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Kurt maneuvered his way through the busy New York City sidewalks; A quick glance at his watch told him it was nearly seven o’clock and he was on the verge of being late for his first date in two years. The snow falling overhead delayed him more, until he finally entered the bar nearly ten minutes late. Blue eyes scanned the crowded bar for dark hair gelled down, finally catching the hazel eyes of who he was here for.
“I’m so sorry,” Kurt started. “I got out of work late and I didn’t want to come here in last season’s office casual and it’s snowing and I-“
“Kurt, it’s fine,” Blaine smiled easily, soft and sweet as he rose from his seat. “I understand, there’s no need to overreact.” Blaine brushed snow off the shoulders of Kurt’s jacket. “Take a seat. Do you want a beer?”
“Please,” Kurt sighed, unbuttoning his jacket and shimmying it off before draping it over the back of his chair like Blaine’s was. Blaine gestured at the bar tender for two beers and the couple sat down at the bar stools, bodies facing inward and in their own little bubble.
The two had met a week prior, when Blaine and his five-year-old daughter Violet were walking home from Violet’s school and Blaine had very literally ran into Kurt while attempting to balance paying attention to his daughter’s ramblings and making their way through the crowds. Kurt had been pissed at first, but when he looked up and saw how adorably apologetic Blaine was along with his even more adorable daughter, any hard feelings were lost. The two had exchanged numbers so Blaine could take Kurt out and somehow make it up to him that he knocked him over.
Now here they are, two near-strangers in a crowded bar on a Friday night. The winter air creeped in every time the door swung open and another group of people walked in, and the music was just loud enough that they didn’t have to yell to hear each other. They talked for what seemed like (and really was) hours, each of them sipping on their same beer the entire time.
Blaine discovered Kurt is 31 years old, a self-employed fashion designer who writes for Vogue on the side. He grew up just two hours from Blaine in Lima, Ohio where he was out and proud and in the school’s glee club and had even competed with Blaine’s school, so it was surprising they never crossed paths before. Kurt originally came to New York to be on Broadway but somewhere along the way had found a deeper love for designing and keeps his performances strictly to showers and karaoke.
Kurt, on the other hand, learned that Blaine is 29 years old and writes and composes music for singers, bands, and musicals for a living. He’s from Westerville, Ohio, but bought a one-way ticket to New York once he graduated high school and never looked back. He comes from a wealthy family, but prefers to make his own money for him and his daughter on his own and doesn’t even talk to his parents much. Violet came in to his life when he was 24 and convinced he was going to spend the rest of the life with the man he was with at the time. The couple had found a surrogate, and agreed that Blaine should be the biological dad, and the rest is history.
“Violet isn’t a mistake,” Blaine said, heart swelling at the thought of his little girl, “my mistake was staying with that jackass when it wasn’t good for me or her.”
“What happened to her other dad?” Kurt asked carefully, voice soft and unsure.
“Don’t call him that, please,” Blaine sighed. “He’s not her dad. We had already been fighting a lot, about bills and the baby and on top of that he’d been accusing me of cheating every other day. It was my last few months of school—I was getting my masters in music theory with an emphasis on songwriting at NYU and I always did my best to come home right after my classes so I could help with the baby. Well, I come home one night and the apartment seems completely deserted, except for the wailing baby in the nursery. I was furious, obviously, because the baby was barely six months old and he left her unattended.
“So I tend to Violet, and then I go into our bedroom and he’s in our bed with another man. I freak out, yelling at both of them to get out and I’m shoving his clothes into bags as he and whoever he was with get their clothes on and I push them out the door. He apparently wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, and stood outside the apartment door, yelling and banging on the door for me to “stop being a stupid whore and let him in”. It was easy for me to get full custody of Violet after that, especially since we hadn’t been married and I was the biological father. Thank god I was, too, I don’t know what I would have done if Violet ended up with him.”
“Blaine, I don’t know what to say,” Kurt placed his hand over Blaine’s.
“Don’t- don’t say anything. Please. Let’s talk about something happier.” Blaine smiled, and any concern on his face before had quickly vanished.
The couple small talked for a while, talking about favorite colors (Kurt’s is green; Blaine joked and said his was violet before saying it was yellow), discussing TV shows (“I’m a sucker for the Real Housewives of Anywhere,” Kurt reluctantly confessed), and conversing about music (“Don’t let the hairgel and the bow-ties fool you, I actually don’t love 50’s music. Don’t get me wrong, I love Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, I just prefer Katy Perry and Pink,” Blaine admitted).
After hours of sitting at the bar, Blaine finally stood up, throwing some money on the bar and sighing a little. “I should probably get going,” Blaine decided. “My friend is watching Violet and I need to make sure she’s in bed and not being taught how to swear in a foreign language.”
Kurt laughed, “I was going to ask you if you’d like to get coffee, too. I guess we can do it another time, though.”
“Coffee? At..” Blaine glanced the clock on the wall. “Almost midnight?”
“It’s never too late for coffee. But you have to get back to your daughter, so we can just meet up another time. I had a lot of fun tonight, Blaine, thank you.” Kurt stood up and put on his jacket. “Call me tomorrow.” Kurt kissed Blaine’s cheek, chaste and swift and barely there before turning around and heading out.
Kurt was funny and kind and smart, and Blaine having a child didn’t make a difference to him and oh god, Blaine really didn’t want this evening to end-
Blaine pondered for a second, before sending out a quick text to Santana asking her to please get Violet to bed and don’t teach her any dirty words in Spanish. Grabbing his jacket, Blaine ran after Kurt and caught him at the crosswalk on the corner.
“Kurt!” Blaine called after him, jogging a little to catch up to where he stood. “Coffee actually sounds great, I know a place not too far from here so…” Blaine paused, offering his arm to Kurt hopefully and expectantly.
There was a beat of silence before Kurt’s face broke out into a grin, grabbing Blaine’s arm. “Lead the way,” Kurt instructed.
They strolled down the street to a little hole-in-the-wall café that wasn’t crowded, considering the time of night. After finding at a booth tucked in the back corner of the store, Kurt got his wallet out.
“You paid for the beers so don’t even think about trying to pay for this, Anderson,” Kurt sent a joking pointed look at Blaine before his face fell back into the smile. “What would you like?”
Blaine raised an eyebrow, a small grin pulling at his lips. “Just a medium drip, please.”
Kurt nodded, “I’ll be right back.”
As Kurt turned and made his way to the counter to order, Blaine watched him go—not in a creepy way, just admiring him. Kurt’s outfit was impeccable, like something straight out of a men’s fashion magazine, and his posture radiated confidence. Besides Kurt’s outfit being beautiful, Kurt was beautiful. Not just physically, although he was, but mentally. It was clear that Kurt was someone who knew what he wanted and didn’t settle for anything less, and he comes off as rude but it’s hiding the kindness that’s underneath. Why or from what, Blaine doesn’t know, but what he does know is that this is their first date and he certainly hopes it won’t be their last. He wants to know more about Kurt; He wants to learn and discover and memorize him.
Kurt returned with two drinks in hand, breaking Blaine out of his thoughts. As Kurt sat down, the light caught on the chain around his neck, and Blaine couldn’t help but be a little curious.
“What’s the necklace you’re wearing?” Blaine asked before he took a sip of his coffee.
Pulling the chain out from his shirt, Blaine could see now that it wasn’t just a necklace; It was a set of dog tags, and Kurt glanced down at them before subconsciously running his fingers over the cool metal.
“They’re my brother’s,” Kurt clarified. “Well—stepbrother’s, actually. His name was Finn and he- he died in Afghanistan about 10 years ago. He went into the army after high school because he was just… so lost. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life after high school, and on top of that he wanted to honor his father.”
“Kurt,” Blaine breathed, placing his hands over Kurt’s like he had done in the bar.
“I miss him every day. We fought like brothers do, and we had our differences and a few problems in the beginning, but he was my brother. Even if not by blood, he still acted like one,” Kurt exhaled shakily, eyes blinking away tears that threatened to fall. Glancing up at Blaine, he saw concern and empathy in his eyes; A sad smile graced his lips as Kurt smoothed a thumb over Blaine’s hand. “I’m okay, I’m okay. Gee, we really all are hitting all the hard topics tonight, aren’t we?”
Blaine chuckled, glimpsing at their hands before meeting Kurt’s eyes again, “Guess so.”
The couple talked for another hour or so, about what they were like in high school and about their families and friends, before they decided to really call it a night. It was nearing 1 AM, and even though neither had work in the morning, Blaine still had a daughter to get home to and Kurt had some designs that have to be ready in two weeks.
They said goodnight outside the coffee shop, the sidewalk no longer crowded as the city went to sleep.
“Look up,” Kurt said, their shoulders brushing.
Blaine tiled his head up and stared, but saw nothing. “What am I looking a-“
And just like that, Kurt stood in front of him with his mouth was on his. He pulled away just a second later, Blaine’s lips tingling even though they’d barely kissed.
With matching rosy-cheeked smiles and hearts skipping the same beat, they made their separate ways with a promise to call the next day.
A month later, Blaine woke up to an empty bed besides Violet cradled against his chest. Lately, he’s been waking up with Kurt’s arms around him, Violet tucked between the two of them since she has a habit of crawling into Blaine’s bed during the night. Kurt didn’t mind, in fact, he loved Violet; She was a sweet, witty little girl with dark curls and eyes teetering on the verge of green that her resemblance to Blaine was prominent. Kurt even took Violet out to the park or the movies while Blaine worked on his music.
But as Blaine rolled on to his back, pulling his daughter on top of his chest, and felt nothing but cold mattress next to him, he couldn’t help but open his eyes and glance around the room. It was a Sunday, which meant no work and Kurt hadn’t mentioned having to do any errands, so Blaine had no clue where he could be. The sun was delicately peeking through the curtains and a glimpse at the clock told Blaine it was just about 9:00.
Blaine gently pulled Violet off him and on to the middle of the bed, tucking her in and kissing her forehead and then making his way out of the room to go find Kurt. Blaine’s feet made a pitter-patter noise as he made his way through his apartment, and when he made his way into the kitchen Kurt heard him before he saw him. Kurt smiled, looking at Blaine as he made his way around the kitchen, scrambling and dropping eggs into the pan.
“You weren’t in bed,” Blaine pouted, his hair curly and messy with a pair of sweatpants on and one of Kurt’s shirts that Blaine stole from him hanging slightly off his shoulder and fuck, if that wasn’t the cutest thing Kurt’s ever seen. He could feel the three-letter word on the tip of his tongue, tugging at his vocal chords whenever he saw Blaine. But it was too soon; They’d only been dating a month, and after Blaine’s last relationship, Kurt didn’t want to pressure him into anything.
“I wanted to make you and Vi breakfast,” Kurt shrugged, pulling Blaine by the fronts of his shirt toward him. Covering Blaine’s lips with his, Kurt’s hands made their way to hold Blaine’s face. Blaine stood slightly on the tips of his toes as they kissed, reveling in the way their lips moved and how Kurt felt against him. The stench of burnt-something coaxed them out of their trance, and Kurt let go of Blaine to turn around and investigate the smell. His eyes fell on the toaster, where the bread had popped up, albeit black and charred. At least Kurt had the right idea to cook the eggs on the lowest flame setting.
When breakfast was ready, Kurt, Blaine, and Violet sat and ate in comfortable silence, Violet occasionally mentioning what she’s looking forward to in school during the upcoming week or telling a story about one of her classmates. Once they all finished eating, Violet plopped down in front of the TV, watching cartoons while coloring in her coloring book.
Kurt and Blaine cleaned up, Blaine washing the dishes while Kurt dried. Blaine kept stealing glances at Kurt, his heartrate picking up whenever he did.
After only a month of being together, Blaine couldn’t help but feel so much toward Kurt; He was amazing with Violet, so kind and courteous and caring toward both him and Violet, and remarkably smart and creative. They always found themselves singing together, and whenever they would listen to music Kurt would grab Violet’s hand and dance with her, twirling her and spinning her around while she giggled.
Blaine kept reminding himself that Kurt wasn’t like his ex; He could let go of any fear of falling because Kurt was a safe place to land.
“Hey, Kurt?” Blaine dropped the dish he was washing back in the sink, turning his body so he was facing his boyfriend. Kurt’s hands were on the counter, the dishrag thrown over his shoulder and he was looking at Blaine with a worried look in his eyes. “I- I love you.”
Kurt’s face broke into a wide smile, “I love you too, so much.”
Blaine mirrored Kurt’s smile and they went back to washing the dishes, sometimes bumping their hips against each other or brushing shoulders.
Kurt and Blaine soon became Kurt-and-Blaine, and Kurt unofficially moved into Blaine’s apartment. They had a routine for weekdays; In the morning, they would wake up and get ready for work, and one of them would make breakfast while the other woke up Violet and got her dressed and ready for school. Then, they would all sit and eat breakfast together before making their way downstairs where they would make their separate ways. After a quick kiss on the sidewalk in front of their apartment building, Blaine would take Violet to school and Kurt would head toward his office. After work, Kurt would stop at his apartment for clothes and then make his way back to Blaine’s, the feeling of being loved and being in love steering his feet subconsciously home to him.
One night, Kurt used the spare key Blaine gave him and somewhat stumbled into the apartment after going out with the girls from work to celebrate one of their promotions, having texted Blaine he would be home late and why. He closed and locked the door behind him, swaying a bit on his feet from the alcohol, Blaine coming out of the bedroom, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
“There’s my beautiful boyfriend!” Kurt exclaimed to no one in particular.
Blaine shushed him, gesturing toward Violet’s closed bedroom door.
“Sorry,” Kurt stage-whispered, giggling softly.
“Are you drunk?” Blaine asked, noticing how Kurt was a bit unbalanced and his face was tinted pink.
“Not really,” Kurt hiccupped. “Maybe tipsy. Definitely not drunk.” Kurt attempted to make his way over to Blaine, knocking into a table and nearly causing the vase and picture frames on it to fall over in the process. “Oops. Maybe drunk.” he giggled.
Blaine turned on his heel, going back into the bedroom, Kurt following him and unbuttoning his shirt to get ready for bed. Blaine shoved pajamas into Kurt’s arms, “You can sleep on the couch. I’ll get pillows and a blanket for you.” He didn’t sound angry, just… disappointed.
“The couch? What? Why?” Kurt questioned. “I’ve been sleeping with you since the first time I stayed over.”
“Please, Kurt, we can talk about this in the morning. I don’t want to wake Violet up.” Blaine breathed.
“Fine.” Kurt turned and made his way to the bathroom, going through his nightly routine having sobered up a little. When he finished, Kurt walked into the living room and saw Blaine standing by the couch, which was made up with pillows and a blanket.
“Goodnight, Kurt.” Blaine muttered, kissing him softly and grimacing when he tasted alcohol.
“I love you,” Kurt said as Blaine walked past him. At first there was no answer, just the sound of the bedroom door closing before he heard Blaine faintly return his words.
In the morning, Kurt woke up surprisingly without a headache. He walked into the bedroom and saw Blaine standing in front of the mirror, fixing his bow-tie.
“Good morning,” Kurt broke the silence, leaning against the door frame. Blaine’s eyes met Kurt’s in the mirror before he went back to fixing his bow-tie, straightening it out and making sure it was tight enough. “Why are you ignoring me?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you go check the kitchen?” Blaine argued back.
Kurt raised an eyebrow and made his way into the kitchen, seeing a bouquet of now dried flowers with a card that read “Happy 6 months xoxo -Blaine”. Kurt mentally cursed himself, making his way back into the bedroom where Blaine was putting on cologne and finishing getting ready.
“Baby—“ Kurt started, but was interrupted by Blaine.
“Violet drew you a picture, too. It was in a frame on that table you almost knocked over. I’m not mad, Kurt… Well, I am, but I’m more hurt. I had this whole plan. You were going to have come home, and I’d give you the flowers and then Santana would come to babysit and we’d go out to that little Italian place you like a few blocks away, and after we’d escape to your apartment for a few hours before going back to mine,” Blaine shrugged.
“I’m so sorry, Blaine,” Kurt mumbled. “I love you so much, please don’t ever think I don’t. We can go out tonight.”
“We have Violet’s dance recital. The one you promised her you would be there for. Or did you forget about that too?” Blaine crossed his arms. “She was so tired after dress rehearsal, I’m glad you didn’t wake her up last night when you stumbled in here, yelling and nearly knocking over shit.”
“Blaine, don’t be like that—“
“Don’t be like what? I thought we were serious, Kurt! I’m almost 30, I have a daughter, I need stability in my life. She needs stability in her life.” Blaine argued.
“I forget an anniversary and have to be reminded of a dance recital and that’s it? We’re done?” Kurt snapped back at him.
“I don’t want to be like my parents, Kurt! I want Violet to grow up happy and not wondering if what she’s doing is enough for her parents. I want her to grow up loved! She called you papa the other day, did you know that? When I was reading her a story, she asked if papa could teach her how to ice skate soon. I don’t know if you’re ready to be her dad, but if you aren’t, please… just leave. We’re going so fast and I completely understand if you don’t want to be—“
“I want to be part of her life,” Kurt nodded. “I want the three of us to have a life together, like a family. I’m… I’m not ready for marriage yet and I don’t think you are either, but I want us to have a life together.”
There was a beat of silence and then, Blaine chuckled. “We’re crazy, aren’t we? Been together 6 months and my kid’s calling you papa and we’re already talking about a life together.”
“We’re not regular couples. We like to zig and zag, and that’s okay. I’m really sorry, Blaine.”
Blaine accepted Kurt’s apology and went to get Violet up and ready, Kurt going to get dressed and ready for work and then making breakfast.
That night, Kurt’s apartment went up for sale and started formally moving his things into Blaine’s.
Months later, they’re sleeping—well, Kurt’s sleeping, Blaine is awake from the extra cup of coffee he had in the middle of the day at work today. Blaine is half on Kurt’s chest, tracing circles in the smooth skin of his stomach. Suddenly, Kurt’s sleep labored breathing stopped and returned to normal, causing Blaine to look up at him. Kurt’s blue eyes were staring at Blaine, a reserved smile on his face.
“You’re my best friend, you know that, right?” Kurt’s voice was hoarse from sleep.
“You’re mine, too.” Blaine kissed him softly before they both fell asleep.
Words didn’t have to be said for Kurt and Blaine to know how much they loved each other. They still vocalized how much they love each other, but it was also in other ways too. Dancing down the snowy streets of New York, humming the tune to a song from a musical they had just gone to see, having pictures of them and Violet in each other’s respective offices—these were ways they said I love you. Because love isn’t palpable, it isn’t something that can be felt with hands, so they could spend their lives trying to put the feeling into words or they can just show love. Even when it’s dead silent, or they’re on their way home and Violet’s holding both of their hands and swinging in between them, or they’re in bed on the verge of sleep with the lights off, they both know. Through fights and family and friends and everything in between, it’s pretty damn obvious what it is.
They’re in love.