays video games?” Kurt says while demolishing the Blaine’s team with an ink storm, which is deserved after Blaine made a comment about ink storm.

“Damn, Kurt, I take back what I said earlier,” Blaine quickly says to hopefully move away from The Guy.

Kurt doesn’t budge.

“Oh, revenge is served, Blaine, but anyway, I don’t see The Guy that often during work but someone from his department has a Switch and we sometimes play Mario Kart at work.”

Blaine has to suppress another sigh. Maybe he can lead the conversation astray by talking about Mario Kart. Kurt and Blaine haven’t played much of that game together, even though it’s the only other online game that they can play.

“Maybe we could-”

“So,” Kurt talks over Blaine in his excitement, and Blaine feels even worse about hating this, “this colleague tells me that they also play Mario Kart with The Guy! That’s good, right? Common ground and what not.”

“It is,” Blaine forces himself to say. On screen, he splats Kurt’s character after doing some nice dodge rolls.

“Oof, that was a nice kill. Save it for your portfolio,” Kurt says, “Do you think The Guy plays Splatoon 2 too? It’s a popular game.”

Blaine sucks in a breath. A stab of jealousy hits him. Splatoon 2 is their game. If Kurt is so hell-bent on gaming with The Guy, can’t he stick to Mario Kart or maybe wait until Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gets released later this year? The inklings from the original Splatoon are added to that game, so he and The Guy can have their Splatoon action there. Anything but Splatoon 2, please!

Oh.

Blaine guesses that it’s not a normal thing to get incredibly possessive over a video game like that.

The match ends and his team has won, but he doesn’t feel very cheerful. His mind is preoccupied with other thoughts. He needs to leave.

“My mom is calling,” Blaine blurts out. It is a very simple lie, but now he’s said it. “I haven’t spoken to her in a while. Time differences and all that. So, I, uh…”

“Of course!” Kurt says. He doesn’t see through the lie. Besides, Blaine really should give his mom a call, but Kurt hasn’t done the math. It’s in the middle in the night for his mom.

“Talk to you later!” Blaine says and he closes the game. He also sets his Discord status to invisible. Then he disconnects his Switch from the internet so that Kurt can’t see that he’s starting another game.

He needs to clear his mind. He considers playing some Breath of the Wild, since that’s probably his second favourite game, but he’s still stuck in the Champion’s Ballad in Master Mode, and he needs something relaxing. He starts Stardew Valley instead.

Would I ever create a farm with Kurt when multiplayer finally becomes available? his treasonous mind immediately thinks when the opening titles play.

He really can’t stop thinking about Kurt, can he?

Maybe gaming isn’t the right thing to do. He closes Stardew Valley before he even loaded his save and he moves to his piano. He’s been on The Street for a while now, so he doesn’t need to learn any more tracks, but it’s always good to practise.

Music is his solace. He completely loses himself in it and it nice to not think about Kurt, or The Guy, or Mr. 21, or his career. He plays until it’s time to leave for work.

Once he closes his front door, he sees Mr. 21 who also got out of his apartment.

“Going my way?” Blaine asks, even though he knows it’s true.

Mr. 21 nods.

“So… shall we?” Blaine nods towards the elevator.

Mr. 21 has a surprised smile on his face and he nods again. Blaine doesn’t mind the surprise. Like Mr. 21, Blaine hasn’t been the kindest, but if Mr. 21 can have a sudden change of heart, then so can Blaine. He much prefers this Mr. 21 over the grumpy neighbour.

The two of them travel to work in silence, but unlike the previous silences, it’s a comfortable one. They part ways inside the theatre and Blaine has a warm feeling in his chest when Mr. 21 waves goodbye.

“Woah, do my eyes deceive me?” Avalon says from behind, “Are you two getting along?”

“I guess,” Blaine says.

“I know it’s none of my business, but you said you two hated each other,” Avalon says. Together, Blaine and Avalon walk towards the music department head, so that they can check in.

“Avalon, I am as surprised as you, but it is a welcome surprise,” Blaine says during the short trip.

“Does this mean you’ll finally get off your ass and you’ll join us for a game?” Avalon asks.

Blaine smiles. He’ll consider it.

“Wait, we like Mr. 21 now?” Thad asks.

Blaine hands him a cup of tea with a shrug.

“Sort of, yes,” he answers, “It’s not a big deal.”

Wes walks into the living room with the remaining cups of tea. Blaine’s had a week to think about it, but now he’s invited his friends over to talk about Splatoon 2. He’s taking Kurt’s advice and he’s going to tell them.

Blaine picked his friends up in the lobby and on their way to the apartment, they passed Mr. 21. Blaine and Mr. 21 had exchanged a kind smile and it absolutely baffled the others.

“Not a big deal?” David practically yells and he looks at Wes and Thad, “You’re hearing this, fellas? It’s not a big deal!”

“David-”

“I’m with David here, Blaine,” Thad cuts Blaine off, “We’ve been hearing nothing but complaints for almost a year. Mr. 21 was the bane of your existence. And now it’s fine? We like him now?”

“This is not what I wanted to talk about-”

Now, Wes is the one who interrupts him.

“Well, too bad. Start talking.”

“What’s there to say,” Blaine looks at his friends, “Around two weeks ago, he just… started being nice to me, you know? He’s still silent, but I’m starting to think that’s just who he is, because he does acknowledge me now. We even travelled to work together.”

“Even travelled to work together!” Wes echoes in disbelief.

Honestly, being a Warbler makes everyone extremely dramatic, even years out of school.

“Guys, shut it,” Blaine hisses out and he turns red from embarrassment.

“Why? We saw him leave. It’s not like he can hear us!” David yells out the last two words for good measure.

“Do we know why Mr. 21 changed his attitude?” Wes says.

Blaine drags his hand down his face.

“There is no ‘we’ here. This is between Mr. 21 and me.”

“Kinky,” Thad quips and Blaine shouldn’t have taken a sip from his tea, because he chokes and spills it on himself.

“Guys!” Blaine yells, “I appreciate your interest in my life, but be assured, I will tell you once I know more. And no, I don’t know why Mr. 21 changed his attitude, and as Kurt says, I cannot look inside his head to figure it out. And speaking of Kurt…”

“Kurt?” Blaine can hear Thad mutter next to him.

“Yes, Kurt, my friend from the-”

“Friend, huh?” Wes says with a smirk.

Blaine’s friends mean well, but the constant interruption is getting a bit on Blaine’s nerves.

“Wait, I thought we were still at Mr. 21 when it comes to men Blaine likes to bone - which can totally happen now that he isn’t a dick anymore. Who is Kurt?” David says as he adds more sugar to his tea.

“I do not want to bone Mr. 21, he’s just attractive!” Blaine says quickly. Then he composes himself. “My friend Kurt is someone I met online in the LGBT Splatoon 2 Discord advised me to tell you about this and since you guys are some of my closest friends, I want your, I don’t know, thoughts and opinions.”

His friends exchange some looks. They don’t crack a joke this time.

Okay, Blaine didn’t want to sound like there was something very serious and important going on - but on the other hand, it is very serious and important to Blaine. That is the whole point of this get-together.

So Blaine puts everything related to Kurt or Mr. 21 aside. He wants his friends to hear this and maybe it is a bit much, since it’s just a game, but it also isn’t for Blaine.

“So, I play a lot of video games, especially Splatoon 2, which is a non-gruesome third person shooter and I am hoping to get some sort of… uh, career out of it.”

Silence.

But it’s not uncomfortable. Blaine doesn’t think his friends are judging him. It looks like they need some time to understand what Blaine just said and he gets that. How many people can say that their friend wants to play competitive Nintendo games?

“Is that the one with the humanoid squids and the colourful ink?” Wes asks after a while.

“Yeah.”

“Sounds legit,” Thad says in a calm, understanding tone.

David nods slightly and he takes a sip from his tea. He acts as if Blaine’s said a mundane fact about the weather and Blaine is glad.  

“What does this career entail, though?” Wes asks. He also seems chill about it, but he’s also Wes Montgomery, of course he needs to know more about the serious part.

“Career is maybe the wrong word. It’s just tournaments. I hope to find a team this summer and then it’s gaming for fun. But also competitive.”

“Makes sense,” Thad says in the same tone as before.

Blaine looks down to his mug and he nods to himself. This is going great. He feels great. His friends understand that this is serious enough to not make shitty jokes about it. Great. Absolutely great!

At least he has their support.

Blaine feels a hand on his shoulder. David has a concerned look on his face.

“What is it?” he asks, “You were nervous about telling us, weren’t you? Why’s that?”

Blaine quickly explains that he has tickets to the World Championship and that he doesn’t know how to tell his dad and Cooper. Because, sure, his friends are cool about it, but that’s because they take the time to understand why this silly colourful game is so important to Blaine.

Blaine loves his family, but his father and Cooper aren’t like that. Hell, even his mom is often worried about him because he doesn’t like the same things that she does.

“It’s just… this is really important to me, guys! This isn’t just a game to me. This is something I put a lot of time and effort in and it’s given me a dear friendship. But I am afraid they’re not going to look past their own view of video games!” Blaine finishes. He takes a deep breath. He’s gotten all worked-up and his friends are all patient with him.

Really, these Warblers can drive him mad, but they know him like no other.

“This runs deep, huh?” Thad says.

Blaine nods.

“Yeah, dad’s already given me so much crap with the music thing and now this? He has a view on what a proper job or passion should be and Cooper and I stray away from that. At least Coop still has his IT shit.”

“And you have your The Street shit!” David exclaims, “Isn’t that already showing him that music is legit?”

“And with the eSports thing… maybe compare it to regular sports?” Thad adds, “Like, you often hear people say crap like ‘oh how is this fun, it’s playing a game’, as if we aren’t all nuts for the Buckeyes. That’s also playing a game and we watch it from TV!”

“Or put the emphasis on something else!” Wes suggests, “You mentioned Kurt, right? We will definitely go back to him, but anyway… put the emphasis on the social aspect of this game. You have a great friend. You need to be a team player. That’s good shit, Blaine.”

Blaine sits back. This doesn’t completely ease his nerves, but his friends do have some solid tips on how to approach this. A small smile forms on his face.

He doesn’t want to talk badly about Kurt, but these ideas are more concrete than showing videos of his plays. Kurt probably never had to convince his dad of his passions. Man, Kurt’s dad really must’ve been an extraordinary man.

Blaine looks to his friends.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Look, Kurt, I’m about to absolutely bullshit here, but that’s just the way it is with my dad and my career choices-”

“Fair.”

“-but I am coming up with this story of how Splatoon 2 also challenges me music wise, because let’s be honest, the soundtrack of this game is amazing.”

“It is,” Kurt agrees.

“The fact that it is able to have all these kind of genres within the game is explained by all the different in-universe bands. What if I tell my dad that Splatoon 2 is also pushing me to look into composing work?”

“And you think your dad will buy that?”

Blaine shrugs.

“I have no clue. On one hand, it does sound a bit fantastical, but on the other hand, so does my current job.” Blaine had to explain the whole orchestra subbing several times. Luckily, he can somewhat compare it to freelance work. Shows can hire him to substitute and that’s all fine. “And also, I am certain my dad has no clue what the entire music industry even entails, since he never bothered to really look into it.”

Kurt hums.

Then he says: “I hope you’ll have a great time, Blaine. And I hope you’ll find a team of sorts.”

“No one matches you,” Blaine says.

“Blaine, I am not a pro at all!” Kurt says, but he does sound happy with the compliment, “You keep saying so yourself, you know, with the gear and abilities and what not. You have your in-game music, I have my in-game fashion.”

“Even if your playstyle isn’t pro-level, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy playing Splatoon 2 with someone else,” Blaine says. He thinks back to the earlier thoughts he had. He doesn’t actively think about Kurt talking about The Guy, but this is another reason why Blaine got so upset about Kurt playing with The Guy. Kurt and Blaine are a team. They’ve been a team ever since they met each other online. Blaine thinks that if it weren’t for Kurt, he might’ve gotten tired of the game after months of playing it non-stop.

But no, Kurt keeps encouraging him. Kurt keeps playing with him.

And it’s very hypocritical. Blaine’s aware of that! He heavily dislikes the idea of Kurt sharing ‘their’ game with someone else, whereas Blaine’s about to actively look for new people to play with.

But again, that’s in a different context, namely the competitive one. And Kurt doesn’t want that.

Blaine lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Everything alright?” Kurt asks. Shit, Blaine should’ve muted his microphone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blaine quickly says. He checks his Nintendo Switch Online app on his phone so that he can change subjects. “Hey, there’s Clam Blitz on The Reef and Piranha Pit at the ranked battles! Shall we do a match?”

Blaine already reaches for his docked Switch.

“Actually, I have some work to do. I mean, I’m doing work now, while voice chatting with you,” Kurt says.

“Oh, uh, that’s fine,” Blaine says. He doesn’t know what to do with himself now. They always play during their talks. “Yeah, that’s fair, I might also have to do some work.”

“How’s your job?” Kurt asks.

“Great, especially now that that colleague is no longer an ass.”

Yes, Mr. 21. Blaine’s been giving Kurt some updates, but he was always overshadowed by Kurt talking about The Guy. It feels great to be the one leading the conversation for once. And there’s been a lot of development.

Kurt lets out an laugh. “Oh, I feel you.”

“Yeah, he’s actually… well, okay, nice might not be the best word- not that he isn’t nice!” Blaine quickly adds.

Kurt makes a confused sound.

“It’s just that I don’t know if he’s nice,” Blaine clarifies, “He’s definitely no longer an ass and I think he might be nice, but he doesn’t say much. Which is fine! We travel to work in silence and it’s no longer awkward, but yeah, I don’t even know his name. He’s never told me.”

“Like I said, you never know what is going on inside his head. He might have his reasons for silence. I certainly do.”

Once again, Kurt is right. Since Blaine has no idea what is going on in Mr. 21’s life, he cannot tell. Mr. 21 doesn’t speak with a lot of people. Blaine’s once asked Avalon if they know Mr. 21’s name, but they shook their head. The others at the wardrobe crew probably know.

Blaine knows that Mr. 21 can be loud. He’s had some noise disturbance from the other apartment, but maybe Mr. 21 is like Kurt in that regard. Maybe Mr. 21 is more at ease at the comfort of his own home.

“You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Kurt says and Blaine can hear the smile.

Blaine knocks on Mr. 21’s door. This might be a ridiculous idea, but it just came up to him. He waits for Mr. 21 to hopefully open the door.

And he does.

Mr. 21 looks very confused when he sees Blaine and he turns red.

“Hi neighbour,” Blaine says and he gives Mr. 21 a friendly wave, “Are you ready to go to work?”

Even though Mr. 21 is the only other person here and Mr. 21 works with Blaine, he still looks around to make sure that Blaine’s talking to him. He even points towards himself, which makes Blaine laugh.

“Yeah, you. I thought it’d be easier to actually see if you were in, instead of waiting at my door for you to possibly come out.”

“One sec,” Mr. 21 says quietly and Blaine’s smile widens. Mr. 21 just talked to him.

Mr. 21 hurriedly puts on his shoes and coat and the two of them make their way to the theatre. Blaine talks a lot and Mr. 21 doesn’t talk back, but he’s listening to every word that Blaine’s saying. He nods and hums along.

As usual, they part ways at the theatre.

“Wait,” Blaine calls out before Mr. 21 is out of sight. Mr. 21 looks back over his shoulder and he raises an eyebrow. “What is your-”

“Hey dude!” Avalon throws their arm around Blaine, “Did you hear who’s in the audience today?”

Blaine faces Avalon.

“Wait, one second.”

But when he turns back to Mr. 21, Blaine sees that he’s gone.

Avalon follows Blaine’s gaze.

“Oh, damn, did I interrupt anything?” they ask.

Blaine shakes his head.

“No,” he lies, “Tell me who’s in the audience.”

The two of them walk to the orchestra pit while Avalon talks about a small indie singer-songwriter that Blaine doesn’t know.

Mr. 21’s waiting for Blaine at the exit. He’s typing on his phone like a madman.

“Texting someone?” Blaine asks.

Mr. 21 looks like a deer caught in headlights. He puts his phone in his pocket and mutters something about a friend. Blaine nods. He won’t pry.

“Shall we?” he asks. The road back home is similar as their road to work. Blaine does most of the talking, and Mr. 21 does the listening. They say goodnight.

When Blaine’s in bed, he checks his phone and he finds multiple messages from Kurt. He’s sent them an hour earlier.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove 
BLAINE
Blaine!!!
You eould not believe what happened
I’m at my job now and I’m about to go home with The Guy
Okay not like that, but we do live close by and today he showed up at my door to ask me to come along
Like… holy SHIT
OH wait he’s coming gotta run

Blaine stares at the phone for a few seconds. He wants to react. He wants to say he’s happy, but he can’t. He locks his phone, puts it on his nightstand, and turns away from it.

Another week passes like that. They travel to work together and back. Blaine tries to catch Mr. 21’s name several times, but it sometimes feels like he’s in one of those comedic romcoms where he gets interrupted all the time. He’s certain that Mr. 21 must know his name, since he never asks, so it’s frustrating to no end.

Online, he reads the stuff Kurt writes about The Guy and he gives generic, supportive responses, but he never delves into it and instead he almost insists on playing Splatoon 2 every time they’re both online.

It all goes so fast and suddenly, Blaine’s setting foot at LAX Airport with his father walking next to him. The flight from Columbus landed around the same time and they’re walking towards Cooper, who’s excitedly waving a sign.

An hour later, the three of them are in Cooper’s tiny apartment. It’s not glamourous, but the location is ideal. Blaine’s been here before, but Cooper did repaint the walls.

“I’m going for blue now,” Cooper yells from his kitchen, “Blue keeps you awake, and whatnot. That’s why all social media platforms use a blue interface to keep you scrolling. Hopefully my mind will allow me to go on and on when I’m rehearsing.”

“Doesn’t sound too healthy,” Blaine mutters.

“Good to hear you’re motivated, Coop,” their father says.

Cooper comes back with two mugs with piping hot coffee. He has a radiant smile on his face.

“Look at this, the Anderson men reunited,” he says cheerfully. Cooper’s really glad that everyone’s here and Blaine feels a bit of guilt. He’s yet to drop the World Championship bomb. He knows it’s extremely rude, but he can’t go back now.

Well, it’s also partially his father and Cooper’s fault. They didn’t plan anything.

In fact, Cooper is now talking about all the places they can visit. A lot of them are very self-indulgent.

“- and of course, the Hollywood Boulevard. That’s where the real stars are made!” he beams and then looks at Blaine, “I mean, no offense Blainey, but Broadway?” He makes a mocking sound. “I suppose a sign on Time’s Square with your face on it is nice and all that, but the Hollywood Walk of Fame is forever.”

Blaine shrugs it off. This happens all the time. He can bring up the fact that there are other ways to immobilise Broadway actors, but Cooper won’t budge.

“I mean, Blainey, I know you’re doing the orchestra thing for only a few more weeks. Have you considered moving to LA to try your luck here?”

Their father’s interest is also piqued.

“That’s not a bad idea, Blaine.”

“I like New York,” Blaine says. He doesn’t want to elaborate more, but of course, the others keep pressing the issue.

“No, really, you should give it a thought,” Blaine’s father says in his usual interested, but slightly condescending tone. Blaine’s also gotten used to it. Blaine’s father is genuinely interested and he wants Blaine to succeed, but partially on his terms. “You’ve been living on savings, trust fund and those piano lessons, and now The Street. But you gotta look for something more stable soon. Blaine, you graduated a year ago with that fancy master’s degree!”

Blaine suppresses a sigh.

“You guys know I’m not just sitting around.”

“Well, have you applied to a job recently?” Cooper asks.

Blaine shakes his head. He refuses to break eye contact. He can’t let Cooper know that he’s embarrassed to admit it, because it’s true that he hasn’t pulled all his weight. Apart from that other job he applied to, the one that rejected him, he doesn’t have any other possible jobs and because he’s been so busy with The Street and Splatoon 2 and other stuff that he just didn’t always find the time and energy to look into it.

His father doesn’t suppress his sigh. It’s a sigh of disappointment.

“You know, Blaine,” he starts, “You know I support you if you ever want to try another academic field-”

“I know you do, dad,” Blaine snaps, “In fact, you are actively encouraging me to leave music.”

It falls silent for a few seconds until Cooper starts talking about something vastly different in order to change the subject. Blaine drinks his coffee in peace and his father does look a bit guilty, so Blaine’s watching him. He wonders what’s going on in his father’s head.

This always happens, so Blaine is not too worried. Every time the three of them are in the same place, it goes wrong. Back when Blaine’s mother was still in the picture, she was a great neutral ground, but after the divorce, that got lost.

But then the three always move on. Todd Anderson might not be like Burt Hummel, but Blaine and his father still love each other.

“Cooper, stop talking,” Blaine’s father suddenly says.

Cooper’s mouth goes shut at an instant. Blaine’s never seen him shut up this quickly.

“I apologise Blaine,” his father says to Blaine and Blaine’s eyes widen. An apology? “I know you’re passionate. It’s been difficult for me to support that and that’s only burdened you. I don’t want to repeat our troubled relationship from your teens. I sometimes still don’t understand why you’re so hell-bent on having a music job. Look at your friends, Blaine! They’re all happy in their respective fields and they have music as a hobby! Isn’t the idea of stability and a great passion at the same time appealing?”

It is.

There’s something left unsaid though. Blaine has stability, because his father does monetarily support him. Everyone who attended Dalton has money. Stability wasn’t the reason his friends left the industry.

But a plan forms in Blaine’s head. It’s a very messy thing to do, but this was never going to be great in the first place. His father looks remorseful, so maybe Blaine can use that.

“I’m fine, dad. I know you’re worried, but I’m fine,” Blaine says, “Apology accepted. And, uh, I have other hobbies outside of music. In fact, uh, I have tickets to a video game championship in LA. Uhm, anyway want to come along?”

Another silence.

Cooper’s frowning and Blaine’s father opens his mouth to say something, but he changes his mind. Blaine smiles nervously.

Cooper is the one who breaks.

“… a what?”

Cooper seems genuinely interested in the whole Splatoon 2 thing. Blaine shows him the videos of his plays.

Blaine does a double take when Cooper even asks him if there are tickets for the World Championship left.

“Uhm, I don’t know,” Blaine says, dumbfounded, “It’s a popular event.”

“It is?” his father asks.

“Yes, dad, it is.”

His father looks down to his coffee cup with a contemplative look on his face. He’s been silent during the entire explanation. Blaine quickly explained the basics of the game and the world of competitive Splatoon 2. Then he followed his friends’ advice and he put a lot of emphasis on the good qualities that come along with gaming and then he talked about the music aspect, like he did with Kurt.

It’s all very true and also all a load of bullshit.

Blaine stares at his father and maybe he’s being even more of an asshole, but he sees a possible strike.

“Despite that, this is different from music,” he says, still looking at his father.

Out of the corner of Blaine’s eyes, he can see Cooper’s shocked and yet amazed look.

“Blaine, you know this isn’t what I meant,” his father says with a sigh, “It’s not like you can put this on your resume, can you?”

“Do I have to?” Blaine asks.

“By playing video games. Blaine, I just…” his father pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Dad,” Cooper jumps in, “There is a World Championship and everything.”

Cooper shows their father his phone screen. He’s looked up the World Championship.

Blaine’s father moves closer to the phone to get a better look.

“But what do you win?” he asks and he squints towards the screen. He reaches for the phone, but Cooper pulls back, which makes their father squint even more. “Is there a monetary prize? Can you make a living out of this?”

“Uh…”

This is the one question Blaine didn’t plan for. You get Nintendo points, but you can hardly buy a car with that. And you get some Splatoon 2 merchandise. There’s also a cool cup and you get to meet the producer Hisashi Nogami.

Blaine’s father gives him a knowing look.

“As I said, music’s my job, so this can be my hobby. It’s nice to unwind after practise by playing,” Blaine quickly says, “The competition is just a nice extra.”

“Besides, we’re rich,” Cooper says while he’s scrolling. Of course Cooper says that with such ease. “There’s a reason I can live in Hollywood and Blaine in the nicer parts of New York.”

“Rich or not, it’s always good to be motivated to work hard, Cooper!”

“There’s a lot of protentional with games, dad,” Cooper says and Blaine sits back. This entire situation is playing out so differently than he expected. Cooper’s completely switched sides. “The video game industry is a playground for technological advancement that can be used in other ways.”

“Yeah!” Blaine says, as if he knows what Cooper’s talking about. Cooper’s the one with a tech background, so it must be alright.

Cooper goes back to scrolling.

Their father looks as if his sons just upended his entire world. The idea of video games as a career is outlandish, and then hearing that there’s no big monetary gain must be insane. Blaine knows he could make millions from video games, since streamers do it all the time, but that’s not the same as this.

“But yeah, I am going to the matches.”

“The three of us are barely together, Blaine,” his father then says. Blaine thinks his father knows he can’t talk Blaine out of it and Blaine has to hold back a satisfying grin.

“You can come along, like Cooper. Then you can also see what it’s all about.”

“Won’t do, squirt,” Cooper says from the couch, “It’s indeed sold out. Bummer. I really wanted to see what opportunities it could bring me.”

“What?” Blaine asks him. He jerks his head towards Cooper.

Cooper uses one shoulder to shrug.

“Like I said, the gaming industry is booming. My IT stuff doesn’t reach half of its brilliance, but it’s still an interesting thing to explore. And it would look cool on my Instagram if I show my interest in niche crap like this. That’s what my agent once said.”

Of course.

Of course Cooper was only interested because he saw an opportunity for himself.

Blaine gets up. He needs some time to let this all sink in. He stares his father down.

“I’m going. No discussion.”

Then he walks away to the hallway and he lets out a breath. He checks his phone and he smiles when he sees that Kurt’s sent a message.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove
Want to call?

Blaine sees the message and he feels a sense of relief. Yes, he desperately wants to call. He sees that Kurt’s online and he hits the VC button.

“Hey you,” Kurt says when he picks up. He sounds a bit sad. Blaine instinctively checks the date, even though he knows he’s good. Kurt’s dad’s death anniversary is at the end of June, not at the beginning.

“Hey, everything alright?” Blaine asks.

“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just one of those days,” Kurt says, “It’s almost the anniversary, so I am a bit out of it. I even took some time off from work. I mean, it’s not like The Guy is at work. He took some days off as well.”

“If there’s anything I can do-”

“Hey, none of that now. I came to ask you about your dad. Did you tell him?”

Blaine takes some seconds to think about it. Kurt’s obviously saddened by the upcoming anniversary of his dad’s death, but he also wants to change the subject. And the last time Blaine tried to talk to him about it, it only seemed to make things worse.

Blaine nods to himself.

He cannot upset Kurt. And also, it’s nice to talk about Blaine’s own life instead of The Guy.

“It was… okay-ish,” Blaine eventually says. Maybe it’s not a good idea to do this over VC. Although Blaine knows that there’s no other way. If only Blaine knew Kurt offline. “I may or may not have used my dad’s guilt. I don’t think he believes in it, but you know, he also doesn’t believe in music.”

“Guilt?”

Blaine nods.

“Yeah. He started talking about how he’d support me if I wanted to obtain another non-music related degree and I got mad at him. Then he apologised!”

“Wow,” Kurt sounds equally impressed.

“Yeah, I know right. If only sixteen-year-old-me could see this. But anyway, I then dropped the Splatoon 2 bomb on him and my brother. My brother seemed interested and he even wanted to come along to the matches until I realised he had an ulterior motive. I think they’re a bit bummed that I am ditching them for this, but I also used my brother’s guilt.”

Kurt starts laughing.

“Aren’t you a little manipulator.”

“As my friends would say, I am indeed little.”

Another laugh.

“Well, I wouldn’t know.”

“Right. Uhh…”

Blaine still hasn’t asked Kurt for more than a name, and the wanting grows, especially during these more personal moments. He has to set this wanting aside.

“Anyway, do you have news?” Blaine asks.

Kurt makes a somewhat affirming sound, as if he’s still figuring out if it’s newsworthy or not.

“Yes?” Blaine prompts.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about The Guy a lot. And about what you said a few weeks ago.”

Blaine’s body sags. Of course, The Guy. Never mind! For a second Blaine thought he could avoid it, but no. They can no longer talk about anything without The Guy being mentioned. Kurt said that The Guy isn’t at work, and yet, Kurt still wants to talk. Blaine forces himself to sound interested. It’s easier to mask his displeasure in writing.

“Now that he’s not here, I think it’s time to finally do something,” Kurt says.

“Okay.”

“He’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“Sure.”

“And then I’ll ask him out.”

“Righ- wait, what?”

And Kurt sounds so happy and proud of himself when he talks about how he’s still nervous, but how he’s also proud of doing this. He’s spent some weeks being nice to The Guy and now he wants to make a move. The worst part is that according to Kurt, Blaine’s encouragement and kindness is the thing that made him realise that he cannot wait any longer.

“After all,” Kurt continues, “if I don’t try, then I will always wonder what could’ve happened.”

Yes, Blaine vaguely recalls saying that.

Well. Fuck.

“Let me know how it goes,” Blaine says through gritted teeth.

Blaine makes a photo of the theatre and he sends it to the LGBT Splatoon 2 Discord. A lot of excited reactions come in. It’s a relatively small server, so Blaine’s the only one from the server at the matches. Everyone else will have to live vicariously through him.

It’s amazing in the Belasco Theatre. The house is filled and there are cosplayers everywhere. Blaine is wearing a bowtie with pink and green. The colours don’t match completely, but it’s the thought that counts.

His father and Cooper are at the cinema, watching the new Ocean’s 8, but Blaine wouldn’t trade that for this.

He’s seated next to three people who are talking excitedly. When Blaine overhears that they’re talking about being from Ohio, he smiles. The guy who’s next to Blaine notices.

“Ohio?” he raises an eyebrow.

“Ohio,” Blaine confirms and he puts a hand on his chest, “Westerville.”

“We’re from Lima,” the guy says, “Although the three of us now live in New York.”

“No way!” Blaine says excitedly, “I live in New York too!”

The guy extends his hand.

“I’m Sam. Sam I am, I don’t like green eggs and ham!”

The guy next to Sam waves.

“And I’m Mike. I don’t have a nice rhyme to my name.”

“Dude, there’s so many possibilities,” Sam says quietly, and Mike just laughs.

The last guy, who’s sitting at the seat next to the aisle, also extends his hand. There’s a wheelchair parked next to his seat. Blaine has to reach over Mike and Sam to shake his hand.

“And I’m Artie.”

“I’m Blaine,” Blaine says to the three of them.

“Are you here by yourself?” Sam looks past Blaine to see if the person next to Blaine is interested in an introduction.

Blaine nods.

“Yeah, my brother lives in LA so I am visiting here and I decided to go to the championships while I’m here. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

“Preach!” Artie makes a hand sign, “Competitive Splatoon 2 is so cool. I’d love to try it myself.”

“Same,” Sam echoes.

“Yeah, the three of us are actually thinking about starting a team. We only need a fourth person, but most of our friends who game aren’t interested,” Mike says.

“Puck finds it childish and Finn… well, we miss him every day,” Sam nods. The three friends share a private and sad smile.

“We’re not pros, but we’d love to try,” Artie says.

It’s as if the stars are aligning. Blaine’s just ran into three players from New York who want to try competitive Splatoon 2?

“Well, if I can apply, I have a highlight video of my best plays on my phone,” Blaine says sheepishly.

“Dude, really?” Sam sounds excited.

“What are the fucking odds, man?” Artie sounds equally excited.

What indeed?

The crowd suddenly goes wild as the three commentators take their seats and the four international teams arrive. Blaine, Sam, Mike, and Artie all share an excited grin. It’s time for the show.

The next day, the four of them meet up at the Belasco Theatre for the grand finale between the European Backsquids and the Japanese GGBoyz. Blaine knows that as an American, he could’ve rooted for the American SetToDestroyX, but he was rooting for the Australian Yeah Nah, purely for the name. Unfortunately they both got eliminated yesterday.

They plan on chilling out for now. Once the four of them are back in New York and they have time, they’ll start looking into becoming an actual team. Now, they’re just here for the game.

Blaine has told Kurt all about it, and Kurt’s really happy that Blaine’s seemed to hit it off with the three guys. It feels a bit weird to talk so much about Splatoon 2 with someone else. Sure, Blaine has some mutuals on the LGBT Splatoon 2 Discord, but Kurt’s his number one guy for Splatoon 2.

Well, if Kurt can potentially play Splatoon 2 with The Guy for fun, then Blaine can play it with Sam, Mike and Artie for competitions.

Blaine shakes his head. No one can claim the game. He’s just being weirdly idiotic about it.

The gaming will have to wait a little bit, so while the four wait for the finale to start, they get to know each other a bit more. Blaine learns that Artie is an independent film maker. He’s currently working on a short movie about mobility in the big city from a disabled point of view. Mike moved to New York after he studied dance in Chicago and he dances at the New York City Ballet. He’s never had a big role, but he loves what he’s doing. Sam is the only one without a creative career, although he did some modelling. After he achieved his dream of being naked on the side of a bus, he went back to school to become a teacher.

When Blaine tells them that he’s in the orchestra of The Street, the three of them are very excited.

“Yo, I’ve seen The Street five times!” Artie says.

“Really?” Blaine asks. The Street is a popular show, but it’s not like they can beat the big names like Hamilton or Wicked.

“Yeah, one of our friends works there as well,” Mike says.

“Well… ‘friend’,” Sam makes air quotes, “We haven’t really seen or spoken him in quite some time. But we forgive him for it. He’s going through a rough time.”

“Rachel did say that she got a message from him a few weeks ago,” Mike says and Sam and Artie’s heads jerk towards him.

The three of them talk about this friend and Blaine sits back in his seat. He obviously cannot jump in, because he doesn’t know that friend. Maybe he’s run into him backstage without knowing.

Mike notices that Blaine’s leaning away from the conversation and he apologises.

“Sorry, the three of us got caught up in the moment.”

“It’s fine,” Blaine says, although he appreciates the small apology, “And who knows, maybe I know your friend.”

“His name is Kurt,” Sam says, “Does that ring a bell?”

Blaine’s mind immediately goes to his Kurt, but that’s not who they’re referring to. He mentally lists all the names of the colleagues, but there’s no Kurt. There is of course a chance that Kurt is one of the couple of colleagues whose names Blaine doesn’t know, since The Street is a big production. Blaine tells them that.

“Does anyone have a photo of hi-”

Artie gets cut off by the applause. Just like yesterday, the commentators and the teams are getting on stage and after the opening, Hisashi Nogami comes on stage and the crowd goes wild. The camera flies over the audience and at one point, Sam shakes Blaine’s shoulder and he points towards the screen. The four of them are on camera so they all wave exuberantly.

Blaine is so happy he’s here. He can’t wait to tell Kurt all about it.