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Restless, Season 1
Kurt (feeling restless around Finn): It didn’t feel like something that would be allowed, this feeling. He tried to keep his head together, finish up at his locker before going to join Mercedes and Tina. But he couldn’t keep thoughts of the big football player out of his head.
He replayed that little turn of Finn’s head—and his sweet smile as he checked on Kurt’s safety—over and over instead of focusing on his work. Math was intolerable, and French only a little less so. How could he make it through the week? He wondered, what did other people do with this restless wanting?
Blaine (restless while recuperating after Sadie Hawkins): Traction was the exact opposite of a walk in the park, Blaine thought. His empty days stretched out forever, even after he was home, a hospital bed set up in the den.
His parents pretended that home was better than the hospital, but at least there, he had people to see. No surprise that all of his old friends just had excuses NOT to visit. His school books bored the crap out of him, and his piano might as well have been 1,000 miles away instead of just across the room. Here’s hoping Cooper’s old guitar would ease the restlessness.
Restless, Season 2
Kurt (restless at Dalton): Another Thursday, another study session interrupted by Blaine’s showboating and the Warblers’ hero worship. Cute as he was, Blaine was getting on Kurt’s last nerve. Admittedly, it was a kick ass version of Misery, but would it really hold a candle to a Mercedes performance?
And now here Blaine was, his face puppy eager, looking for more praise. Kurt just didn’t have it in him to offer that; instead, the truth just itched under his skin.
“Can I be really honest with you? Because it comes from a place of caring.”
He felt freer already as he uttered the words.
Blaine (restless around Kurt): Wow! Kurt really knew how to pull together an ensemble. As he hovered in the doorway to his friend’s bedroom, he couldn’t help but admire the care he took with his look. And hell, Kurt looked really good in the red shirt.
Blaine squirmed away from that thought. That had been happening a lot lately—ever since Valentine’s, and his idiocy at the Gap followed by Kurt’s confession, to be honest. Sometimes alone in his dorm room at night, he turned it over and over in his mind. He couldn’t be falling for his friend; that would mess everything up.
Restless, Season 3
Kurt (restless watching Blaine adapt to McKinley): That whole first week, he kept expecting the first slushie, for Blaine’s bow ties, his bright eyes and even brighter clothes to draw the attention of the bullies.
But it never came. Instead, Blaine sailed down McKinley’s hallways, charming teachers and cheerleaders alike. Kurt found him one afternoon, laughing outside of AP Calc with Mike and some football player Kurt didn’t even know. The guy was touching Blaine!
It made Kurt’s skin itch in a way that he wasn’t happy about. It should be a good thing that Blaine was finding his way. So why did it bother him so?
Blaine (restless waiting for the end of the school day and Kurt’s visit): Was this house always this quiet, this dark on winter afternoons? Blaine thought it hadn’t been when he was a kid. Then winter meant bright snow days and drinking Mama’s hot chocolate with cinnamon in the kitchen with Coop.
But Coop was far away in the sunshine of LA, and Mama and Dad were at work, and all his friends (his Kurt) were in school. It was just him and this stupid eye patch and the ticking of the clock in Dad’s study across the hall.
He checked his watch again, and tried to be good while waiting for Kurt.
Restless, Season 4
Kurt (restless in the weeks after the Break Up): The nights were long, but he was used to long nights alone. And with the Ambien, sleep DID come, strange though that sleep was. Work days were better; Isabelle kept him busy.
But on a random Tuesday in late October like this one, alone in the loft, Rachel at NYADA, it all pressed in on him. The steady stream of self-recrimination on the phone, the package at the door marked RETURN TO SENDER—he just couldn’t deal with them today. He couldn’t deal with anything, it seemed.
So he paced, and drank strong coffee, and tried not to hate Blaine.
Blaine (restless after The Break Up): Maybe he shouldn’t have left the loft so early; maybe he could have tried again with Kurt. But his beloved was hiding behind that wall of shock and hurt and ICE, and Blaine just couldn’t.
So he left, with hours to kill before his flight, practically a whole day, and what could he do with it? If he wasn’t such a failbot, he could be sitting over brunch in some cute bistro, laughing with Kurt. Instead, he dragged his bag behind him into an old-style coffeeshop, with greasy menus and strong coffee, and sat and stared out the dirty window.
Restless, Season 5
Kurt (restless waiting to hear about Nationals): It was probably for the best that he was working the dinner shift. If he’d been at home, he would have driven poor Blaine—or his dad—crazy phoning for updates. He knew it was a long shot, repeating, but this year—they were so talented, and Blaine just loved them.
After Blaine leaked the set list to him, Kurt had even more reason to want a win. His tips were shit tonight, not surprisingly. It was just that picturing Dad and Carole hearing Finn’s favorite songs, it was hard to care about the chicken salad sandwich in booth 3.
Blaine (restless before the proposal): He bounced on his toes, his nerves zipping along as he ran from group to group, making sure everyone was in place. On his third—or maybe fourth—run down the stairs, he felt a hand on his arm. Mercedes’ throaty chuckle cut through his buzzing worry.
“Baby, you need to save some of this energy for later…We got this.”
Blaine drew a deep, shaky breath, his mind reeling from ”What if he says yes?” to “What if he says no?” He nodded vigorously.
“Thanks, ‘Cedes. I know we’ve rehearsed…”
“We couldn’t be more ready. You just have to breathe.”
Restless, Season 6
Kurt (restless waiting for Walter): So, a date, then. Walter was charming and kind, and interested. And god, how that mattered to him now! Over the past few months, he had just become another lonely unknown New Yorker. The city lost a lot of its charm when his friends left, when living there was no longer something to be shared. When there was no Blaine.
He drove those thoughts away and studied his face in the mirror again, wondering what Walter saw. His young, flawless skin, sure. But what else would his date want? He practiced looking happy as he had once practiced looking sexy.
Blaine (restless in the elevator): He couldn’t help himself. Kurt had given up, was sitting slumped in the corner, the silent phone held loosely in his hand. But Blaine couldn’t sit, couldn’t wait. He felt every inch of the wall, trying to find a crack through which he could slip a fingernail. He wished Nightbird was here, with his toolbelt. Man, what if he was? He’d have some kind of ax so he could hack through the wall. What ifs…story of his life.
And if Sam was in here, they could pass the time talking about such scenarios, and planning for next time. But Kurt?
Restless, future
Kurt and Blaine (waiting for the reviews)
Opening night had gone well, Blaine thought. An enthusiastic audience—friends, family, press.
How would it be received? They had had to make changes during previews, and so many many changes BEFORE. He knew that reviving Who’s Afraid… 60 years out would be—well, problematic—and casting Kurt as Nick rather than Honey raised eyebrows. Well, June Dolloway’s perfectly manicured eyebrow, anyway.
They got in late, way too late for two men who had a show to do the next day. Kurt floated in to start his skin regimen, his eyes dreamy with memories from the party. “Matt Bomer, Blaine. God, he’s gorgeous. And so nice. And of course, darling Andrew. And, oh God. Sidney Greene actually brought Liza. Poor Rachel.”
Blaine hoped he was responding appropriately, but his attention was on his phone, as he scrolled through his twitter feed. Should he check tumblr and try to guess the critics’ response from fan reactions? Or—he took a deep breath and opened the Broadway World message boards.
He didn’t notice that he had stopped replying until Kurt stood in front of him and eased the phone from his hands. “Husband dear, you can’t change what they say by worrying.”