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isthatalittlebowtie · 9 years

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It Might Be a Dream

Written for Prompt #4 of the Klaine Reversebang Holiday Mini-Challenge

Summary: There's a Macy's. And a box of absolutely-perfect-for-the-holidays bowties. Then Kurt finds out just how good his hard work on the Christmas designs looks in reality. Elf costumes included. There may or may not be a Serendipity moment.

Thank you to gnomerino for her awesome Beta skills :D

As much as Kurt loved his job, it came with its disadvantages. Sure, for someone into all things glittery and shiny, and someone majorly into fashion, being allowed to dress the Macy's window displays for the holidays was a dream. It also allowed him to get a sneak peek at things that were in stock especially for Christmas, which was a perk in itself.

Like the bowtie gift box that he tried really hard to keep to the side and not put on display because it was one he wanted to buy for himself. His boss unfortunately insisted that it take a place of pride, right in the most visible spot on the display in the accessories department. Kurt spent his work day looking at the gift box longingly whenever he passed by while he threw suspicious glares at every shopper that approached the display.

When the end of the day finally approached, Kurt was trying to focus on the last few items he needed to fix in the windows before their big unveiling. His attention was drifting already, though, because he couldn’t stop himself from glancing at his watch to check how much time he had until he could get away.

With the final piece of decoration carefully placed on one of the dresses in the windows, Kurt stepped back and surveyed his work, a smile playing on his lips.

"Great job, Kurt," his boss said, patting Kurt's shoulder. "You might just get yourself a permanent spot with this spectacle."

"It would be my pleasure, Ma'am," Kurt replied politely, though he could feel the impatience buzzing like an electric current under his skin.

"Go," she laughed. "I know you had your eyes set on those bowties. I made sure the staff in the department didn't sell it until after the big unveiling."

"Thank you!" Kurt said, his eyes lighting up with joy.

"We're opening the windows in a little while; you should go." She nudged him gently towards the staff room so he could clock out.

Kurt rushed over, punched his card, and tugged his coat out of his locker in record time. He earned himself a few surprised glances from the other people in the room, because most of the staff was used to him being the last one out, even when he didn't need to be.

Once he reached the accessories display, he fixed his eyes on the bowtie box in the middle of it, the little gift tag attached to the corner, and a layer of glitter on the top. None of the packaging mattered, though, because Kurt already had plans for each of the three bowties inside, especially the one with the subtle candy cane design that he knew would fit perfectly with his outfit for the Vogue Christmas party.

And then the moment came when -- just a short while before the shop was due to close for that night, but with enough time to dazzle the customers -- the blinds on the windows rolled up and the lights around the festive displays in the shop lit up. For a minute or so, Kurt let himself observe not only the displays themselves, but also the customers' and staff's faces when his hard work came alive. It felt like the magic of Christmas had taken over, and he couldn't hide his pleased smile that only brightened when the boss shot him an acknowledging nod and smile from the other side of the room.

But then the moment broke with a sight of a hand reaching towards the box, the perfectly decorated gift set of bowties that was Kurt's. At least it was in his mind, since he'd struggled hard to not just hide it away for himself, and had only reluctantly left it in the open. His own hand immediately shot out to grab it, his mind set on winning it regardless of what it would take, Serendipity flashbacks pushed aside so he'd keep his focus.

And then it happened: Kurt's eyes widened when he caught sight of the rest of the display swaying a little just as his fingers touched the bowtie box, brushing against the skin of whomever it was that tried to grab it too.

"Oh no," he muttered quietly. "No no no, please," he added in a whisper towards the display.

He could almost hear his heart beat loudly as his eyes followed the movement of the display. And then, despite his doubt that things like that really happened, he felt like he was watching the entire set up crumble in slow motion. Boxes after boxes of ties and gloves were tumbling over, and they were falling to the floor with a crash that wasn't loud enough to attract the attention of everyone, but enough to turn the heads of people nearby.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry," a voice next to him tore Kurt out of his panic, and he turned to the person who spoke.

He found himself staring into honey-gold eyes that were widened in panic, and Kurt couldn't help but think of puppies.

"I'll fix this, I swear," the man in front of Kurt spoke. "I just had my eyes on these bowties for the whole day, and I didn't mean to cause trouble, but the one with the trees is perfect for an outfit, and I knew I wouldn't find another one like it."

Neither of them lost their grip on the box yet, Kurt still shell-shocked from both the fall of the display and his mind reeling over how adorable he found the man in front of him. It was only when they were both silent that Kurt's mind kicked into gear again, and he let himself take in more than the face of the man.

"An elf," Kurt said after a moment, his voice colored with disbelief. "You're an elf."

"Blaine, actually," the man smiled softly, his eyes still apologetic. "I'm… yeah, I'm part of the Santa Claus group," he nodded, and he glanced down at his outfit.

Kurt looked down to Blaine's outfit, and he couldn't hold back his smile. The elf outfits were his own designs -- he did a job once that had him dressed in a hideously bright green thing that he wanted to spare the actors who have been hired for the children's section -- and he felt a pang of pride at how well they fit. There was still green involved, of course, but Kurt went with a lot more subtle approach, while staying kid-friendly. Not that the same could be said about how Blaine looked in the costume, at least to Kurt's eyes. The costume hugged his body just right, and Kurt had a moment of regret for not being in the fittings, but he'd been too busy designing and creating the displays.

The thought brought him back to the one that was now crumbled in a heap at their feet, and he glanced down with a frustrated sigh.

"I am serious, I'll do my elfly duties immediately," Blaine started rambling again. "Especially since it's partly my fault," he added sheepishly. "I'm really sorry…"

When Blaine looked at Kurt with expectation, Kurt realized that he didn't introduce himself yet, nor did he say anything to ease Blaine's panic.

"Kurt," he finally said. "I'm Kurt."

"You're… wait, you're Kurt Hummel?" Blaine's eyes widened again, and Kurt nodded. "Well now I feel even worse, knowing that I helped you watch one of your creations fall apart like this."

"You could buy me coffee to make up for it," Kurt blurted, and he blushed immediately, unsure where his boldness came from.

"It would be my pleasure," Blaine visibly relaxed and smiled. "We do need to discuss the fate of these bow ties, after all."

"I'm not giving them up," Kurt said firmly, but he could feel the smile tug on his lips.

"Serendipity," Blaine whispered, and the he finally let go of the box. "I might need your help with this," he glanced at Kurt after a brief moment of looking over the boxes on the ground.

Kurt couldn't hold back his smile this time. He handed the box over to the staffer at the counter next to them, asked her to hold it until they fixed the damage, and then he bent down to where Blaine was already picking up parts of the display.

"Was Serendipity a reference to the movie, or to the café?" Kurt asked, feeling a little less tense. "Because the hot chocolate is something I'll definitely need after today."

"Whatever you want it to be," Blaine smiled brightly, and Kurt found that he didn't mind the cheesiness of the words.

There was something to be said for fortunate happenstances, after all.

#kblreversebang #klaine #Klaine fic

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isthatalittlebowtie · 9 years

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cloud: (of someone's face or eyes) show an emotion such as worry, sorrow, or anger.

Kurt's face was hard to decipher, torn between wanting to believe Blaine's words and worrying about the same thing that's been keeping him up for a week now.

"It's the only thing she wanted, though," Kurt whispered back, looking at the computer screen.

"And she'll understand, honey," Blaine rubbed a hand over Kurt's back in a soothing motion. "It's not like she'll be disappointed over Santa Claus forgetting her anymore," he said with amusement in his voice.

Kurt's eyes clouded over again, and Blaine could feel him tense.

"That used to be easier," Kurt sighed. "We could just say that Santa's internet went down and he couldn't get the tickets."

Their daughter, now a teenager, had only made one request for Christmas -- tickets to a concert of one of the new boybands that was leading the charts. But because of the demand, Kurt was staring gloomily at the "sold out" signs all over the booking site.

"We'll figure it out, okay?" Blaine tried to be reassuring, but he knew that Kurt was disappointed for a reason. "Hey, I know you didn't want me to pull strings with…"

Kurt looked up and there was a glimmer of hope mixed with hesitation in his eyes.

"Do you think he would…?"

"We can try," Blaine nodded. "And maybe it's time we bury that hatchet anyway."

"For her," Kurt whispered.

"For her," Blaine agreed, and he was already pulling his phone out to make a call he hasn't made in quite some time.

#klaineadvent #klaine fic

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isthatalittlebowtie · 9 years

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balance: an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

They sway a little as he picks up the one that will have to be the last, and he takes a tentative step forward to see if they're stacked steadily enough in his arms. At first it seems that they are, but he only gets as far as the bedroom door, where he realizes that one of them is too wide to fit through without turning it -- of course it's the one on the bottom.

"Blaine, honey," Kurt's voice comes from the other side of the pile. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to…" Blaine huffs, "…that's a rhetorical question, isn't it?"

He hears Kurt's quiet chuckle at first, and Blaine can feel the indignant pout forming on his lips.

"Why didn't you ask me to help, silly?" Kurt asks fondly, and Blaine's hands are suddenly a little emptier.

He peeks over the box that is now on top, and Kurt is looking back, his own hands now just as full as Blaine's, and a smile playing on his lips.

"I thought my balance was good enough to do this," Blaine shrugs.

"Come on, the more we stand around and talk, the more likely the kids are to wake up," Kurt lowers his voice as he speaks. "We have other things to balance -- like the tree that's still leaning a little to the left. Or both are families at dinner tomorrow."

#klaineadvent #Klaine fic

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isthatalittlebowtie · 9 years

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ache: an emotion experienced with painful or bittersweet intensity

It's been getting easier, only a dull ache that they all saw in each others' eyes, but it never really goes away completely. Kurt knows that Burt and Carole have each other, almost as sure as he is of having Blaine, and instead of dwelling on the pain from the past, they have something joyful to focus on this year. And yet, when his daughter climbs into Kurt's lap, and points at what she sees as an unusual and a little strange bauble, he can't help the tears that prickle in his eyes. She looks at him, unable to form the question she wants to ask with words just yet, and Kurt makes himself comfortable in front of the tree, settling her against his side.

"Let me tell you about your grandmother," he starts, and the pain settles in his mind like a reminder instead of a burden.

#klaineadvent #Klaine fic #warnings: kurt's mom mention and finn mention

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

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something new

for Klaine Bingo (card), prompt: blindfolds

summary: Surprises don't rank high on Blaine's list of favorites. But not knowing where Kurt's going to touch him next proves to not be such a bad thing.

~800w, rating: r

If there’s one thing that Blaine expects Kurt to know, it’s that surprises aren’t the best thing to be springing on him. Sure, Blaine has a thing for coming up with them for Kurt, but he’s not a fan of being on the receiving end. His past experiences have made him jumpy, more so than Kurt’s own experiences linger with him. Blaine jumps at the tiniest things: the loft door slamming too hard, the phone ringing in the middle of the night, a quiet ‘boo’ that Santana whispers over his shoulder.

“Kurt?” Blaine whispers quietly into the silent room.

His nerves are on edge, he’s gripping the edges of the chair he’s sitting in, and he’s trying to focus on whatever sounds his ears can decipher to get at least an idea where Kurt is.

“I’m here,” Kurt’s voice comes from a lot closer than Blaine expects it.

Blaine automatically tenses, trying to not jump or squeak. He’d like to keep some dignity intact, thank you very much. When he feels the tips of Kurt’s fingers touching his shoulder, Blaine’s reaction is less jumpy -- to his own relief -- but he still can’t make himself relax, despite Kurt’s voice asking him to do so with a gentle tone.

“I’ve got you, baby.” Kurt’s lips brush against the shell of Blaine’s ear then, his fingers still tracing the lines of the seam on Blaine’s shirt. “It’s just me, you’re okay.”

It takes another while -- Blaine can’t tell if it’s been seconds or minutes -- until the whispered reassurances and gentle touches start working in the way that Kurt wants them to and Blaine’s tension starts to dissipate somewhat.

“There you go,” Kurt says then, and Blaine can hear the smile in his fiance’s voice. “Let me take care of you, for a little while.”

Kurt’s hands begin wandering over Blaine’s shirt, his lips leave gentle kisses along Blaine’s jaw, and then Blaine can feel them on his collarbone just as he feels Kurt undoing the shirt buttons. As the fabric is pushed out of the way and Kurt’s fingertips dance over Blaine’s skin, Blaine feels himself relax more and more. He’d been wary about Kurt’s idea of using a blindfold, but when they talked about it, Blaine couldn’t think of a reason to not at least try. He knows that all he needs to do to stop it, to get the fabric off his eyes, is to say the word they agreed on before.

“Kurt,” Blaine whispers instead when Kurt’s fingers brush down his chest and rest for a moment on the edge of his jeans. “Please,” he adds when a shiver runs down his spine as Kurt’s nails trace the waistband line.

“Okay,” Kurt replies to the unspoken request. “Okay, baby.”

And then the warmth of Kurt’s body that Blaine felt against his side is gone, Kurt’s fingers are fumbling with the zipper of his jeans, and Blaine can feel his knees being pushed apart. Blaine lets his head fall against the back of the chair, and his brain doesn’t register anything besides the touch of Kurt’s hand against his briefs, then under them and then the warmth and wetness of what Blaine assumes -- and remembers, though he does manage to think of how different it is from seeing -- is Kurt’s mouth covering his cock. After the initial surprise that he manages to not freak out at, Blaine can’t stop the whimpers that pass his lips nor the way his hips shake from the effort to keep down.

“Kurt, I…” Blaine mutters breathlessly when he can feel his balls tighten.

Kurt doesn’t stop, doesn’t pull away, and moments later -- faster than usual, but Blaine can’t process embarrassment in the moment -- Blaine sees stars against the dark fabric over his eyes and his whole body seizes as he comes.

He’s still catching his breath when he feels Kurt move, and then the blindfold is gone and Kurt’s kissing him.

“So, blindfolds, okay then?” Kurt mumbles when they stop kissing for a moment.

“I… yeah,” Blaine admits, and he can feel the blush that’s coloring his cheeks. “Yeah, okay.”

Then he kisses Kurt again and pulls him closer.

“Now, how about you let me return the favor?” Blaine mutters against Kurt’s ear, and when he feels Kurt shiver in anticipation, he can’t help but smile.

#klaine #Klaine fic #klainebingo

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

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kick up the leaves

for Klaine Bingo (card), prompt: bad day

summary: Some days, nothing seems to go to plan.

~1000w, rating: G

There was nothing special, nothing particularly remarkable about the date in the calendar. It was just another day, not one of those with an inbuilt trigger for Blaine’s ever-present shadow of anxiety. Yes, he got better, he was definitely improving with the help of Kurt, Sam, the therapist he’d found after the big blow-up with Kurt that resulted in Blaine moving out from the loft. But there were still days that ended with him not knowing which way was up and how to manage even a hint of a smile.

But days like this one -- just another one in a row of completely generic days void of exams, performances, even phone calls to his parents -- those were the ones that caught him off guard.

It started almost immediately after he woke up. Now that Blaine was living in the loft again, waking up with Kurt’s arms wrapped around Blaine in an octopus-like hug was something that guaranteed to put a smile on both their faces. This morning though, Blaine didn’t only wake up from a dream flashback to the phone call from the hospital when Kurt was there, but he also opened his eyes to find Kurt’s half of the bed empty.

There was no sign of his fiancée in the room or in the kitchen, and Blaine trudged through the deserted loft with his mood already falling -- never a good sign before he had at least coffee. Unlike other days when Kurt had to leave early and would’ve left a Post-It on the table or next to the coffee machine, now there was nothing at all.

The day progressed in a similar way - Blaine burnt his tongue when he didn’t get his coffee to milk ratio quite right and the drink was too hot, then he missed the train to his first class at NYADA, which immediately resulted in him getting chastised for being late and snowballed into the instructor picking him to show off all the mistakes that could be done during the exercise they were working on. By the time Blaine found a quiet corner in the library around lunch, his self-esteem had been decimated and his mood was hitting lows that he didn’t feel in quite some time. So he sat with his back against the shelves and let his forehead rest on his arms that were folded on top of his knees.

“Hey there, handsome,” Kurt’s voice brought Blaine back to reality and made him look up.

“Oh hey,” Blaine mumbled. “You left early today.”

He didn’t mean to make it sound like an accusation. Kurt didn’t owe him an explanation, Blaine knew that, but it was the thing that got the day rolling in the way it was. Almost immediately, Blaine added a muttered apology and dropped his head back on his knees.

“Isabelle called me before you were up, the proofs were due this morning,” Kurt said quietly and sat on the floor next to Blaine. “Bad day?”

“Yeah, just… I missed you in the morning,” Blaine said and leaned into Kurt with a sigh.

“Halfway there, sweetheart,” Kurt told him softly, and Blaine felt the gentle press of Kurt’s lips against the side of his head.

Before Blaine could soak up some positive energy from Kurt’s presence and get enough power to get him through the day, cold air hit the side where Kurt was sitting and after a quick “oh my god I’m gonna be late for Carmen’s class” Kurt rushed off again. Blaine slumped against the shelves again and almost groaned.

By the time he made it back to the still empty loft, Blaine was exhausted -- his afternoon vocal class was disastrous, he had to go back twice because he left behind his dance class outfit and then he remembered that Kurt asked him to check the audition schedule for a summer performance. The latter was why Blaine missed the opening hours of his favorite coffee shop and didn’t manage to get the cronuts that he planned as comfort food for the evening. Kurt was still at work -- Blaine couldn’t for the life of him remember if it was Vogue or Spotlight, but he had a feeling it would be late before Kurt got back home.

Not having his comfort food of choice, Blaine dug out the leftover cheesecake from the back of the fridge. He knew Kurt wouldn’t appreciate having it eaten, but Blaine didn’t have it in him to restrain himself from the only sugary goodness that was in the loft -- after the struggle with Blaine’s weight, both of them made a point of not having unhealthy food around to avoid temptation.

When the loft door finally creaked open, Blaine was curled up on the couch, the empty plate on the coffee table like a sign of yet another failure of that day, and the duvet from their bed was wrapped around Blaine’s shoulders.

“I’m guessing the day didn’t get any better?” Kurt asked as he surveyed the scene he came home to.

Blaine shook his head and burrowed deeper under the duvet.

“Hey, come here,” Kurt beckoned Blaine closer when he sat down in the small spot left empty on the couch. “Now, I picked up this,” he pointed to a paper bag that he put on the coffee table a moment earlier.

Immediately, Blaine’s eyes lit up at the familiar bakery logo on the bag -- it was from nearby the Vogue offices and Kurt only ever ventured there when he had a particularly miserable day himself.

“And we can order take out for tonight,” Kurt continued, and tugged Blaine against his side. “Then we’ll forget all about your day and…”

“Cuddle?” Blaine offered quietly.

“Cuddling sounds good to me,” Kurt said and Blaine could hear the smile in his fiancée's tone.

The day may have almost conquered him, but the evening was certainly looking up.

#Klaine fic #klaine #klainebingo

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

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a spot in the sun

for Klaine Bingo (card), prompt: freckles

summary: Their honeymoon destination was not what Blaine expected it to be. Even though he was the one who made the suggestion in the first place, he didn't think Kurt would go along with it.

860w, rating: PG

Happy birthday invisibleraven! ;)

Blaine didn’t think that Kurt would ever agree to that particular destination, not with how careful he usually is about his skin. He figured, when he put LA on the list of possibilities, that it would immediately get crossed out, exchanged for a place with a lot less sun and a lot more indoor activities.

“Morning, beautiful,” Kurt murmurs, and he snuggles closer to Blaine, tearing him out of his musings.

It’s the first day of their honeymoon that Blaine knows is free of any plans, at least none besides them being together and enjoying each other’s company. He slips an arm around Kurt’s waist and runs a finger gently along Kurt’s hairline to push the stray curl that has come loose during the night out of the way. Blaine wouldn’t admit it to anyone but Kurt, but quiet mornings like this -- with neither of them rushing to class or to work, or even just to the bathroom to fix up their hair or brush their teeth -- are his favorite. It’s what he’s been looking forward to for the honeymoon, the relaxing and cuddles, the lack of obligations and stress.

“Hmmm, morning,” he whispers back to Kurt and smiles. “How did you sleep?”

“Great, up until the buzzing in your mind woke me up,” Kurt says, but there’s no anger in his voice, only a hint of slightly exasperated fondness. “What’s haunting you, sweetheart.”

“Just thinking about the last few days,” Blaine admits. “I kind of want to apologize for suggesting this place as our honeymoon. I should’ve known we’d get no peace with Cooper and Rachel in the city.”

“It’s not all bad,” Kurt chuckles. “I mean, they did get us into Paramount for free.”

“That’s true,” Blaine admits. “But trying to get you into auditions and agents’ offices is a little too much like work. That’s not what this trip should’ve been.”

“Hey, how come June didn’t have things set up for you here?” Kurt asks and shifts a little, his lips closer to Blaine’s neck.

“I asked her not to,” Blaine says, and he shrugs like it’s not a big deal.

He can feel Kurt’s judging look, but doesn’t look at his husband. Husband, he thinks instead and lets a smile creep into his face. We’re married now.

“I’ll tell Rachel to ease off on everything, okay?” Kurt suggest in between kisses along Blaine’s collarbone.

“I don’t know if it will work, but if needed I will turn my phone off so Cooper leaves us be for a while,” Blaine says, then follows his words with a hum as Kurt reaches the spot that’s most sensitive on Blaine’s neck.

“Mhm, you could do that,” Kurt hums between the words, then lets out a yelp when Blaine chuckles and turns, flipping Kurt over onto his back.

“Or we could both turn our phones off today and stay in,” Blaine whispers and bends down to kiss Kurt’s cheek.

“Whatever would we do inside all day, Blaine?”

“I’m sure we could,” Blaine speaks quietly and punctuates each word with a kiss along Kurt’s jaw, “find something to occupy ourselves.”

“Oh,” Kurt manages to say when Blaine reaches the spot where Kurt’s jaw ends.

“Don’t you want a break from the sun a little bit?” Blaine asks, amusement coloring his voice. “Not that I mind,” he whispers then, his lips trailing back towards Kurt’s cheeks. “I rather like what the sun has done to you.”

“And what is,” Kurt gasps when Blaine lowers his hips instead of hovering above Kurt’s body, “what is it that the sun…”

He doesn’t finish the sentence; his back arches into the teasing kiss that Kurt knows will leave a mark on his neck. Normally, he would glare at Blaine, especially since it is way too warm for proper scarves, but he’s too distracted now, and not at all keen on stopping whatever Blaine is doing.

“Freckles,” Blaine mumbles into Kurt’s neck, then lifts his head and his eyes roam hungrily over Kurt’s face. “You have so many freckles. I want to kiss them all, count them, find out where else they are.”

“Blaine,” Kurt gasps, arching into the kisses that Blaine starts peppering along Kurt’s neck and shoulders.

“Hmm, let me find out how far they’ve spread,” Blaine mumbles and slides lower down Kurt’s body.

They don’t leave the room that day. The next, Kurt relents to Blaine’s pleading to go out for as long as it takes for new freckles to appear on Kurt’s skin. Turns out, it doesn’t take all that long.

#klainebingo #klaine #Klaine fic #invisibleraven

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

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Send you a pairing and a line of dialogue? Klaine and "I'll never unsee that" please and thankyou :)

It’s been months and Kurt is becoming pretty sure that at this point, he has seen everything. They have seen each other naked — duh — and dressed, they’ve seen each other happy, angry, and panicky, they’ve seen each other after long days of rehearsals and even longer ones at work. He’s seen Blaine through the Freshman Fifteen phase and through its aftermath. He’s seen his fiance struggling with his diet, and he’s seen him almost taking it too far with losing weight.

#klaine #prompt #dialogue prompts

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

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Twice the Joy

Title: Twice the Joy

Artist: bowtiedarling Author: froggydarren Rating: art: G, fic: G Word Count: ~5400 Warnings: references to canon character death Fic Summary: The plan was to conquer NYADA, then Broadway, then the world. Somehow, they ended up on track with those plans, but also with something extra. And three years later, they’re adding more yet again. Link to Art: tba Link to Fic: AO3 Art thumbnail: see end of this post

Kurt isn’t quite sure how they got to where they are now. Well, no, he’s pretty sure that getting to the hospital itself was pretty straightforward: getting the call, calling a cab, getting into cab and not forgetting to bring the toy and supplies bag, trying to not curse at the traffic in New York, getting out of the cab at the hospital and balancing everything in their hands. Okay, so maybe not that straightforward, but that was still the relatively simple part. What he is pondering right now, while they’re waiting for the doctor to come and update them, is how they ended up being only twenty-three and already on a second round of all this.

Their wedding finally had a date then, they had agreed on a late summer weekend and a simple affair at the Andersons’ estate. With the plan of spending most of the summer in Lima, Kurt and Blaine caved and -- slightly reluctantly -- agreed that they would take care of the baby temporarily, despite their own reservations.

“Only babysitting, mother, we’re both going back to school in September!” Blaine had insisted.

Famous last words, as Burt would’ve said, because the little boy with the bright blue eyes and striking blond curls never left their sides. When they adopted him a month after their wedding, it was a mutual decision, including not changing the name on his birth certificate.

Finn.

The certificate itself had his name listed as Finnick, his parents -- not much older than Kurt and Blaine themselves -- had been big fans of the Hunger Games series. Kurt couldn’t remember one time when the name was not shortened to the one that still came with a small pang of ache in his chest.

Of course both of them hesitated, not only about the name but also about the massive change that having a baby would bring to their lives. In the end, though, little Finn already had a place in both Kurt and Blaine’s hearts by the time of their wedding. Everyone saw that they wouldn’t be handing him back. Most people realized that before either of the boys did.

“Honey, you do know you’re calling him yours already?” Carole asked Kurt when he tried to protest her assumption that they would be filing the adoption request. “That little boy is as much yours as he could be right now.”

“But we’re both … we have college and classes and jobs!” Kurt’s voice rang with the panic that was rising in his chest when the realization of how much he already loved the baby started sinking in.

“You know, there was already one Finn who came from a household with working parents,” Carole said softly, and put a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “I think he turned out okay, in the end.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“I know you didn’t, honey,” Carole smiled reassuringly. “But look at it, even the name fits pretty well, don’t you think?”

“Do you think he’ll be as tall as Finn was?” Kurt asked then, his eyes on the baby’s sleeping face.

That was his moment of knowing that if anyone asked, Kurt would definitely vote for keeping little Finnick, regardless of how soon it was and how little he or Blaine knew about living together, let alone raising a baby.

Blaine’s moment took a little longer to happen, though only by days. Kurt didn’t rush him, he was still completely aware of how Blaine handled pressure of anything. They both knew, deep inside, that Blaine needed time and space to organize his feelings before he made a decision. Not that it took all that long, and Kurt had a feeling that his final decision had something to do with seeing Kurt feeding the little boy with Carole’s help, not that Kurt ever asked Blaine outright.

In the end, it wasn’t even a conversation that they had, but a moment. Like other moments in their lives, this one was quiet and subtle. Kurt fell asleep with little Finnick next to him on his old bed in Lima, and when he woke up, Blaine was on the other side, smiling. And just like that, Kurt knew that the adoption proposal that was on his desk had Blaine’s name signed on the dotted line, and it was ready to be submitted.

Before they could bring Finn to New York, there were interviews and background checks and a million intrusive and tricky meetings to get through, as Kurt had expected. Having Burt and Carole on their side helped, especially Carole who offered to take an extended leave to help the new family settle in. Kurt almost questioned how much of it was because his Dad was spending a lot of his time in Washington, but since it only meant that Burt was around a lot, too, he didn’t try to discourage either of them. But even with Carole’s help, it was a steep learning curve and a bit of a battle.

As he’s trying to wrangle Finn into a chair to keep him settled, Kurt knows that the battle is far from over. He knows that just like everyone else, the boy is anxious and excited, but Kurt could really use a moment of peace, if for nothing else than to check in on Blaine who is pacing the floor in the hallway outside of the waiting room.

“Here, honey, let me try,” Carole’s voice interrupts Kurt’s mumbled pleas to Finn, and Kurt can’t hold back the relieved exhale. “Come to Grandma, mister, let’s give Daddies a moment.”

“But Granna, I need to go!” Finn almost whines and Kurt clenches his eyes closed.

His patience -- never something that he has in abundance anyway, even though he trained himself into it over the past few years -- is wearing ridiculously thin. It’s not that Finn is a difficult child, he’s no worse than any others he knows, but he has decided to be channeling Kurt’s stubborn streak today of all days.

“Need to go get the new baby?” Carole asks gently and Kurt catches the nod from his son.”Oh but it’s not time yet, sweetie,” she tells Finn gently.

“But Dada said when we’re in the ho-...hop-...”

“Hospital?” Carole finishes the word when she sees Finn’s struggle.

“...that it’s baby time,” Finn ends the sentence, and tries to squirm out of her arms with determination.

“It is, sweetie,” Carole nods. “But it has to be Dada and Papa to get the new baby, because it will be tiny and fragile at first.”

“Wha’s fra-... that?”

When Carole launches into an explanation that’s suitable for a three-year-old, she nods towards Kurt subtly and he takes is as the cue that he knows it is. Trying to not be noticed, he slips out of the room and looks around the hallway once he’s past the door.

Blaine isn’t where Kurt saw him before Finn’s stubbornness reared its unpleasant head. Kurt’s heart stutters as the thought hits him that this time maybe something is wrong, that Blaine got called away because of the baby. But then he spots a flash of red reflecting in the glass doors at the end of the hallway and he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Hey,” he whispers to Blaine when he finds him curled up on a chair just out of sight of the waiting room.

“Hi,” Blaine mumbles back.

“You okay, babe?”

Blaine looks up and his eyes are wide and restlessly jumping from Kurt to their surroundings. A nurse walks by in the direction of the waiting room and Kurt can hear Blaine’s breathing catch. Kurt leans around the corner, spots her walking past the waiting room and into the nurses’ station. Blaine acknowledges Kurt’s head shake a second later, but his eyes still dart around everything, betraying his panic.

“It will be okay,” Kurt says quietly and reaches for his husband’s hand.

“We didn’t have to do this with Finn,” Blaine mumbles. “I didn’t know it would be this worrying.”

“I know,” Kurt nods.

He’s not that much calmer than Blaine, but somehow, Blaine’s nervousness is kicking in Kurt’s instinct to keep his wits around. It’s not unfamiliar, though with Finn they switch those roles depending on the crisis at hand. Now, though, Kurt knows that it would be good if at least one of them wasn’t falling apart. He’s pretty sure he’ll get his moment of panic once the baby is safely with them.

“I don’t want to say things that I’m thinking,” Blaine rambles quietly, his voice almost too low for Kurt to hear. “I don’t want to bring any of them on, I don’t want to jinx us, but my brain won’t stop.”

Kurt nods at that, even though Blaine is not looking at him. His own mind is spinning with all the possibilities of things that could go wrong, but he’s doing what Blaine is trying to do -- not allowing them to take over, not letting them feel like they’re real options.

“Maybe Mom and Dad had a point,” Blaine sighs then. “Maybe we’re rushing into things again and taking on too much.”

“Blaine, honey,” Kurt says in a quiet but firm tone. “Need I remind you -- and possibly them -- that if it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t be a Finnick in our lives?”

“That was an emergency situation,” Blaine tries to argue weakly. “This one was our choice.”

Kurt thinks on that for a moment. The situation isn’t the same, though there are similarities -- the baby they’ll be taking home is not biologically Kurt’s or Blaine’s, but it’s related to Kurt. Burt received a call some months ago from a cousin he hasn’t seen in years, and barely a week later, Kurt and Blaine met Ellie. She’s Kurt’s second cousin and the call was about her being pregnant, but determined to put the baby up for adoption. Burt’s cousin took it into his hands and called, since he knew about Finnick and how Kurt and Blaine ended up adopting him. The boys, after some time thinking about it, and after meeting Ellie, ended up signing the necessary paperwork.

“Indeed it was. But then, so was Finn. Do you regret either?”

Kurt’s voice breaks. The last thing he wants to think of is Blaine wanting to back out, not wanting to go through with making their family bigger. Mostly, Kurt worries because having chosen the route they did, it wouldn’t be easy to reverse their decision. It’s his own flesh and blood -- well, some of it anyway -- this time, and if Blaine has changed his mind…

“No,” Blaine interrupts Kurt’s rising panic. “Definitely not. How could I? It’s kind of a piece of you that we’ll be bringing home. I just… two of them, Kurt.”

“And Finn has a piece of your gene pool. We got through the worst with him, baby, we’ll manage round two,” Kurt tries to reassure Blaine, but his voice shakes a little.

He knows it is a lot to take on, but they both decided that they didn’t want there to be a huge gap between their kids. And as things were, they also agreed that two was where they’d stop.

“And Finnick will be like an inbuilt babysitting service,” Kurt says then, trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh heavens no,” Blaine groans but then chuckles. “It’s just… we did have Carole and Burt around a lot last time. We can’t ask them again for something like that, and there’s no way my parents would… just no.”

“They would, you know?” Kurt smiles, remembering a phone call from a few weeks earlier. “Your Mom did offer to stay with us for a while.”

“Honey, I do love my mother, but let’s not have her live with us, please.”

Blaine’s expression is more panicky than when he was still pacing across the hallway. Kurt can’t stop the laugh that escapes from his mouth at the sight, which earns him a heatless glare from Blaine.

“Coop would…”

“I’ll stop you right there,” Blaine cuts in before Kurt can even finish the sentence. “I will not subject myself, you, or our children to the insanity that is Cooper Anderson, not on a daily basis.”

“I was just going to…”

“No.”

“Blaine, that’s not…”

“Kurt, no.”

Despite the determined and increasingly frustrated expression in Blaine’s face, Kurt puts a finger over his husband’s mouth so he can speak without getting interrupted.

“Will you just listen for a second, baby?�� Kurt asks and decides to ignore the way Blaine rolls his eyes. “Cooper called last week and offered contacts for nanny and babysitting services in the city. He also offered to pay for some of it, since, and I’m going to quote here he can’t possibly risk not looking his best for auditions as a result of sleepless nights.”

“That,” Blaine says when Kurt pulls his hand away, “might actually help. Huh, Cooper being useful, that’s a new one.”

They both laugh at that, and Kurt leans back in the uncomfortable chair. When silence washes over them, he feels his anxiousness take over again. He knows from everything he has read in preparation for today that it might take hours yet, and that they might need to ask Carole to take Finn back home. Knowing that doesn’t make his impatience go away, though.

“Mr. Hummel? Mr. Anderson?”

They both look up when they hear their names from across the hallway. It’s a little strange to hear the names separately, but they’d decided -- though on official documents for themselves and for Finnick they’ve hyphenated their surnames -- to keep using their birth surnames for media purposes.

Blaine’s music career took off shortly after their wedding, but since it was rooted in the campaign June Dalloway started, she’d suggested that he keep the surname simple. Kurt backed her on it, because after the showcase she never once brought him up as Blaine’s friend, and instead had no more issues with Blaine being seen as anything but a happily married man. Kurt’s own name got some buzz about a year after Finn’s adoption in the fashion circles. He had kept in close touch with Isabelle even after his internship at Vogue was finished, and she suggested him for a column on the website that focused on costuming on Broadway and in the movie industry.

Kurt knew, when they chose the hospital, that some people -- notably the midwife who worked with his cousin -- would recognize them by their business names rather than the hyphenated version.

“Is it…”

“Are we…”

Blaine and Kurt speak up at the same time, both jumping out of the chairs and Kurt can feel his heart speeding up at the sight of the midwife.

“No, not just yet,” the midwife, Mandy, laughs. “Ellie asked if either of you wanted to be there, though. She’s fine without, but some of the parents want to be there to cut the cord and be present for the birth. I know you two never really decided whether you wanted to or not…”

Blaine is already shaking his head at the words, but Kurt pauses to think.

“If you want to, honey, you should go,” Blaine says then, noticing Kurt’s hesitation. “We weren’t there for Finn’s birth, obviously, but I wouldn’t… it’s something I can do without, honestly.”

Kurt gets it; he’s seen enough videos and documentaries that led him to not having made a decision before.

“I wouldn’t want to be in the way,” Kurt says quietly to both Blaine and Mandy.

“You wouldn’t,” Mandy reassures him. “And you can leave anytime it gets to be too much, Ellie will understand, I promise.”

“Kurt?” Blaine asks and reaches for Kurt’s hand. “You should go. I’ll stay with Finn, and you can tell us both about it after… just, leave out the details?”

Kurt smiles and nods, then leans in to kiss Blaine.

“‘Kay, I’m gonna go get us a baby,” he quips and echoes Blaine’s responding laugh.

“You do that. I’ll keep the one we already have in check.”

Kurt watches Blaine walk towards the waiting room where Carole and Finn are undoubtedly growing restless, and then he turns to Mandy and takes a deep breath.

“Okay, show me the way,” he says with all the courage he can muster.

“You ready for this?”

“No,” Kurt admits as he follows her down the hall. “But there’s no going back, is there?”

“Afraid not, Daddy,” Mandy laughs and then opens a door, letting Kurt walk ahead. “Let’s get you scrubs and wash you up. Time to meet your offspring.”

“Oh man,” Kurt mumbles to himself, but keeps walking.

Back in the waiting room, Blaine gets tackled by their son almost the moment he walks through the doors.

“Daaaaada, is it time yet? Is the baba here?” Finn blurts out as Blaine is picking him up.

“No, sweetie, not yet,” Blaine says with a smile. “Papa has gone to be with Ellie and he’ll let us know as soon as the baby arrives.”

“Can I go with him?”

“I’m sorry, Finn, you can’t,” Carole says, walking closer to them. “Ellie has to have Mandy and Papa and the nurses around, there wouldn’t be enough space for a big boy like you.”

Finn pouts and nuzzles his face into Blaine’s neck after the explanation, but to both Blaine and Carole’s relief, he doesn’t insist on joining Kurt. Instead, Carole manages to distract both of them when she pulls out card making supplies.

“Now, how about while we’re all waiting until the little one decides to join us,” she points to the markers and glitter glue, “we make a card?”

“Have you gots glitter, Granna?” Finn asks and fidgets in Blaine’s arms.

“Of course I do,” Carole says with a serious expression. “It wouldn’t be a proper card without it, would it now?”

Blaine chuckles as he watches his son skip towards the table where Carole has everything set up the moment he’s back on the floor.

“Dada, come on, you’ve gots to help!” Finn calls out to Blaine.

“Shhh, inside voice, Finn,” Blaine rushes to say when the boy’s voice raises a little too high.

“Sorry,” Finn mumbles, but Blaine sees that his mind is already on the plans for the card.

There are things that Kurt knows he’ll try and erase out of his memories as fast as he possibly can, but it all starts fading already when the nurse walks towards him. She’s holding a pink blanket -- Kurt smiles when he remembers the discussions with Blaine on neutral colors versus gender stereotyped anything when it comes to their kids -- and he can’t help the smile that takes over his face.

“Here you go, Daddy, girl’s all yours,” the nurse says as she hands the bundle over. “Sorry it’s the hospital-issue blanket, but yours are…” she waves towards the weighing station.

“It’s okay,” Kurt replies absentmindedly. “She’s perfect…” he whispers then, and turns towards Ellie, who’s smiling up at him. “El, thank you,” Kurt says, his eyes misting up.

“You’re welcome,” Ellie says. “I’d say the pleasure was all mine, but let me get back to you on that one,” she chuckles.

“I don’t know…” Kurt starts, his mind not entirely online as his eyes dart back to his newborn daughter.

“Go, Kurt, get her out to Blaine and Finn,” Ellie says, laughing. “I’d bet all the repayments you’re mulling over on that they’ve worn a hole out in the waiting room.”

“They better not have,” one of the nurses quips. “We might need that room again at some point.”

“I’d better go make sure it’s intact then,” Kurt says quietly and looks at Ellie again, his mouth opening to say more, but he doesn’t get the chance.

“Go, silly,” she says firmly.

“Thank you,” Kurt blurts out and then he heads out of the door, the little bundle wrapped securely in his arms.

The little girl starts squirming as he approaches the waiting room and Kurt can hear Finnick’s excited giggles all the way down the hall. He stops in the door and watches for a moment as Blaine and Carole attempt to calm Finn down.

“Papa!” Finn squeals with excitement when he spins around and spots Kurt in the doorway. “Is that our baby? ‘s it here now?”

“Hoooold on, mister,” Blaine grabs Finn’s shoulders and stops him from launching himself at Kurt. “Remember what we said? Quiet and slow, buddy.”

“Sorry, Dada,” Finn mumbles. “Can I see, Papa?”

“Of course,” Kurt nods. “Come here, I’ll sit down and you can meet your baby sister.”

“Girl, then?” Carole asks with a smile.

“The blanket is a bit of a giveaway, isn’t it?” Kurt replies with a soft smile. “Don’t give me that look, Blaine, it wasn’t my fault.”

“Should’ve brought extra ones, I knew it,” Blaine grumbles.

“Hush, you, come meet your daughter,” Kurt giggles and pushes the blanket out of the baby’s face, as it slipped a little when he sat down.

“She’s all scrunched and stuff, Papa,” Finn frowns at the baby girl who’s surprisingly quiet.

“New babies are,” Blaine says. “We have photos of you looking just like that.”

“I’m not scrunchy,” Finn grumbles and looks at Blaine. “Look, all flat,” he points to the skin on his arm.

“Now you’re not, but when babies are born, they are a little like this,” Kurt says. “She’ll be all like you soon.”

“Dis big?” Finn asks, eyes wide like saucers and lifts his hands to put on top of his head.

“Not all that big, but not so wrinkly either,” Kurt says, his shoulders shaking with quiet laughter.

“Wha’s wrink...wrinkly, Dada?”

“It’s what I’ll be if you don’t stop asking questions,” Blaine mumbles to himself, low enough that Finn can’t hear him, but Carole catches it and bursts into giggles.

“Is it something funny, Granna?” Finn immediately questions and Kurt bites his bottom lip in a very unsuccessful attempt to not laugh at Carole and Blaine’s expressions.

“How about we look it up in the big dictionary at home, and I’ll read it then, buddy?” Blaine offers.

He knows Finn has taken to having the “real” definitions of words read out to him, and he doesn’t protest a promise of getting the explanation later. It sometimes distracts him enough that he forgets he asked, though more often it leads to a chain of terms to explain from the initial definitions. Blaine is hoping that this time it will be the former, and Finn will be too busy with excitement over the new baby.

“‘kay Dada,” Finn nods and turns back to Kurt and the baby girl. “Wha’s her name?”

“Well, we haven’t decided yet, Finn,” Kurt says. “And we were hoping you’d help us choose.”

“I can?” Finn asks, his little mouth open in shock.

“Yes, you can,” Blaine nods and puts his hand into his pocket to tug out a sheet with a list of names. “Now, we have made a list, so it’s easier to pick,” he crouches down next to Finn. “So how about I read it out to you and you’ll tell me which one would be best?”

“‘kay, Dada,” Finn nods sagely.

The boy’s whole body seems to be vibrating with excitement as he looks at Blaine with a look that says Blaine is taking too long to start reading, though it’s only been a few seconds. Kurt lets his mind relax as Blaine recites the names, but he’s back on alert when he hears a slightly unhappy sound from the bundle in his arms.

“I’ll get a bottle,” Carole offers immediately, having caught the sound too. “She’s bound to get hungry soon.”

“Thank you,” Kurt whispers and rearranges himself on the chair, freeing a hand to have it ready for the bottle.

“So, big man, what’s the name?” Blaine asks, having finished the list.

“I like them all,” Finn says.

“We do too, that’s why we need your help to choose,” Blaine says with a grin. “Now, look at your baby sister and think of the names, Finn. Which one do you think would be best?”

“Can you read them again, Dada?”

Blaine nods, the expression on the boy’s face making it obvious just how seriously he’s taking the task he’s been given. As he reads out the list to Finn again, Carole comes back with the bottle and Kurt takes it, his eyes only leaving their daughter to make sure Carole tested the temperature. When he sees that she did, he takes the bottle and nudges the teat against the baby’s mouth.

“Look at her, there will be no feeding issues at all,” Carole comments when the girl latches on almost immediately and starts sucking on the milk hungrily.

“Let’s hope it will last,” Kurt replies. “So, how are the boys doing on the name choices?”

“Layla,” Finn says firmly.

“I like it,” Kurt nods.

“But I like Clare too,” Finn adds then. “Can we get one more baby?”

Blaine’s face pales in an instant and Kurt freezes for a second, before he gathers his wits again.

“How about we use both, buddy?” Kurt asks quietly, his voice a little shaky. “Layla Clare, how does that sound?”

“Good,” Finn nods. “Can we go home now?”

Before Kurt can answer, Finn’s expression changes, his eyes open wide like he’s remembered something.

“Papa, I forgots, we made you a thing,” the boy says loudly.

He lowers his voice the moment he looks at Blaine and sees the disapproving expression.

“We made a card for the baby,” Finn says in a tone that’s not quite as much a whisper as he intends it to be. “‘s got glitter!”

“Can you show me?” Kurt says with a smile and watches Finn rush over to the table they were using for their crafting.

“Granna and Dada helped,” Finn explains, walking back with the card in his hands. “But I did the sparkles.”

“That is very good work, Finn,” Kurt says when Finn shows him the card. “Now, I can’t take it, because little miss Layla here is busy eating, but how about you have Grandma put it away safely. And you can help her tidy up, too.”

“‘kay,” Finn nods. “Can we go home then?”

“Almost,” Blaine says before Kurt can think of an answer. “Your little sister has to stay another while,” he tells Finn. “The doctor needs to make sure she’s all good and healthy, sweetie,” Blaine adds when he sees Finn’s face fall.

“We need to prepare the…” Carole interrupts then, and crouches next to Finn as they start cleaning up the crafts supplies. “...big party…” she adds in a mock whisper, loud enough that Blaine and Kurt hear it.

“For the baby?” Finn asks, the excitement in his voice picking up again.

“Yes, and for all of you,” Carole answers with a nod. “I’ll need you at the house to help me put up the balloons and get Layla’s room ready for when Dada and Papa bring her home.”

“‘kay, Granna,” the boy says and nods, then rushes back over to Blaine, Kurt and little Layla.

“When you get home, Finn,” Blaine says and picks the boy up into his lap, “you’ll need to help Grandma and Grandpa, and then you wash up, sleep one time, and then we’ll all be home, okay?”

Finn nods and leans out of Blaine’s lap to peek at the little girl who’s still suckling on the almost empty bottle.

“Can I hold her?” Finn asks, his tone a mixture of amazement and pleading.

“After you washed up,” Kurt says. “Babies can’t be that close to sparkles. We’ll help you tomorrow, how does that sound?”

Finn looks disappointed for a moment, but then he turns to Blaine and frowns.

“Dada?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“I wanna give Layla Miss Babbit, is that okay?”

Kurt’s eyes widen in shock at the question, and Blaine’s breath catches. “Miss Babbit” is a little stuffed bunny that Finnick was given when he was born, and it’s the one toy that made the move to them from his birth parents. Kurt and Blaine both know that their son doesn’t go anywhere without it, doesn’t sleep or travel well unless the bunny is tucked in with him.

“Are you sure, Finn?” Blaine asks when he finally starts thinking again.

“‘m a big boy now,” Finn answers with a nod. “And Layla is only small. Miss Babbit is for making smalls sleep better.”

Blaine pulls the boy into a hug and notices Kurt’s heavier breathing at their son’s explanation. It’s something that they both told Finn when he had nightmares earlier that year, not that long ago.

“Okay, sweetie,” Blaine whispers into Finn’s hair. “If you’re really sure, we can do that. But you definitely need to go home and get Miss Babbit washed up too, so Layla can have her.”

Finn nods and squirms out of Blaine’s arms, then runs over to Carole who’s finishing packing up all the things they had out to entertain Finn through the wait.

“Kurt, is there anything else you need us to do around the house?” Carole asks while she puts a jacket on Finn. “Burt called earlier and the room is ready, but if there’s anything at all...”

“No, we’ll be good,” Kurt answers with a shake of his head. “Mandy said we’d be good to go in the morning, it’s just a routine check-up. We have enough stuff here for the night and definitely enough at home,” he adds with a laugh, remembering the presents they’ve been given from their friends.

“Okay, we’ll head out then and leave you boys to it,” Carole nods and holds her hand out to Finn. “Let’s go, sweetie, time to get the party ready.”

“Thank you, Carole,” Blaine tells her as he gets up to walk them to the elevator.

“Anytime, Blaine. Go, get her settled and checked out, we’ll be at the house waiting for you.”

Blaine laughs at Finn’s little jump when the elevator dings, and then he turns to walk back to Kurt and Layla. Kurt has her against his shoulder since she’s finished the bottle, and he looks at Blaine with eyes that betray not only his excitement but also the layer or nervousness that Blaine knows all too well.

“She’s here,” Blaine whispers as he sits down next to Kurt again.

“She is,” Kurt replies and smiles at Blaine over the baby’s head.

“How’s Ellie?”

“A trouper,” Kurt says with a smile. “She’s probably gone to sleep, but we should go in to see her while Layla’s getting checked out.”

“That sounds good,” Blaine nods and brushes a finger down Layla’s back. “I want to thank her,” he adds. “I don’t… I know I was nervous, but this is… this is us. And it’s thanks to her.”

“She knows, baby,” Kurt looks at Blaine. “But we will figure out a way to thank her. No matter how long it takes.”

“Think she’ll want to be around?” Blaine asks after a small pause.

Kurt shakes his head.

“She didn’t want to say before, because she wasn’t sure,” he explains, “but she got accepted to UCLA. She won’t be staying on the East Coast.”

“Oh,” Blaine whispers. “Coop can help then,” he suggests, “if she needs to find a place to live or anything.”

Kurt nods and shifts, the baby slowly falling asleep against his shoulder. He moves her gently, and places her in the small crib next to his chair.

“Come on, we’ll bring her over to the baby room,” he holds one hand out to Blaine and puts the other on the handle on the side of the wheeled crib. “The sooner the pediatrician gets checks her out, the sooner we can go home.”

Blaine nods, links his fingers with Kurt’s and they both walk out of the waiting room. All the nerves from earlier are forgotten, and without saying anything, they both know that their family is now complete.

#kblreversebang2014 #klaine #klaine fanfiction #bowtiedarling

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isthatalittlebowtie · 10 years

Text

A Kind Of Magic (1/7)

Title: A Kind of Magic Artist: bluefire986 Author: froggydarren Rating: art: G, fic: G (for this part) Word Count: ~6k/~40k Warnings: none Fic Summary: A few years after the Battle of Hogwarts, things in the magical world are slowly settling back to normal. When Kurt and Blaine are thrust into the world of Witches and Wizards and magical beasts, neither of them feels prepared for it. Link to Art: on LJ Link to Fic: AO3 Art thumbnail:

The move to England had not been a planned one, Kurt knew that even before his Dad sat him down to explain it properly, after some relatives from Ohio got in touch after the War. His Mom was from Scotland originally, and her whole family had moved across the ocean during the first reign of Voldemort, when everything was terrifying and she had been very young. The family was still there, even after Elizabeth chose to return to Scotland when Voldemort came back. Kurt was still little then, barely remembered his Mom’s involvement, though he was aware that her death wasn’t quite normal.

When Burt began explaining everything in the week before Kurt’s eleventh birthday, a lot of things suddenly began making sense. Like the way his Mom always smelled a little of herbs though she was never one to spend too much time in the kitchen. Or how there were vials and bottles beyond her perfume one in the bathroom cabinets that she never let him touch it. Or how she managed to get him a perfect copy of a pair of shoes he’d only ever seen in the adult section of the shops.

“That about sums it up, bud,” Burt nodded, his tone cautious, like he was afraid of Kurt calling it all crazy and impossible.

“Why are you telling me this now, Dad?”

Kurt couldn’t help being curious. He had a few memories of things that shouldn’t have been possible in a normal world, things that could be explained if magic was involved. But the was Burt talked about the magic world, it still shouldn’t have worked.

“Because you’re about to turn eleven,” Burt said with a heavy sigh. “And from what your Mom did explain to me, you might not be starting in the school you’ve chosen for secondary.”

“Wait, what, why?” Kurt cried out.

It had taken him months of visiting schools with his Dad, all across London where they lived now, until he found the one that they could afford and that had a decent reputation. Even at ten, Kurt was very adamant that he needed a school with a nice uniform, though he didn’t want it to be at the expense of everything else.

“Bud, I’m pretty sure you take after your Mom,” Burt responded in a resigned tone.

“I’m… magic?”

“I can’t be sure, not until your birthday,” Burt explained. “They don’t contact us Muggles until there’s a need for it. But you might be going to Hogwarts instead.”

“Hogwarts is the school that Mom…”

“Yeah,” Burt nodded and looked away.

They sat in silence for a while and Kurt found it impossible to speak. He was just on the verge of opening his mouth to break the tension, though he had no idea what he could say, when Burt whispered, “do you want to see some of her school photos?”

Kurt’s eyes welled up with tears, but he nodded, wanting to know as much as he possibly could.

It was barely past midnight on the day of Kurt’s birthday when a grey owl landed on his windowsill, a wax-sealed letter with green handwritten address in its beak.

Dear Mr. Hummel,

We are pleased to inform you...

↯↯↯

The whole history of Blaine’s childhood was punctuated with various outbursts of magical energy and the resulting teasing from his brother, some bordering on harsh. Blaine was told about being a wizard early enough -- a hereditary trait from an uncle who didn’t make it through the big war, as his wife explained to Blaine -- it wasn’t as much of a secret as it used to be, especially not in families with magical connections. But since Blaine was the only member of his family who inherited the trait, they didn’t really understand. It wasn’t that he blew things up, they were small incidents of his hair curling in all the wrong directions when his Mom tried to get him a haircut that would look respectable, or times where he’d managed to drop a plate and slow its fall enough that it didn’t break.

Cooper’s teasing was something Blaine simply learned to deal with, but at his young age, couldn’t chalk it up as jealousy yet, because he didn’t quite understand it that way. As his eleventh birthday approached, though, he became more restless, impatient, and worried for a long time that the letter from Hogwarts -- his grandparents told Blaine about the wizarding school -- wouldn’t arrive.

So when an owl tapped on the window early in the morning on his birthday, Blaine almost ripped the frame off in his rush to open it and then, barely remembering to tip the messenger, devoured the words on the page that confirmed his acceptance to Hogwarts.

“Going to your special school, squirt?” Cooper called out when Blaine skipped down the stairs for breakfast.

Immediately, two things happened -- Cooper got hushed by their Mom with a reprimanding glare, and Blaine hung his head. Despite being excited about getting a handle on his magic, he couldn’t help but worry about whether he’d manage to fit in.

“So, I’m guessing we should call Aunt Amber so she can bring you shopping for supplies?” Blaine’s Mom asked quietly when Cooper ran off to his bedroom while Blaine was still poking at his breakfast.

Blaine smiled at her, thankful that even though she wasn’t a part of what was now his world, at least his Mom was willing to accept it without protest.

↯↯↯

Platform 93/4

Kurt never liked being unprepared for things, and hated going into new places basically blind, uninformed about how they worked and where they were. He clutched the heavy book to his chest and sighed as he wandered around the station. As much as he’d spent almost every minute since the shopping trip to Diagon Alley reading it over and over, it didn’t help him right there, when he was trying to locate the platform his train was supposed to be leaving from.

Maybe I’m not magic enough after all, he thought with a slightly bitter tint to the words, maybe this is a test and I’m already failing.

Just then, as he sighed with resignation and looked around one more time for any sort of hint as to where he was supposed to go, he noticed a lady in robes that didn’t fit the regular fashion looking at him with mild amusement.

Great, now I’m a laughing stock, Kurt thought and felt his forehead scrunch with a frown.

His Dad had offered to come with him, but Kurt -- from his rather extensive reading since his birthday and the trip to get his school supplies -- knew that he would have to get to the platform alone. Muggles -- Kurt was still getting used to the terminology -- were only allowed as far as the passage. Which would be a moot point if he couldn’t find that passage at all, since a quick glance at the clock told him that he was running out of time.

“Hi there, sweetheart,” a gentle voice interrupted his musings.

Kurt looked up to find the lady who was looking at him earlier right in front of him, her eyes warm and friendly. Still, his self-preservation instinct made him shiver and step back a tiny bit.

“You’re a first year in Hogwarts, aren’t you?”

When Kurt nodded, she smiled at him like she understood, then reached a hand out.

“My name is Amber,” she said, still smiling. “My nephew is starting this year too; he just got on the train. Do you need help getting to the platform?”

“Y-yeah,” Kurt replied with hesitation, but politely shook the lady’s hand. “My Dad’s not magic and I don’t … Mom was, but her family isn’t around here anymore, so I had no one to ask.”

He immediately chastised himself for sharing too much information, but none of it changed the friendly expression in Amber’s face. She didn’t offer condolences or platitudes, just reached for the trolley that Kurt was struggling with and nodded towards the back of the station.

“I’ll show you,” she said to him. “They keep changing the passage location, because after The War, it’s become a sport for some Muggles to find it. I don’t know why they bother, it’s not like non-magic people can get through it anyway. Might as well have it be obvious or put up a fake one to deter them.”

Amber rambled on as they walked through the thickening crowd of people, towards an unassuming wall at the back of the station. She pulled Kurt closer then, and after a quick glance around, leaned against the bricks that seemed to be shimmering in the light coming from the glass ceiling. The next thing Kurt was aware of was the horn of a train and the smell of coal in the air. Amber led him around a corner and he couldn’t help a gasp escaping his mouth at the sight of the old-fashioned and beautiful engine on the tracks.

“Here you go, honey,” Amber grinned. “Now, you’ll need to hand your luggage over to this nice man,” she pointed to the porter who was already headed in their direction, “and hold on to your ticket; the controller will check it as you’re getting on. Safe travels now, and I hope you like Hogwarts.”

“Thank you,” Kurt said quietly, then watched as the porter wheeled his trolley towards the baggage car.

“Oh, my nephew is called Blaine,” Amber added hastily just as the horn sounded again. “Now, off you go, wouldn’t want to be left behind now!”

With that, she gave Kurt’s shoulders a gentle push in the direction of the nearest carriage. Before Kurt could say anything else, he was pulled up onto the stairs by the ticket controller, who sternly reminded him that it was almost time to go. Kurt felt the vibration as the train started moving, but when he looked back to wave at his helper, she was already gone. With resignation, he clutched his book and the small backpack with his personal stuff closer, then started walking down the corridor to find a place to sit.

↯↯↯

Hogwarts Express

There weren’t many unoccupied places on the train, not even once it left the station and most people settled in with their friends. Even most of the first year students -- Blaine could only guess which ones were in his year -- were sitting with others, either their older siblings or friends. Since his aunt dropped him off at the platform and shooed him onto the train, he was mostly wandering across the carriages trying to find someone to sit with.

“Make friends, Blaine,” he muttered to himself after yet another full compartment closed its doors in his face. “She says it like it’s nothing,” he grumbled.

It took a trip back across the whole length of the train before he found a compartment filled mostly with kids who seemed to be his age, and an empty spot on one side.

“Hi, uh,” he said as he peeked through the door. “Would you guys mind if I…” he waved towards the seat.

Everyone in the compartment shook their heads, but they all seemed too busy with something else, so Blaine just threw his backpack onto the overhead shelf and sat down. A quick glance confirmed to him that most of the people in the compartment were first years -- the two by the window were quietly talking about the Houses and Sorting, the one across from him had his nose stuck in Hogwarts: A History (the revised edition) and the two by the door seemed to be discussing classes, if Blaine went by the snippets of conversation that carried to his ears.

None of them paid Blaine or the boy across from him a lot of attention, at least not until the sweets trolley passed by and Blaine couldn’t resist the temptation of chocolate. He knew a few of the wizarding snacks from before, his aunt used to give him some of the less magical ones as he was growing up, but some of them had been strictly in the “not until you’re at least in school” category.

Watching a Chocolate Frog leap out of the box and onto the shelf above his head, Blaine was beginning to understand why. He couldn’t help blushing as the others giggled at his attempts to retrieve the frog, but in the end the mishap broke the ice between them. Well, most of them at least, since the boy across from Blaine -- he introduced himself as Kurt -- remained quiet and mostly just read his book while the others began chatting animatedly about the school. They were all first years, like Blaine had guessed, and the rest of the journey consisted of them talking about which Houses their family members had been sorted into.

“I totally forgot to ask aunt Amber!” Blaine exclaimed. “She’s the only witch left in my family. I wish I knew which house she’d been in.”

“Hufflepuff,” Kurt whispered towards Blaine.

“How… what?” Blaine gaped at Kurt’s comment.

“She… she helped me find the train,” Kurt answered and Blaine didn’t miss the pink tint in the boy’s cheeks. “My Dad’s a Muggle, so I couldn’t bring him. She mentioned her House,” he finished and added, “and that her nephew’s name is Blaine.”

“Oh, well, thank you,” Blaine said and smiled at Kurt, then felt warmth flooding his cheeks as their eyes met. “I’ll hope to be in Hufflepuff then.”

That immediately brought on a discussion about which House was the best and where everyone wanted to be. Blaine noticed Kurt withdrawing again, but the chatting was too lively for him to do anything but join in.

↯↯↯

Hogwarts Castle - Great Hall

“Whoa.”

The sentiment echoed across the small boat as it rounded the corner and the castle came into view. Kurt had seen pictures of the castle, inside and out, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the sight, really. It was dark, only illuminated by torches and candles in windows, and he couldn’t even feel awkward about staring with his mouth open, because a quick glance at his classmates told him that he wasn’t alone. Even the ones whose siblings were already in the school, the ones who grew up in the magical world, were equally amazed at the view of what would be their home for at least the upcoming school year.

No one spoke much as they finished the boat ride and were ushered up the stairs, all of them trying to not trip over the bottoms of their robes that they’d changed into on the train. They looked like mass of black fabric with heads bobbing up and down at the top of it, as they walked to the massive wooden door that -- according to what Kurt read in his books -- would lead into the Great Hall.

“Good evening, first years,” a voice rang through the vast space of the castle. “Welcome to Hogwarts. I’m Professor Flitwick and I’m the Head of Ravenclaw. When we pass these doors, you all will walk towards the front of the Great Hall, where everyone is already waiting to see the Sorting.”

Kurt couldn’t see where the voice was coming from, but he did recall reading about Professor Flitwick, the Charms Master, and realized that the teacher was most likely using a spell to enhance his voice. He listened to the short introduction to the Houses, finding none of the information new to him. Before he could calm himself enough to pay proper attention to his surroundings, the kids around him moved and he followed into the Hall and to the space right in front of the teachers’ table.

“Is that the Hat? How is it still intact? I thought it was lost in The War,” Kurt heard the hushed voices around him when they all noticed the famous Sorting Hat perched on a stool in front of Headmistress McGonagall.

None of them got their answers, though, because Professor Flitwick opened a roll of parchment and looked towards their group.

“Anderson, Blaine,” he called out.

Kurt scanned the group of first years for the boy he met on the train, the one whose aunt had been so helpful at the train station. Blaine was the only one who’d engaged Kurt in conversation at all, the rest of them content in leaving Kurt to his book and silence. When Blaine’s eyes closed as the hat landed on his head, Kurt couldn’t tear his eyes away, and held his breath until the Hat made its decision.

“Hufflepuff!”

Blaine’s face lit up at the decision and Kurt’s grin matched Blaine’s expression. The applause was almost deafening when Blaine ran over to his House’s table, and Kurt -- even though they weren’t exactly friends -- was happy for the boy. It didn’t take long for his own name to be called and he slowly walked up the few steps. The Hat almost fell over his eyes, but Kurt barely noticed because he clenched them closed, his mind spinning with possibilities. He knew his Mom had been a Ravenclaw, but he didn’t dare to have hopes for any House in particular.

You’re smart enough to follow in your mother’s footsteps, and brave enough for Gryffindor. You’re a tricky one, dear, but I guess at the end, you’ll be best suited to…

“Slytherin!”

The last word rang through the whole Hall and Kurt’s eyes flew open when the cheering and applause started. He did his best not to trip over his robes on the way to the green and silver table, then settled quickly, reassured by the pats on his back from the older students in his House.

As the Sorting continued, Kurt glanced towards the Hufflepuff table a few times. He knew already that he’d find friends in his own House and hopefully the others, but he did feel a connection to Blaine. When the dinner was finished and they were all ushered towards their Common Rooms, Kurt pushed the thoughts of Blaine away. If they were meant to be friends, they would be, even in different Houses.

↯↯↯

Hufflepuff Common Room

It didn’t take long to get settled, once Blaine and his classmates were directed to the warm and inviting Common Room and their bedrooms, where their luggage was already at the feet of their beds. He was still buzzing from the Feast and from being at the school, so instead of heading directly for his bed like some of the other students did, he settled in a comfortable armchair by the fireplace and tried to relax. His mind kept running over the events of the day, though, and the possibilities that were opening to him. For a moment, he debated writing a letter to his parents, but he figured he’d have more to say after a few days of classes.

“Hey, man,” a quiet voice interrupted his musings, and Blaine looked up.

“Hey,” he answered the boy standing nearby.

“I’m Mike,” said the boy. “Can’t sleep, eh?”

Blaine shook his head. He noticed Mike at the Feast, but not too much, besides knowing that he was one of the first years.

“Still amazed that I’m even here,” Blaine admitted.

“You’re a Muggleborn, aren’t you?” Mike asked without any judgment in the question, unlike some of the snarky comments that Blaine caught in hushed whispers from different tables.

He remembered reading up on the big issues that Muggleborns used to face before the Big War, prejudices that still lingered in the air. Hufflepuff’s total acceptance was one of the reasons Blaine was delighted with his sorting, because it already made him feel like he belonged.

“You’re not?” Blaine asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“No, both my parents are magic, though not the same kind as around here,” Mike explained as he settled in the armchair opposite Blaine’s. “We’re old Asian magic, dragons and all,” he smirked.

“Wow, so you…”

“I didn’t actually meet a dragon, my little sister and I grew up here and in America,” Mike said. “But my grandparents used to run a dragon sanctuary until a few years ago, so they always sent me things from there.”

Blaine’s eyes opened wide, partly in amazement and partly in curiosity. Everything was new to him, and to start with a classmate whose family was dragon taming was on top of the list of things to absolutely floor him.

“So, you play Quidditch?” Mike asked when Blaine stayed silent for a while.

“No,” Blaine said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “I only read about the rules and history, but,” he paused for a beat, “my uncle used to play, but he died in the Battle of Hogwarts, so…”

Blaine shrugged, not sure how to put his lack of experience into words. Mike just smiled and nodded, like he got it without needing the explanation.

“I can teach you, if you want,” he offered to Blaine. “I know Brittany, one of the girls in our year, is pretty good, too; I saw her in the mini-league. We can’t play this year,” Mike added with a disappointed tone, “but I’m definitely trying out next year.”

“That would be cool,” Blaine perked up. “I might need flying lesson, though, it’s not like I know how to.”

“Oh, Madam Hooch is supposed to be great,” Mike said with a nod. “I’m sure you’ll pick it up fast. Then we can take the team over!”

Blaine laughed and bumped the fist that Mike was holding out to him, both of them giddy with excitement of not only the Quidditch plans, but the whole day. They both grew quiet after that, and Blaine returned to thinking over the day that was drawing to a close. It felt good to be in the castle, in the Common Room of his House, his new family. It was on the way up the stairs to the first years’ room that he thought of the quiet boy he met on the train, the one who’d met aunt Amber, and Blaine wondered how Kurt was finding his first day. A quick peek at his schedule before he curled up in his bed told him that he had a Charms class with the Slytherins the next day, and he hoped he’d get a chance to ask then.

↯↯↯

Charms Classroom

Kurt was out of breath by the time he finally stumbled into the right classroom, having mixed up his schedule three times on the way there. He’d first fell into the empty Potions classroom, which resulted in a gentle nudge in the right direction from Professor Slughorn, their Potions Master. Then he literally ran into -- and through -- a few ghosts, none of whom were Peeves, to Kurt’s relief. He was well aware of the cheeky infamous ghost’s habit of sending first years in the wrong direction.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he muttered when he almost fell into the nearest seat, just before Professor Flitwick climbed up onto the platform at the front of the classroom, and Kurt realized that he knocked his classmate’s books over.

“It’s okay,” the boy next to him whispered, and smiled as he straightened the pile.

“Oh, hi Blaine,” Kurt said then, recognizing the boy from their ride to the castle.

Neither of them could say any more, as the Professor began his lecture. There was still a buzz of excitement that ran through the class, noticeably stronger in the students who didn’t come from a magical background or upbringing. Most of the ones who had some experience helped out the ones who were completely new to magic, and Kurt found himself relaxing as the class progressed, more than he managed in his Common Room after the Feast.

“You okay?” Blaine asked when Kurt grumbled his way through attempting a simple Sparks Charm.

“Yeah, just, I don’t know…” Kurt said with a sigh.

“Hey, I’ve never done magic before either,” Blaine told Kurt. “But you’re in Slytherin, so The Hat knew how smart you are. Try it again!”

Kurt, emboldened by the faith that Blaine seemed to have in him, swished his wand again and then stared in amazement as the rainbow-colored sparks flew out of its tip.

“See, I knew it!” Blaine cheered happily.

Kurt’s responding smile was less exuberant than Blaine’s, but he couldn’t help feel braver after their exchange. He thought of the coolness of his Common Room, though not reflected in how warmly he and other first year students were greeted by their older classmates, and for a moment, Kurt wondered if the Hat chose right. But he had the determination that he knew was associated with his House, so he couldn’t find it in himself to argue the Hat’s choice.

The class was over before he could dwell on anything more than mastering the Sparks Charm, and on watching Blaine figure it out with ease, even with a few hiccups along the way. After they left for their next class, Kurt didn’t see Blaine for the rest of the day, not even at lunch. But the day turned out to be so busy that it wasn’t until the evening, when he sat over his homework, that he thought back on the Charms lesson and the Hufflepuff boy.

“You sing?”

Kurt looked up at the question that broke the calm around him, and a hum he wasn’t aware of making died in his throat. He hadn’t realized that he was quietly singing to himself as he read over the textbook on the table, but he nodded when he realized what prompted the question.

“Hi, I’m Rachel, and I’ll be the Choir Lead,” the girl who was asking Kurt about singing told him, her voice carrying no hesitation at all.

“Oh,” Kurt said, then raised an eyebrow at her statement. “Isn’t that a position for Seventh Years?”

Rachel shrugged. “Someone has to start a change. I’m better than anyone else in the Choir; did you hear them at the Feast?”

Her tone was filled with disdain for the Choir that Kurt, if he was honest with himself, admired and found impressive. Rachel, however, didn’t seem to share the sentiment.

“You’re going to sign up for the Choir, aren’t you?” Rachel continued, not waiting for Kurt’s response to her question. “You have a nice voice; it would be great to have it accent mine,” she stated.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t comment with anything more than a shrug. He had been thinking, when he walked by a poster announcing the Choir practice times, that he wouldn’t mind joining. It wasn’t his plan to sway in the background, though, but he figured Rachel would find that out soon enough.

They fell into silence then, Kurt turning back to his textbook and thoughts, Rachel flipping through a planner that seemed to be marked with notes for the rest of the year already. When she left, flicking her hair over her shoulder after one of the older students gave her notes a questioning look, Kurt opened his own planner and marked the Choir sign-up date boldly.

↯↯↯

The Great Hall

It was Christmas, and Blaine wasn’t quite sure how the time flew so fast that almost half of his first year in Hogwarts was already gone. He made it through Flying Lessons, and with Mike’s help began practicing Quidditch -- not that he was on the levels of dedication that the teams themselves showed on rainy and snowy days -- and with encouragement from Madame Hooch, he knew he’d be trying out for the Seeker position when he was allowed to try out.

“You’re small, Blaine, that means you’re faster,” Mike explained when it came up for the first time.

Blaine was, for the first time in his life, happy about being short. It had been one of the things Cooper used to tease him about, but it was proving to be convenient for Quidditch.

A lot of the people had gone home for the holidays, but Blaine’s parents were taking Cooper to scout out colleges in America, so Blaine decided to stick around. He wasn’t disappointed with his choice, because once he walked down to the Great Hall on Christmas Day, and saw the special Feast decorations, his mouth opened in amazement.

“It’s fantastic, isn’t it?” Mike commented when he walked up to Blaine.

Brittany, the girl from their House and year whom the boys became good friends with, joined them moments later and started explaining about mistletoe and the creatures that she said were living in it. Mike and Blaine smiled at her, indulging her in retelling the stories that they mostly found amusing, though implausible. Instead of paying attention to her, Blaine surveyed the Great Hall and the people who stayed for the holidays. There were a few Hufflepuffs, a small group of Gryffindors -- amongst them Sam, who was quickly becoming one of Blaine’s best friends after they’d been paired up in their Potions class -- and an even smaller group of Slytherins.

“Oh, Kurt stayed,” Blaine said with surprise in his voice. “I didn’t think he would; he was looking forward to seeing his Dad.”

Blaine had talked to Kurt quite a few times through the semester, though mostly only in and around the Charms class that they shared. They weren’t friends, but they were aware of each other enough for Blaine to know about Kurt’s holiday plans, even if Kurt only mentioned them in passing.

“Oh, I think his Dad had a job interview at the Ministry,” Mercedes, a girl from Gryffindor whom Blaine knew to be a close friend of Kurt’s, said when she passed by just as Blaine was wondering about Kurt being at Hogwarts. “That’s what Kurt said, at least.”

“Oh, so he is going for it, that’s great,” Blaine said with a smile. “It’s the first time the Ministry is branching out and accepting Muggles. I do hope he gets the job,” he added.

They moved towards the tables then, set up in a square instead of the usual House-separated lines that they were used to. Blaine quickly realized that it was to not encourage separation for the Christmas Feast. He picked a seat impatiently, not too picky about who would end up next to him. Soon, their plates were full with the starters, and a friendly chatter added to the holiday atmosphere as everyone dug into their meals.

It was then that Blaine noticed, for the first time since the beginning of the year, that Kurt seemed to be mostly alone, even throughout the Feast where everyone was included in some way. Sure, Kurt was the one who helped Rachel lead the caroling after they all were done eating, but even then he wasn’t pushing his way into the spotlight as much as Rachel was. Blaine didn’t get a chance to talk to Kurt, though, since he kept being pulled into conversations all through the entertainment part of the evening that followed the Feast.

Once people began leaving, Blaine started looking for Kurt, wanting to at least wish him happy holidays, but Kurt was nowhere to be seen. Disappointed a little, Blaine slipped away to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Sleep took over his mind then, and he didn’t even make it to his bed, instead staying curled up on the small couch in front of the fireplace.

↯↯↯

Hogsmeade Station

The year had flown by way too quick, Kurt thought when he was walking towards the station, his luggage already in the care of Hagrid, who was still the Groundskeeper in the castle. Kurt wondered about all the changes the past year had brought -- him being a wizard, his Dad being one of the first handful of Muggles employed by the Ministry of Magic to promote Muggle-wizard relations, having a frontline position in the Choir much to Rachel’s dismay at not being the only one chosen, having friends in and beyond Slytherin House.

“Had a good year?”

The question shook Kurt a little, since he’d been walking a little away from everyone, by his own choice. He looked up to find Blaine walking by his side, trying to balance a backpack and a small carrier for the kitten he’d adopted in their final Care of Magical Creatures class. Kurt was holding on tight to the cage of Glinda, the owl that his Dad had sent him as a belated Christmas present, a snow-white beauty bought with the first paycheck from the Ministry.

“Yeah,” Kurt said quietly with a nod. “Yeah, I have. Yours seemed pretty good, too,” he said then and immediately looked away, cursing himself for disclosing that he’d noticed Blaine through the year.

It had been hard not to, though. Blaine became more popular than he seemed to have looked for, though Kurt was not surprised. Blaine was the type to be friendly to everyone, and people flocked to him for a lot of things.

“It will be weird to be home,” Blaine said a little wistfully. “With no magic and no one living nearby.”

That was not something Kurt minded as much, though he had made friends. He knew Mercedes and Rachel would be in touch through the holidays, and that it would be easy enough since Kurt had his own owl to send out. He’d miss the magic, sure, but they still had reading and practice they had to do during the summer break.

“Were you planning on cursing someone at home?” Kurt asked, chuckling.

“My brother, maybe,” Blaine grumbled. “It might stop him from teasing me as much.”

“He doesn’t know that you’re not allowed to use your wand, though, does he?”

Blaine looked at Kurt with surprise written all over his face, but moments later there was an amused and mischievous glint in his eyes. Kurt smirked when Blaine shook his head.

Before either of them could say anything else, they got to the platform in Hogsmeade and Blaine got tugged away by some of the boys that Kurt knew to be his closest friends. They exchanged a quick wave and then Kurt started looking for his own friends, hoping for a last good round of talk with Rachel and Mercedes. The train departed before he found them, but then he slipped into the compartment the girls had claimed and relaxed in his seat.

When they pulled into King’s Cross, Kurt perked up at the thought of seeing his Dad for the first time in months, and he shot out of the compartment quickly, eyes wide open as he searched the platform.

“Dad, hey!” Kurt called out when he spotted Burt at the back of the crowd of parents.

“Hey, bud,” Burt said, and pulled Kurt into a clumsy hug immediately, both of them trying to not knock around Glinda’s cage too much. “So, did you have a good year, kiddo?”

Kurt glanced back towards the train and spotted Rachel rushing to her Dads, Mercedes hugging her little sister and then Blaine, looking a little lost until he sprinted to a nicely dressed and a little confused-looking couple.

“Yeah,” Kurt said with a content smile settling on his lips. “Yeah, I did.”

“I can’t wait to hear all about it, more than you told me in letters,” Burt said, then added with pride in his tone, “I’ve heard quite a bit about the Choir around the Ministry; you never mentioned that you got a solo, kid.”

Kurt blushed, remembering the hours of practice that led to his shining moment.

“Your Mom would be proud,” Burt said quietly, and patted Kurt on the shoulder.

Thinking of his Mom brought a smile to Kurt’s face this time, unlike the ache that he was used to feeling -- he’d spent a lot of the year wondering what she’d think, looking for traces of her in the castle from before The War. Having made it through the first year, he felt closer to her. He glanced around the platform once more and then looked to Burt with a smile.

“Let’s go home, Dad,” Kurt said. “Then you can tell me all about your groundbreaking job; don’t think I’ve forgotten about your promise to tell me.”

They set off to find Kurt’s luggage, and Kurt couldn’t shake off a smile and the happiness he felt. He’d made it through the first year, and his life was nothing like what he expected it to be a year earlier. Even though he wasn’t at Hogwarts anymore, the feeling of being right where he belonged wasn’t leaving him.

“See you in September, Kurt!” Rachel called out to him when they passed by her and her Dads.

Kurt waved back, reveling in the feeling that even though the school year was over, it really was just the beginning of what was now his life.

tbc

#fic: a kind of magic #klaine #kblreversebang2014 #klaine fanfic

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