Work Text:
It’s a slow day at work, even slower than usual, and Kurt’s bored to death. He’s already kicked his computer’s ass at Minesweeper like five times, and he’s watched adorable cat videos while remaining stone-faced like a pro for the better half of an hour now.
But hey, a job is a job, and it helps pay his tuition so he won’t complain (too much).
He’s on the verge of clicking on a very promising-looking thumbnail for a video titled “cat gets scared by lizard” when someone very hesitantly clears their throat.
Kurt closes the tab – slowly, like he was actually doing something important; he knows better than to look like a deer caught in headlights – and looks up at his third customer of the day.
He’s a student Kurt has seen around a lot without knowing his name – it applies to the majority of students, really, he sees them coming into the computer lab once or twice, remembers small details of their appearances because he doesn’t have a name to go with the face.
This one, he knows, wears a lot of bowties. And glasses that make him look super nerdy.
“Uhm…” the guy starts, his eyes flitting over Kurt’s face briefly and then back down to his own hands. So he’s a little socially awkward, too, it seems. “I need to speak to IT…?”
“Sitting right in front of you,” Kurt says, raising a challenging eyebrow.
Kurt doesn’t look like “your typical IT guy,” or at least that’s what people tell him on a daily basis when they learn that he’s the one doomed to answer their dumbass questions like Sisyphus was doomed to roll his stupid boulder uphill forever. Sometimes, when the solution is clear as day – “Have you tried rebooting the computer?” – he rewards himself by being extra arrogant, and when the problem is more complex and requires him to actually leave his desk and fix it hands-on, the reward is the surprise on people’s faces when he’s done.
“Okay.” His customer nods quickly. “Yeah… uhm…”
No comment, then. Good. Not even an unbelieving stare.
Also no words.
“If you want my help,” Kurt drawls, “you might need to start talking at one point.”
“Uhm, so… there’s a computer over there that froze, and…”
Kurt sighs. This is a frequent problem.
“Did you log into your student account?” he asks.
He gets a nod in response.
“Okay, can I get your student ID?” Kurt turns to his computer. “If it’s a problem with your account, I can access it from here.”
The guy hands his ID over, and Kurt can’t help but notice that his fingers are shaking slightly. Jesus, he doesn’t look that scary, does he? It’s the 21st century, people should be used to a guy with pink hair, leather clothes and piercings by now, right?
“Alright, uh…” He looks down at the ID. It’s actually a cute picture, probably the only ID with a good picture Kurt has ever held in his hand – his own picture included. He looks like a zombie on that one. “Blaine, is it?” Another nod. “Okay, Blaine – I’m Kurt, by the way – your account looks fine from what I can see here, so maybe if you could tell me what’s-”
“I don’t actually have a problem,” Blaine squeaks all of a sudden.
Goodness gracious, Kurt must have hit the jackpot today – a customer without a problem!
He makes a point of rolling his eyes. “So what, you’re here to speak to IT because your computer didn’t freeze…?”
Blaine shakes his head, then nods, then shakes his head again, obviously not knowing how to answer, and there’s a huge blush spreading on his face, making its way onto his neck quickly. Kurt entertains himself with following its path for a few seconds but when he still doesn’t get an actual answer to his question, he looks back up.
“Listen, if this is a prank, I’ve seen better,” Kurt tells him.
Blaine’s eyes widen. “Uh… what?”
Yeah, right. Good one.
“I’m not stupid,” Kurt says.
He’s not even angry, just incredibly annoyed that this keeps happening to him. A little sad maybe, because Blaine doesn’t look like a jerk and yet he turns out to be one. Story of Kurt’s life.
Gesturing towards Blaine’s face, he continues, “You literally look like a tomato right now, and I’m pretty sure that means you’re hiding something. See, it wouldn’t be the first time people think it’s funny a guy with pink hair is manning the IT help desk and decide to taunt him but I actually get paid for this crappy job because I’m good at it, so if you want to give me a fake IT question to see if I can answer it, try me.”
Blaine looks like he’s going to die any second now. Kurt briefly contemplates if he should call 911. How red can a face even get before it’s not considered healthy anymore?
“I’m not…” Blaine shrugs a little helplessly. “I’m not pranking you.”
“Okay,” Kurt says, lifting his hands to count with them. “So your computer didn’t actually freeze, you’re not here because of a different problem, you’re also not pranking me. Do you know how many other options there are for wasting my time…? Pretty much zilch.”
“Sorry, I- I’m not trying to waste your time,” Blaine says, and his big eyes actually look quite earnest. Ah, he probably was such a brat as a child – a kid with puppy dog eyes like that? Pretty destined to get anything and everything it asks for. “I’m… god, this is going to sound weird- I’m here because I lost a bet.”
It doesn’t sound weird. It sounds horrible. Even worse than a prank. Now Kurt is not even the butt of a joke but talking to him is an actual punishment? Great.
Hooray for college kids being even more uptight than the Neanderthals in his high school.
The realization that there are actual people out there making their friends talk to him as the result of a bet actually makes Kurt lose his cool for a minute.
He freezes, sinks into his chair a little bit, and frowns at Blaine.
“Awesome,” he mumbles, and he can’t help the hurt that laces into his voice, even though he hates it. “Oh well, my bad, apparently there are other options for wasting my time.”
Not even his minor breakdown seems to make Blaine leave. He just looks concerned now, and damn, if it doesn’t make Kurt angrier.
“Fuck off, will you?” he snarls, making Blaine jump a little at the sudden outburst. He can’t even look at him anymore. “I don’t care for whatever bet you lost, and I care even less if your punishment is to make fun of me for five minutes or whatever. I may not look like I can kick your ass but I assure you – I can. So just get-”
“No, that’s not it,” Blaine cuts in suddenly, stepping closer to the desk, and Kurt rolls out of reach instinctively. “I’m sorry I upset you, I… I didn’t mean to lead with that bet, that- that sounded all wrong, and it’s not- whatever, I… uhm, oh god.” He rocks back and forth on his feet nervously. “I just wanted to ask if you’d… uh, like to get coffee sometime. Or… uhm, a cheesecake, maybe, I don’t know.”
At that, Kurt looks up again.
“I’m sorry, what?” he blurts, regretting it a second later.
What if this is part of the prank, or the bet, what if he’s supposed to fake-date me like they tried to in high school, what if-
“I know you like cheesecake,” Blaine says, sounding really… genuine. It doesn’t look like he’s joking at all, and Kurt tries to relax, if only a fraction. “I’ve seen you eat it during your lunch break a lot, so… but coffee’s fine, or… nothing at all is fine, too, I just wanted to… uhm, ask. If- if you wanted to. Maybe.”
“If this is a prank, I’ve got to compliment you on the amount of research you’ve done,” Kurt says, a little dumbfounded. Is this guy actually trying to ask him out?
“I’m not…” Blaine sighs sadly, and adjusts the glasses on his nose. “Wow, you really don’t believe me, do you?”
Kurt tilts his head. Blaine does look kind of cute. A little nerdy, what with the glasses and the funky bowtie, but… cute. Almost hot, though the sweater would have to go for that to be Kurt’s final assessment.
“Maybe you could convince me,” he says slowly.
“So I’m not actually wasting your time?” Blaine asks, biting his lip again, and okay, yeah, that could count as sexy in the right situation.
“I don’t know, are you still asking me out? Like, for real?”
“Oh.” Blaine gulps, but smiles. “I thought that much was obvious.”
Kurt bends a little to see if there’s any people behind Blaine waiting to annoy him with questions, but the fates are nice to him for once.
“Have a seat, Blaine,” he says, pointing at the chair. He waits until he’s seated, noticing with a pleased smirk that Blaine looks happy and nervous at the same time, and leans forward on his desk to rest his chin on his hands. “So you know I like cheesecake… and coffee, though that could be a lucky guess, and you’re only now asking me out because you lost a bet…? I want explanations.”
“Are you going to give me an answer to my question first or…?” Blaine trails off and when Kurt just gives him his best attempt at a mysterious smile, he sighs. “Okay then. Yes, I lost a bet, and yes, I will tell you what it was but only when I get an answer to my question.”
Ah, so there’s a cocky bastard behind that nerd façade. Kurt knew those puppy dog eyes must have turned him into a brat at some point. He doesn’t mind, though. He can work with cocky.
“And the cheesecake?” Kurt asks, not wavering.
“You’re really stubborn, aren’t you?” Blaine asks and adjusts his glasses, eyes dancing around.
Kurt just smiles.
He likes being figured out. It means he has less work to do laying himself bare.
“Alright, fine.” Blaine lets go of his glasses and lowers his hand to the table – it doesn’t stop fidgeting. Is Kurt really making him this nervous? It’s a new concept for him, so he stares at the hand, entranced. “My friends don’t have lunch break at the same time as me so I usually spend them here and… you eat a lot of cheesecake. I swear I haven’t been stalking you but you’re… you’re sort of hard not to notice, you know? I, uh… love the hair, by the way.”
Oh god, he’s so going to say yes to that date.
“And exactly how many times have you seen me devour an entire cheesecake all by myself?” Kurt asks, only half-joking, going as far as to tilt his head at Blaine with a curious smile.
It’s an open invitation to flirt, and for once, Kurt doesn’t even do it on purpose – it just seems fitting. Body language is sort of Kurt’s area of expertise, though he usually uses it to be intimidating, not approachable. But Blaine didn’t even need an invitation to approach him. Kurt decides that he likes it.
Blaine scrunches up his nose, pretending to think about it. It’s adorable, so adorable. How lucky is Kurt that he didn’t leave the desk at the first sign of unfriendly behavior from Kurt?
“Like, five or six times,” Blaine says, shrugging as if to imply it might have been more or less than that.
“And yet you claim not to be stalking me,” Kurt quips. He taps his hand on his desk. “Tell me about that bet?”
“Found an answer to my question yet?” Blaine asks right back, biting his lip again.
“Fair enough.” Kurt lets his eyes linger on his desk for a second before looking back up through his lashes. It’s on purpose, it’s bold, and it’s been decidedly too long since he’s flirted with anyone, let alone been successful in his attempts. But Blaine blushes – score. “So you see me eating cheesecake a few times and you think to yourself, that’s the kind of guy I wanna date? How does that work?”
Blaine winks – actually winks, what a dork – when he answers, “Maybe I was hungry.”
“Maybe.” Kurt grins. “No, but really?”
There must be enough honesty in his voice – and he really wants to know because all people see in him usually is a punk not worth their time – for Blaine to actually consider his question.
“I don’t know, Kurt,” he says, looking at the table like it suddenly demands his attention. “You look like someone who doesn’t care about what other people think of them, which is kind of impressive to me because sometimes it’s all I think of. You’re good enough with computers to have gotten this job, which, by the way, I applied for as well, and they didn’t want me even though…” He hesitates for a moment, then smiles a little. “I mean, look at me, I look the part, don’t I?” It surprises Kurt, and he laughs, almost slaps his hand over his mouth afterwards because nobody makes him laugh. “Not to mention that you’re… well, uhm, you’re pretty easy on the eyes, too, so… yeah, there’s that…”
Now Kurt’s blushing, and he can’t even hide it because he’s too busy trying to read Blaine.
“And the bet?”
Blaine leans back in his chair, huffs out a breath. “I didn’t realize asking people out on a date was accompanied by giving people the third degree these days.”
“These days?” Kurt echoes. “What are you, eighty?”
“Hey.” Blaine blushes. “I just haven’t asked someone out in a long time.”
“And then you started with me?” Kurt asks incredulously. “Ouch, tough choice. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I can’t remember ever having to work for an answer that hard before,” Blaine teases.
“Well, I’ve never had someone ask me out because of a bet he lost.”
“Touché.” Blaine laughs. “Okay, I’m going to tell you-”
“Excuse me?” A girl pushes past the chair Blaine’s sitting on. “I have a question.”
Kurt groans inwardly. This is what he gets for stringing this whole thing out.
He’d be all snarky and mean but it turns out he doesn’t need to because Blaine is already giving the student the side eye.
“I believe I was first,” he says, staring at her pointedly. “And my problem hasn’t been solved yet.”
The girl huffs and goes back to her computer with a sour look on her face.
“I thought you didn’t have a problem,” Kurt mumbles when she’s gone.
“Well… that really kind of depends on what your answer is going to be?”
It sounds hopeful, and Kurt can’t say no.
“Tell me about the bet.” That’s his final barrier. It could still turn out horrible. “Please, I mean it.”
“Okay.” Blaine nods, and ducks his head. “It’s super embarrassing but… my best friend Sam, he, uhm, he bet me that I couldn’t go a day w-without mentioning you. He said if I lost I’d have to ask you out for real. I thought I could do it but… here I am.”
Kurt almost slides out of his chair and throws himself at Blaine.
That’s so not horrible.
“I… no, come on, you’re kidding right?” he asks, self-conscious about how high his voice goes.
Blaine blushes again. “No, I’m really, really not.”
“Okay.” There’s a moment of silence, Blaine obviously expects him to say more, and Kurt repeats himself. “Okay.”
“Okay…? Okay what?”
“It’s my answer.” Kurt bites his lip. “To your question.”
Blaine starts laughing, and for a horrible moment Kurt thinks that this is it, this is the moment where he’s going to be told that this is all a joke, just a prank, just another humilitation…
“That’s your answer?” Blaine says, and there’s a teasing crinkle around his eyes. “I wait all this time – patiently, I might add – and then all you say is okay?”
“What am I supposed to say?” Kurt exclaims, only half-embarrassed because it’s obvious now Blaine’s just messing with him for fun. “I’ve never actually had to answer that kind of question befo- uhm… just ignore that.”
Damn, he was not supposed to say that. He doesn’t mention to anyone, ever, that he’s never had a boyfriend. And now he blurts it out to his first date like it’s no big deal.
“Oh.” Blaine’s teasing smile is gone in an instant but it’s replaced by a very charming one. “Well… me neither. I’ve never been asked on a date.”
“You’re saying that to make me feel better,” Kurt says, glaring at Blaine.
“No!” Blaine holds up his hands. “I swear, scout’s honor and all. I’ve never had anyone ask me out before, and actually, you’re the first person I’ve ever asked out that actually said yes.”
Kurt gives in to the twitching corners of his lips and lets a smile of his own spread on his face.
“I said okay.”
Blaine giggles. God, Kurt wants to kiss him. It’s too soon, right?
“Fine, you’re the first person who’s ever said okay.”
“See, you were just aiming too high,” Kurt tells him, and Blaine suddenly gets up from the chair, leans over the desk and just plants a kiss right on Kurt’s mouth.
It’s chaste, it barely lasts two seconds, and it’s the best thing Kurt’s ever felt.
When Blaine pulls back, he’s flustered again, and he chuckles nervously.
“Sorry, that was- I just… I think I’m aiming just right.”
Kurt’s face is on fire but he’s also smiling like an idiot.
Best customer ever.
(Seven years later, Blaine is the one to say okay, and Kurt almost drops the ring with how hard he’s laughing.)