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wowbright · 1 year

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Fic: Wisdom to Listen

Klaine Advent 2022: give

Words: ~ 1,100 words

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: Blaine can't sleep. His body is telling him something.

I’m back with more vignettes from my Mormon!Klaine universe for Klaine Advent 2022! This vignette takes after Recognition and simultaneously with the first part of Losing My Sleep (it’s sort of a mirror fic).

My Mormon!Klaine Masterpost. (Klaine Advent bits in bold; Klaine Valentine in italics and bold.)

_________

Blaine couldn’t sleep. He’d tried prayer. He’d tried counting backwards from a thousand in German. He’d conjured detailed images of an idea he had for an alternative animal shelter, where cats lounged in an enormous, sunlight-filled pavilion outfitted with a forest of enormous cat trees reaching the vaulted ceiling. Some of the cats watched birds and butterflies outside floor-to-floor windows, while others lazed atop tall towers in napping bliss. He imaged the scene down to the color pattern and length of each cat’s coat, and the little patches in the cat tree coverings that had been clawed bare.

Finally, in a variation of counting sheep, he imagined the cats jumping through a hula hoop, one by one.

But none of it worked.

Part of the problem was that Blaine was vaguely horny, which was making him tense. He'd thought of releasing the valve in the shower after they got home earlier that evening, but it didn't seem urgent. Despite what Elder Hummel seemed to think, Blaine didn't go at it every opportunity he had. Blaine believed in moderation in all things, and he'd already provided release for himself twice since Sunday.

The problem, he thought, was not so much that he was horny, but that he was lonely. That should be impossible. He’d spent all day—all week, all month—with his best friend, and now that same best friend was sleeping in the same room with him.

But Blaine had an ache inside him that even Elder Hummel’s presence could not fill. It had started somewhere in the middle of singing Circle of Our Love and grown through their evening meetings with investigators and the bus trip home— when, instead of asking Blaine to sit with him, Elder Hummel had suggested they get in more contacting time by sitting next to strangers.

The only relief had been just before bed, when Blaine hugged Elder Hummel good night. In that moment, with Elder Hummel's arms wrapped tight around him, Blaine felt sheltered from every bad and frightening thing, and he was no longer lonely.

Back in middle school, the answer to this feeling had been easy. He'd go over to Sam's house or Sam would come over to his, and they would sit in Sam’s bed or his own and watch movies and read comics and talk and talk until they wore themselves out. They’d fall asleep next to each other, and even when they weren't touching, Blaine could feel Sam's warmth near him, and he knew he wasn't alone.

The sound of shifting blankets caught Blaine’s attention. Elder Hummel stood from his bed and walked over to the dresser.

“Can’t sleep?” Blaine flicked the nightstand light on.

Elder Hummel blinked. “Not really. Thought I’d get out my MP3 player and listen to my sleep songlist.”

“I can’t sleep either. I've tried prayer and counting backwards in German and imagining the perfect animal shelter and counting cats—”

“Cats?”

“Yeah," said Blaine. “Like counting sheep, but with cats.”

“Of course. I should have known,” Elder Hummel said with an amused smile as he settled back onto his bed. “Is something bothering you?”

Blaine didn't know the answer to that question. He felt lonely, but was that a feeling of botherment? And the only reason he felt lonely was because he had felt the opposite of lonely while singing Circle of Our Love with Elder Hummel on the streets of downtown Ingolstadt. He had felt connected to Kurt in a way that surpassed the moment or the physical trappings of their lives. He still felt it, partially. But something was missing. It was the easy intimacy he used to share with Sam during sleepovers—being in each other's space without invading each other’s space, because somehow the world around them seem to grow bigger when they were alone together.

“I don’t know if I’m bothered,” Blaine said. “We were busy today, so I should be exhausted. But maybe I got too amped up instead.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Elder Hummel said.

Blaine shook his head, his gaze absently fixed on the MP3 player in Elder Hummel’s hands. Blaine remembered when he had been the object in Elder Hummel’s hands, when Elder Hummel had held his head and spoken on behalf of the Lord: I bless you with the wisdom to listen to your own body. “Does that MP3 player have a speaker?”

Elder Hummel looked down at the gadget in his hands, as if he'd forgotten it was there. “No, just headphones. Why? You want to listen?”

“I thought it might help. But if there’s no speaker—”

“We could share the headphones,” Elder Hummel had said.

The last time they had done that had been less than a week into their transfer together, sitting together on Blaine’s bed just before Kurt came out to him. The memory warmed Blaine's heart. I bless you with the wisdom to listen to your own body. “We can’t really do that without sharing a bed,” Blaine said, testing the waters.

Elder Hummel frowned. “I'm not sure that's a good idea. It’s against the rules to sleep in the same bed at night. Too much crowding.”

If those were Elder Hummel’s only objections— Blaine clapped his hands together. “I know!” He jumped out of his bed and tugged on the frame until it made a loud creak and scraped across the floor.

“What are you doing!?” Elder Hummel said in a loud whisper. “You could wake the downstairs neighbors.”

“No, they moved out last week. Remember?”

“Fine. But you could gouge the floor. And I still don’t know why you’re moving furniture in the middle of the night.”

“Oh.” Maybe Blaine had been rash. Maybe they weren't on the same page. “I thought …” and Blaine had to pause for a second there, because had he really thought? Or had he just done? On the other hand, what was wrong with just doing sometimes? The scriptures said I will go and do when the Spirit prompts, not I will think about it for twenty years first and then maybe do. “If I move my bed next to yours, we can share the headphones.”

“Oh,” Elder Hummel said, his face momentarily expressionless as he processed this new piece of information. But then he broke out into a smile not unlike the one he'd worn as they’d sung Circle of Our Love together. “That works.”

#klaine advent: give #mormon!klaine #wowbright writes fic #klaine fanfiction #klaine fic #it's a mirror fic #But the dialogue is a little different #Is that because the characters perceptions and emphases are different #Or because I am constantly revising this 'verse #hmmm up to you #happy klainniversary!

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forabeatofadrum · 11 months

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Ljubim te (21/24)

AO3 | S&C

–

GIVE

Kurt’s sitting on Blaine’s couch and he is looking around. It’s clear that Quinn’s been here in the past four days, but Kurt and Blaine don’t mention it.

Blaine carefully puts some of her stuff aside, so that he can sit next to Kurt. He hands him a cup of coffee.

“Ah, yes, my personal kavarna,” Kurt jokes.

“They drink a lot of tea in this country, but I will always prefer coffee,” Blaine says.

He stares at his cup.

Quinn prefers tea. They planned on going to a teahouse at the Ljubljana river tomorrow, but that’s probably off the table. Blaine wasn’t kidding when he told Kurt that he has no idea where Quinn is. He was so caught up in finding Kurt that he kind of forgot, but he thinks that Quinn doesn’t mind.

Quinn.

That really is over.

There is so much that needs to be arranged. They live together. Everyone knows them as a couple. Blaine’s mom has been joking about grandkids for a while, Blaine’s dad always asks about Quinn, and Quinn’s mom constantly keeps looking for a wedding ring on her daughter’s finger. Cooper calls Quinn and Frannie his sisters as a joke, but there is a reason for it. All their friends from Yale and LA say they’re “couple goals”.

They love each other, but as friends. They both stumbled into this relationship because they thought this was the right thing to do and Blaine tried so hard to make it work and to force himself to be attracted to her, but it never happened.

It’s almost laughable how many signs there were.

He does feel bad about breaking her heart, but Quinn was right. He deserves to think about what he wants, and he wants Kurt.

Kurt who is sipping his coffee.

Kurt sees Blaine staring and he raises an eyebrow.

Blaine wants to tell Kurt that he’s beautiful, but he can’t, because he’s not supposed to think this way. He wants to add that it’s just an objective fact, not his own attraction towards him.

But then he remembers that he doesn’t have to add that, and that he can say it.

“You’re beautiful,” he says tentatively. It feels a bit weird to say, but it also feels right, because Kurt is beautiful, damnit.

Kurt looks pleasantly surprised. Then his face morphs into an easy smile and he returns the compliment.

This is one of those moments where Blaine realises it should’ve been obvious that he’s into Kurt, because his entire body feels warm and it’s a familiar feeling. He’s wanted Kurt’s appreciation ever since they met.

“What?” Kurt laughs.

“Just thinking,” Blaine replies.

Thinking. He recommends it.

“About what?” Kurt says playfully.

“You, obviously. Me.”

“Yeah?” Kurt slowly puts his hand on Blaine’s leg and Blaine feels a shock run through his body. Again, he’s never felt anything like this when he was with Quinn, and this is a simple touch.

“About how I’ve wanted this without realising,” Blaine adds on and he puts his hand on Kurt’s, “About how no one else, no woman, has made me feel like this.”

Kurt nods.

“Been there,” he says.

“Really?” Blaine asks, shocked.

Kurt uses one shoulder to shrug.

“When I was very young,” Kurt answers, “It’s probably still a bit different from your situation. I never thought I was straight, but that doesn’t mean I was ready to be gay. But by the time I was fifteen, I knew I either had to accept it or hate myself. Luckily, my dad and friends were super supportive, so I leapt out of that closet and never looked back. But that closet was there for a reason.”

“… Right.”

Kurt puts his coffee cup on the side table. Now he puts his other hand over Blaine’s.

“Blaine, you’re not entirely wrong. I didn’t expect to fall for a guy who hasn’t figured it all out,” Kurt starts and Blaine can feel the panic return. He’s finally calmed down, and now Kurt’s saying this? He knows he said that he wouldn’t take it personally, but it still stings.

“Oh,” Blaine says.

The alarmed look on Blaine’s face does make Kurt reassure him.

“I am not rejecting you!” he says immediately, “In fact, what I am trying to say is that even though I didn’t plan this, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try.”

“Yeah?”

Kurt nods eagerly.

“As you said, you like me, I like you.”

“I don’t know what I can give you, though,” Blaine says quickly. He doesn’t want Kurt to reject him, but he also doesn’t want to give Kurt false hope. Blaine’s a mess. This morning, he woke up next to his then-girlfriend, and now he’s willing to date another man. “I’ve never done this before, not really. I don’t know what to do and I- I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“That’s fine by me,” Kurt says.

“Why didn’t you say so in the hallway?” Blaine ponders out loud and Kurt barks out a laugh.

“Oh sweetheart,” he laughs and the term of endearment makes butterflies fly in Blaine’s stomach, “You were trembling!”

He really was. It was a mix of fear and nervosity, but also adrenaline and hope.

“I suppose I was a mess.”

Kurt hums in agreement. He lets go of Blaine’s hand, but only so that he can take the coffee cup from Blaine’s hand. He sets it on the table next to his own.

“I wanted you to be calm and certain before I could do this,” Kurt says.

“Do what-”

Kurt grabs his face and he kisses Blaine.

Blaine didn’t really anticipate it, and he falls back against the arm of the couch, but he doesn’t mind. He kisses back and it’s even better than their first kiss at Kurt’s place. Now, Blaine fully lets himself enjoy this and it is so good.

He grabs the back of Kurt’s head, just like he did before, to push him closer.

To Blaine’s surprise, Kurt basically climbs on top of him. He lets out a surprised sound and Kurt stops.

“Is this okay?” he asks when they realise Kurt’s basically in Blaine’s lap.

“Yeah,” Blaine says breathlessly.

Kurt leans down to kiss him some more and Blaine puts his hands on Kurt’s waist. The two of them keep making out and Blaine is revelling in it. He didn’t know kissing someone could be this nice. All this time he’s been trying to evoke this feeling by being with Quinn, but this is what he wants.

He actually wants this.

With Quinn, he would try to make himself interested by making out with her, like when he did this afternoon during the rugby game, but now he understands that it was all for nothing. When he was with Quinn, he didn’t let himself think. It was fine, and good, and it was just something they did and the moment he started thinking about it, it all went downhill.

But if kissing Quinn was just fine and good, then kissing Kurt is absolutely fucking phenomenal. Here, he can’t stop thinking about what he wants, and he desperately wants Kurt.

“Kurt?” he asks through the kisses, “Can I… uh…”

“What is it?” Kurt asks.

“I- I… Can I?” Blaine reaches for the buttons of Kurt’s fancy shirt.

Kurt nods eagerly.

“Can I also make a suggestion?” Kurt asks while he helps Blaine with the buttons. There are a lot, since Kurt wears a lot of interesting clothing pieces and normally Blaine would appreciate it, but now he wants them gone.

Blaine nods.

“Whatever you want. You might have to guide me through it, though,” Blaine laughs. He’s never been with another guy before, but Kurt luckily knows that.

“Can we move this to somewhere more comfortable?” Kurt asks.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blaine says. That is a great idea.

Kurt takes Blaine’s hand and together they walk to the bedroom. Blaine is a bit anxious, but also excited. He wanted to take things slowly, but the moment he’s on top of Kurt he realises that those plans have flown out of the window and he couldn’t care less.

Blaine also takes off his shirt and a shiver goes down his spine when he sees the way Kurt looks at him.

“Uh. Tell me what to do,” Blaine says lamely as he’s hovering over Kurt.

Kurt puts his hand over his eyes and he lets out a laugh. Blaine doesn’t know if he’s supposed to feel self-conscious, but he doesn’t, since he’s distracted by the sound of Kurt’s laugh.

“Come here,” Kurt takes Blaine’s hand and he guides it down his stomach, “Is this okay?”

Blaine knows where this is heading and he thinks this is more than okay. He wants this. He tells himself that he’s allowed to want this and he believes it. And it feels great.

#klaineadvent #klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent #klaine #glee #holy fuck I wrote #2023 #multichaptered #klaine advent: give #please clap #this was hard and kinda uncomfy for me to write but i am also really happy with the result

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gleekto · 1 year

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Klaine Advent 2022: Chemistry Sucks (16/17)

Summary: Nerd!Kurt/ Popular!Blaine high school AU - Kurt joins Glee club in his junior year to please his dad, though he’d rather just hide out in the library until he can graduate and get out of Lima.

Turns out he’s not the only gay kid in town. Too bad the other out gay kid is cocky and popular senior, Blaine Anderson. Sure of himself, gets all the solos, things served to him on a platter. Kurt finds him shallow and infuriating.

Blaine finds Kurt square and irritating.

Yet at a party one night, they promise to sleep together if they don’t have other opportunities by the end of the year. A dare. Naturally competitive spirits.

Day 1, Day 2,Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15

Chemistry Sucks (Day 16: Recast and Give)

Blaine first sees Kurt walking down the McKinley hallway, flanked by two new glee club members on either side, apparently enraptured by the tour he's giving them. Blaine's early for meeting him after the homecoming game, which Kurt unsurprisingly chose to skip.

"Speak of the devil," Kurt spots him. "It's none other than our former fearless leader, Blaine Anderson, who has come back to ensure we're off to a strong start this year."

Blaine approaches them. "Hi Kurt," He pauses. Kurt looks even better than he remembers. He's always been put together, scarves and broaches and too tight jeans that are perfect. But he has an air of command about him now, like he knows who he is.

"Hi Blaine." They smile at each other while the new kids on either side just stare silently. "Madison, Mason, this is Blaine. Our key to the big nationals win."

"Oh we know who you are and it's so nice to meet you," Mason shakes Blaine's hand enthusiastically. "We read the showchoir blogs - recasting a straight girl-guy duet with two guys. Your duet was groundbreaking."

"Novel," Madison adds.

"Fresh," Mason finishes.

"Kurt was our secret weapon, actually. You're lucky to have him." Blaine smiles quietly at him and the air feels heavy. At least to him.

"We're sure you guys have lots of catching up to do," Madison says after too long a moment. "So we're just gonna-"

"Yeah, okay," Kurt nods.

And then they're alone in the McKinley hallway. "So do you wanna-"

"Yeah, okay," Blaine agrees.

"I haven't said what yet."

"Whatever you want, wherever you want. I just want to see you."

They end up at the Lima Bean, at their usual round table in the corner, sipping a mocha and a medium drip, like nothing has changed.

"So, tell me," Blaine doesn't even know where to start.

"Tell you what?"

"Oh I don't know. I get a text one day that you're going on a third date and being an understudy and then a phone call a month later about breaking up and I mean, what happened?"

"The usual chorus understudy was sick, and they asked me," Kurt says. He's being coy.

"You were with Matteo." Blaine starts. He wants to be a good friend. A best friend. He's trying.

"I was," Kurt nods and looks down at his mocha and then back up. "And now I'm not." Blaine nods but doesn't say anything. "It was good, I think. I mean, he was not super happy that I ended it but we had a good time. We'd usually go out once or twice a week to a movie or bowling or-"

"Bowling? You?"

"I know. Obviously his idea. Anyways, we'd hang out," Kurt pauses meaningfully. "But the school year is busy and like I said when I called you, I just didn't have the time." Blaine nods, waiting. "Because I wasn't feeling enough." Kurt bites his lip. "I guess I'm still just a silly romantic, and the truth is I already know a better kisser." Blaine almost chokes on his coffee. He has to clear his throat. "Sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No, no. It's fine. Coffee just went down wrong." He takes another sip.

"Your turn," Kurt says quickly. "So how is living la vie boheme?"

"Hardly," Blaine dismisses but knows he has to give more than that. "I do like dancing at all those gay clubs though."

"Of course."

"And I went home with someone exactly twice." He sees Kurt take a gulp of his mocha.

"Same guy?"

"No. Jeff and Parker. Jeff and I just made out. He was kind of boring to be honest. Parker, we did a bit more but I didn't want to call him after. It was fun, but," Blaine knocks Kurt leg under the table deliberately.

"But." Kurt repeats.

"I also knew a better kisser," Blaine doesn't stop himself. Neither did Kurt. The pause is too pregnant and he is still going back to New York in two days.

"Can't all have legendary chemistry," Kurt smiles quietly.

Blaine shakes his head. "Guess not. So tell me about how you became the lead of the Glee club," It's a total non-sequitur but Blaine switches topics deliberately out of the danger zone. Chemistry sucks.

They close the Lima Bean down talking about the glee club, the new kids, the way to win nationals, what Kurt will like in New York, whether he should also apply to NYADA or stick with NYU. When Blaine walks Kurt to his car they hug for what feels to Blaine like five minutes straight. "It was so good to see you, Kurt." He doesn't want to let go.

...

It's almost midnight and Blaine is staring up at his ceiling in his old room in his parents house, unable to sleep. The problem is that he really does not want to see Jeff or Parker or Jeff-types or Parker-types again. There is only one thing he wants. He picks up his phone and texts.

B: I missed you.

It only takes Kurt a minute to respond.

K: I missed you too.

B: I wanted to talk to you today but I was too afraid.

K: Of what?

B: Screwing up our friendship.

K: And now?

B: Do you wanna meet somewhere and hang out while we can? The 24 hour diner near Scandals?

K: No.

B: No?

K: No. I wanna go to your house.

Blaine closes his eyes, relief and excitement washing over him.

B: Okay.

#klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent: recast #klaine advent: give #gleekto writes #chemistry sucks

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klaineadvent · 1 year

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#klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent: give

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1908jmd · 1 year

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Klaine Advent 2022 Day 21: give

Kurt arrived at the soup kitchen, which was in place for the month of December. Elliott and Dani were there already, both dishing out warm soup and pasta to the homeless and needy of New York. They were firm believers that the city had given them so much to be thankful for that it was important to remember to give a little back.

Blaine arrived later with university friends, and by the end of the evening they were all singing carols and festive tunes with everyone there, helping to lift spirits and encourage Christmas cheer. It was a special night.

#klaine advent 2022 #Klaine advent: give

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slipping-through-my-fingertips · 1 year

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Klaine Advent 2022

Christmas Crush

AO3

Give

Tuesday came and went before Blaine knew it; it was two days before the dance, two days before sectionals.

The only memorable thing that happened yesterday was getting to practice his duet with Kurt. They were the only two people in the auditorium. Mr. Schue had left them sheet music and a radio to play it. He was leaving the pacing and staging up to them. Thank god this year’s was Holiday themed because Blaine already knew the lyrics.

The Warblers had never dared to learn their set for sectionals three days before the performance.

To their surprise, Mr. Schue had picked a different kind of song to turn into a duet: White Christmas. Very appropriate for the upcoming storm heading their way this weekend.

All during their rehearsal, all Blaine could think about was the dance. He was dancing on stage with Kurt right now. Why was it so difficult for him to say one little question and be able to dance with him in front of everyone.

They were rehearsing again today, this time at Blaine’s house. So at the end of the school day, Blaine let Kurt at his locker.

As he approached he heard Kurt mumbling something. Just under his breath. Something Blaine definitely wasn’t supposed to hear.

“Give me the honor of being your date to the Winter Formal,” he repeated.

Oh god, who was Kurt planning on asking? There was no way now Blaine could fathom asking Kurt to be his date. Not when he knew Kurt wanted to go with someone else.

#klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent: give #klaine fanfiction #klaine fanfic #My fics

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cerriddwenluna · 10 months

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The Diary of Kurt E. Hummel (21/24)

Please do not read this without my express permission. (Yes, that includes you, Finn.)

***

Have you always wanted to find out what Kurt writes in his diary? Now is your chance! But, ssssht! Don't tell Kurt we stole it... ;)

21 down, 3 more to go!

Read Give now, on AO3 and S&C!

Read from the beginning

#Klaine Advent 2022 #Day 21: Give #epistolary #gwen writes #glee #klaine #klaine fanfiction #klaine fanart

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klaineccfanficlibrary · 6 months

Note

Hi! Could you recommend some mutual pining? Preferably not high school. Thanks

Here are some of the more recent stories in this trope, it's a good one! ~Jen

Rate my Professor By @kurtsascot

Rate My Professor exists. Kurt tries not to remember that, and, most days, he succeeds. But, on days like today, at the end of a semester from hell, with some of the most intelligent and equally infuriating students he has ever taught, Kurt finds that it’s easier to slip.

He caves and reads.

or: Two professors are pining for each other. Thanks to the internet, the tension breaks.

~~~~~

Beautiful, crazy By JButler

Kurt Hummel is beautiful and Blaine Anderson might be crazy in love...

~~~~~

Camp Klaine By @kirakiwiwrites

Kurt and Blaine are eagerly anticipating their last summer of theater camp together. Having been best friends since meeting at Sanford Theater Camp three years ago, they intend to make the most of this one. But this year, things feel different between them. Blaine’s starting to realize he might have a crush on his bestie while Kurt introduces everyone to his new boyfriend…

~~~~~

Indigo Dreams by @gleefulpoppet

[AU] Blaine Anderson is rich, revered in his profession, and a powerful man in New York. After years of what has become nothing more than a weekly routine, he takes selected clients and models to the trendy, upscale nightclub—Indigo Dreams—to wine, dine and entertain them. What happens when a new dancer takes center stage and captures Blaine’s soul with those beautiful color-changing eyes?

~~~~~ Measure for Measure by@teddyshoney

Blaine Anderson, the new band and choir director for McKinley High School, immediately feels a connection to Kurt Hummel, the English teacher, during their initial teacher in-service days. He wants to get to know him, and after a conversation with the art teacher, Tina Cohen-Chang, he finds out that Kurt is stand-offish with nearly everyone at school—except his students—and his only real friend is Mercedes. Spurred on by his feelings, Blaine decides to do something brash: give himself five days to win Kurt Hummel. After he learns more about what secret Kurt's been hiding, however, that might prove to be a taller order than he'd originally thought.

~~~~~

I'd cry a river just for you by maanorchidee @forabeatofadrum

Seven years ago, Kurt and Blaine had a huge fight that ended a ten year long friendship. Now they unexpectedly run into each other in another part of the world. Can they let go of the past?

~~~~~

Out of Eden by @wowbright

As a gay Mormon, Kurt Hummel has decided to go the rest of his life without falling in love. But toward the end of his two years as a missionary in Germany, Elder Anderson moves into his apartment—and Kurt's best-laid plans fall apart.

(It's not necessary to have read the previous works in this series to follow this one, or to read the works in order. I try to make most things understandable from context. You can start this and, if you like it, hop back to the earlier stories as you wait for new chapters to post.)

Also the author is regularly updating and adding to the story, including in this year's Advent challenge.

#klaine fanfiction #fic finder #mutual pining

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honeysucklepink · 3 months

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Y'all I'm in a bit of a writing pickle.

For a while now, my writing mojo has gone. I get a thrill when a story of mine gets a kudos or a comment, but unlike others for some reason it doesn't spur me to write more. I haven't participated in a challenge in a while, or an advent (I checked, and the last thing I wrote was a not-quite-drabble in early March so it's been a YEAR. But what really makes me ache is when I get this:

"When are you going to continue Reaching Out to Touch a Stranger?"

And the truth is...I don't know if I ever will. Because I actually have a few scenes written, including THE FREAKING ENDING, but the idea of figuring out how to string those together gives me hives and sweats. It started really as a Klaine story with Mercedes as a catalyst (ugh, should I have called them catalysts instead of conduits? See, I'm second-guessing myself!) but then I wrote a piece for Sam and it turned into a Samcedes story, and then I had self-doubt about writing Mercedes authentically, and and and...

But I also want to get these other parts I've written out to you, the readers and fans. I don't want to horde them like my preciouses and I don't want to be one of those people who waits until it's perfect. So I guess I'll take the latest tool that Tumblr has provided and do this poll-style:

#pink writes things #(well USED to)#reaching out to touch a stranger #samcedes fic #glee fic #klaine-adjacent #writing woes

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spaceorphan18 · 1 year

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Scenes from December (5/24)

Klaine Advent Day Five : Oval

***

December, 2010

The night was supposed to be perfect.

Kurt had planned everything meticulously. He had convinced his dad that he shouldn’t pass up seeing the car show and managed to get Carole to go with him. He picked out two perfect holiday movies for a double feature - It’s A Wonderful Life and Love Actually. And he staged the living room accordingly; low lights - letting the Christmas tree set the ambiance. A perfectly cleaned couch. Not a bit of dust or clutter anywhere to be found. He had even made a lovely charcuterie board, with an assorted number of cheeses, salamis, and grapes. He thought about candles - but maybe candles were too much. He didn’t want to screw this up. He couldn’t screw this up.

And of course - the thing that made it all perfect - Blaine Anderson; beautifully handsome as always in his house, sitting on his couch. He figured they could start on opposite ends of the couch, Kurt could scooch his way over little by little. And who knew where the night would end up. He had gotten chills just thinking about it. Kurt giggled a little as he put in the movie - Blaine’s eyes were on him the entire time he moved around the living room. It made him feel warm and seen and excited in both a wonderful and terrifying way.

It was supposed to be perfect.

And then it happened. Just as he was getting comfortable at the other end of the couch, Finn came lumbering in, a bowl of popcorn in his hands, and sat down squarely between him and Blaine. He gave a quick nod to Blaine, then began shoveling popcorn into his mouth. God - how did Kurt ever have a crush on him.

“What are you doing?” Kurt asked sharply, his voice higher and more piercing than usual.

Finn paused, his mouth frozen in a big, oval ‘o’ as it was half full of popcorn. He looked from Kurt to Blaine then to Kurt again. “You said it was movie night.”

“You said you were hanging out with Puck tonight.”

“I was, I am…” Finn looked confused, then a little horrified. He leaned close and asked in a low whisper, “Are you supposed to be on a date?”

Kurt flushed deeply. Blaine smiled, leaning forward from the other side of the couch. “Not a date - just two friends, hanging out, watching movies.”

Fucking Finn. “What do you mean you are hanging out with Puck?” Kurt asked, an eyebrow raised.

There was a knock on the door. Really Finn? Really fucking really? With an annoyed grunt, Kurt shoots up to answer the door. It’s not Puck who’s there, but Rachel Berry - shooting in with a pointed look on her face.

“Finn, we need to talk,” she all but screamed, pointing a finger at him as she flew across the room.

“Rachel, you can’t be here,” Finn said, standing. “We broke up. I don’t think there’s anything to talk about.”

“Oh, there’s plenty to talk about…”

There was another knock on the door, and this time it was Puck, holding two DVDs. “Yo, I’m here - and I brought movies.”

Kurt scowled at him. “We already have movies.”

“Yeah, lame movies,” Puck shouted into his face. “I brought the real Christmas classics - Die Hard and Gremlins.” He pushed his way past Kurt, who was now fuming.

Before Kurt could get a word out, there was a third knock on the door. When Kurt opened it, he was stunned to see that pretty much the entire glee club was on his doorstep. How did this night spin so out of control? Why did the universe hate him so much?

“We’re here!” Mercedes exclaimed, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek as she marched in.

“How….?” was all he managed to get out.

Mercedes explained. Rachel had invited Mercedes - because in some kind twisted logic - having more people witness your relationship drama was appealing to her. Mercedes invited Tina, who invited Mike (because they were dating), who invited Artie (because they were becoming good friends even though Artie wasn’t thrilled about Mike breaking he and Tina up for good), who invited Brittany (because they were dating), who invited Santana (because if you’re dating Brittany - you might as well be dating Santana, too), who invited Quinn (out of pity?), who invited Sam (because they were dating - and at that point - why make him feel left out?). And each of them all rolled in - unwanted guests like the Dwarves barging in on an obstinate Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.

Kurt wanted to explode, but no one seemed to notice or care how he felt. Everyone was already talking and laughing (or arguing) and Puck had already managed to replace Love Actually with Gremlins. Mike and Artie throwing cheese from the charcuterie board at each other was the last straw. With frustrated screech, he slammed the front door shut, grabbed the charcuterie board off the coffee table, and without being able to even look at Blaine, stomped upstairs and to his room.

The night was ruined.

He sat at his desk, his head leaning on his hand, and watched the light snow fall outside the window.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, and Blaine stood in the doorway, a bottle of sparkling grape juice and two glasses in his hands. “Mind if I come in.”

Kurt’s eyes grew wide as he nodded. Blaine sat on the edge of Kurt’s bed - opening up the bottle. “Hope you don’t mind that I got these out of the kitchen. I assumed it was for us.”

Kurt was at a loss for words. The anger and sheer frustration he felt at the situation downstairs began to dissipate. “Um, yeah.”

“You okay?” Blaine asked, pouring the juice. He handed Kurt a glass. Kurt was still stunned. Blaine had followed him. Blaine still wanted to make sure that Kurt was alright. This wonderful, ridiculous, beautiful boy was sitting on his bed, willingly, and interested in how he was doing. Maybe the universe didn’t hate him after all.

“My friends mean well, I know they mean well,” Kurt said. He could feel the tension leaving his body - the anxiety of it all was coming down. “But - do we have to do everything together? Always?”

Blaine tilted his head, amused. “I thought you said you missed them.”

“I did,” Kurt said, carefully. “I do. But I had hoped--” He wanted to say that he hoped the night could be just for them. But he held back that thought. If he and Blaine weren’t there yet - they weren’t there yet. If he’d just calm down a little, maybe they would be. “I do miss them - but do I need to be involved in everything? I know way too much about Finn and Rachel’s love life. I know way too much about everyone’s love life. I mean Mike and Tina. Artie and Brittany. And I don’t even want to understand whatever the hell Brittany and Santana have got going. And then Quinn - is she my friend? Is she an acquaintance? What even is going on? And while, a year ago, I couldn’t even imagine having an actual friend group to complain about, now it feels like…”

“Too much?” Blaine offered.

“Yeah.” Kurt let out a sigh, taking a sip of his drink.

“I mean, I get it,” Blaine said. “The Warblers - they’re family, you know? But I don’t need to hear David’s running commentary on how hot the new French teacher is, or be involved in David and Thad’s long standing feud over jacket piping or see every one of Trent’s weird rashes.”

“Yes, oh my god, he showed me one the other day that somehow looked like Italy? How does that even happen?”

“It’s Trent - he probably willed it to be that way.”

They both doubled over laughing.

“You know, we don’t have to go back down there,” Blaine said. He began to undo his blazar, opening it up and taking it off. Something shifted in the atmosphere, and Kurt felt just a bit warmer than before as he watched. Blaine didn’t seem to mind, smiling knowingly as he shrugged it all the way off. He loosened his tie, eventually taking it all the way off. What was happening?? “We could just stay here and talk if it’d make you feel better.”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, breathlessly. “We could just talk.”

Blaine’s hazel eyes shone brightly in the low light of his room. He curled up eagerly on Kurt’s bed, being mindful enough to keep his shoes off the comforter. There was a boy - on his bed - stretching out and making himself comfortable. Not just a boy. Blaine. Oh god, oh god, oh god. He wanted Blaine so badly it almost hurt. But again, he restrained.

“What would you like to talk about?” Blaine asked.

Kurt thought it over for a long moment. “Okay, can we start with how Gremlins is so not a Christmas movie?”

“Right?”

“Right!”

Maybe his night was perfect after all. Maybe for once the universe was on his side. Somewhere, downstairs, there was a loud crash, followed by some unintelligible screaming. Oh god was his dad going to be pissed when he got home. So maybe an imperfectly perfect night.

#klaine advent 2022 #s.o. writes things #glee fic #klaine fic #yes i'm sorry i'm incapable of writing short things

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forabeatofadrum · 11 months

Text

Ljubim te (24/24) - complete

Notes: And here we are, almost 7 months late! The Klaine Advent 2022 is complete! Time for cheese 🧀!

AO3 | S&C

–

BURST

“I love you.”

Blaine’s looking at Kurt with a shocked look on his face. Kurt, on the other hand, isn’t surprised.

“I know,” he says back and Blaine relaxes, “I love you too.”

It’s been known for weeks. They even loved each other before they started dating, but it’s the first time they’ve said it out loud. Kurt knows it is a big deal for Blaine to say it, though.

“I love you, I love you,” Blaine repeats with a smile and Kurt can’t help but giggle. It’s adorable how Blaine just revels in the fact that he can say that he wholeheartedly loves Kurt.

“And I love you too!”

“Now go,” Blaine basically pushes Kurt away, which is fine. Kurt needs to get ready for the first performance. Blaine, Tadeja, Sunil and some people Kurt’s met during classes and during Metelkova parties are in the audience. Blaine is also making a lot of photos to send to Kurt’s family and friends back home.

Kurt knows that he doesn’t have the biggest part in Ulica, but he’s worked hard on it and he’s proud.

Later, after the show, it’s a whirlwind of people. Everyone comes to congratulate Kurt. It is exhilarating. He knows his time at the University of Ljubljana isn’t over yet, but this feels like such a final moment. Kurt celebrates with his castmates, crew members and teachers. He answers Tadeja’s questions about the show and Sunil gives him a congratulatory hug as well. Even his dad is here in some way, since he’s calling through FaceTime. Blaine holds the phone with a huge smile.

Kurt also feels amazing every time he watches Blaine and his dad interact. They like each other a lot, which is great. Since Blaine is still semi-closeted, Kurt hasn’t told anyone else back home that he’s dating again, but he’s happy that they told Kurt’s dad.

After a lot of post-show talk and celebration, Kurt and Blaine can finally leave. Kurt reaches for Blaine’s hand and Blaine lets him.

Together, they walk to Blaine’s apartment.

“I love you.”

Kurt kisses Blaine as a response. It’s Pride in Ljubljana and it feels so great to be able to kiss Blaine like this. The queer community has emerged from the shadows and it’s taken over the city.

People cheer and hoot when they see it. It’s freeing. It’s validating. Fuck, Kurt loves Pride and Blaine’s also growing to love it. It’s more low-key compared to Pride in New York, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they’re here.

“I love you too,” Kurt says against Blaine’s lips, because he cannot resist the temptation to say it back, even though he doesn’t have to. Blaine knows Kurt loves him.

Blaine slings his arm around Kurt’s shoulder and they go back to watching the parade. There are so many people here and one of the many beautiful things of Pride is that it showcases the diversity of the community. Kurt and Blaine wave their small rainbow flags to the passing parade. Pride is a party and a protest, and it’s cool that it can be both.

“Thank you, by the way,” Blaine says in Kurt’s ear.

“For what?”

“For showing me this.”

“Oh Blaine, they are hard to miss,” Kurt laughs.

Blaine nods.

“True, but I am not certain I would be standing here if I hadn’t met you. I would probably cower in my apartment.”

It’s weird to think what would’ve happened if Kurt and Blaine hadn’t met, since this life that they have right now is the life they want.

“Well then, you’re welcome,” Kurt says and he squeezes Blaine’s hand on Kurt’s shoulder. Together, they enjoy the rest of the festivities.

“I love you.”

Kurt leans against Blaine. They’re watching the sunset from the Ljubljana castle. Tadeja had recommended it, and she was so right.

“I love you too,” Kurt says back.

He holds Blaine’s hands and together they wait for the sun to go down. The sky is especially beautiful today. It’s cloudy, but the clouds reflect the sunlight so the sky has a red and orange glint to it. Kurt and Blaine are high up, since the castle is situated on a hill, appropriately called Castle Hill.

There’s a lot to see at the Ljubljana Castle, so Kurt and Blaine will definitely come back for more, but right now, sitting on a blanket in the grass, against the castle walls, watching the sun go down is enough.

“I love you!”

It’s become an easy thing to say. Blaine just told Kurt that he loves him because Kurt chose the right flavour of ice cream for him.

“I love you too,” Kurt says as he hands the glass with the ice cream to Blaine.

Blaine was waiting for him outside, together with Tadeja. Kurt and Sunil got the ice cream. The location of VIGÒ is perfect, since they have a view on Prešeren Square.

“Here’s to the end of the academic year,” Sunil raises his glass.

“Cheers!”

“How do you say cheers in Slovene?” Blaine asks Tadeja.

“Na zdravje, which translates to ‘To your health’,” Tadeja answers.

“Na zdravje!” everyone says and Tadeja smiles through the mispronunciations.

“To be fair, we’re eating, so we should be saying-”

“Dober tek!” Kurt cuts in. He knows that one. You can learn it at DA BU DA.

“Correct, but cheers sounds so much more celebratory,” Sunil adds, “And that’s what we’re doing. Kurt and I are celebrating another successful academic year, and Blaine and Tadeja can celebrate a great first year of business.”

It’s true. Blaine’s shook enough hands to make great connections throughout Europe. Kurt knows that Blaine is still a bit bummed that he didn’t get to do more, but it’s a start. Once Blaine leaves, Tadeja will take over and Blaine’s incredibly happy with it, especially since Dejan was also aiming for the job.

Kurt and Sunil have also submitted their final grades to their home institutions. The academic year isn’t officially done yet, since in Ljubljana, the academic calendar goes from October 1st to September 30th, but most internationals try to finish earlier in order to get everything in order..

Therefore, Sunil is right and they can all celebrate.

“To Ljubljana,” Blaine adds to the little celebration, and everyone cheers to that.

“I love you.”

“Well, Blaine, Paris is the city of love,” Kurt says with a laugh.

Kurt still cannot believe that it is so easy to travel to other countries. Blaine convinced Kurt to use the interrail, which means you can visit many big cities in Europe by train. It’s a big and extensive trip, but it is so worth it.

They’re in Paris now. Kurt’s always wanted to see it and he’s happy to have Blaine by his side. As Kurt said, it is the city of love.

“Ljubim te z vsem srcem.”

Kurt was about to take a bite of his pizza slice, but now he gives Blaine a curious but confused look. He knows Blaine just spoke Slovene to him, but the two of them never properly learnt the language. They’ve picked up some words here and there, but Kurt’s not certain that he’s ever even spoken a full sentence in Slovene.

Blaine gives Kurt a knowing look. He likes that he gets to puzzle Kurt.

“Do I get a hint?” Kurt asks.

“I say it all the time in English, kind of,” Blaine says.

“Kind of?”

“I added something,” Blaine says, “Or actually, Tadeja added something. I asked for her help.”

“You did?”

Blaine nods happily.

“I’ve been practising this sentence for a while!”

“And why tell me now?” Kurt asks, fishing for another hint.

“Because this is where we first met,” Blaine says. They’re indeed at Ljubljanski dvor. It’s been a while since they had pizza. Even without Boni, Ljubljana has a lot to offer, so they’ve been going to a lot of other places.

“So, it’s a sentimental saying?” Kurt asks, “Am I warm?”

“Warmer, I think, but also not. I mean, I don’t think it is inherently sentimental. Sentimental means that it’s something from the past.”

“Okay, it’s a current thing?”

Blaine nods. He looks like he’s about to burst into laughter from happiness and that’s when Kurt realises. He feels silly for not realising sooner, but really, he doesn’t know Slovene.

“I love you too,” Kurt says with a smile. This man is ridiculous. “What did you add?”

“It means I love you with all my heart!”

“Yeah?”

“My heart and my brain and my everything!” Blaine says, “I didn’t ask Tadeja for translations for those things.”

“I love you with all my heart, brain and everything too.”

Kurt puts his hand on the small table. Blaine gets the hint and he puts his over Kurt’s. Kurt loves that Blaine is such a cheesy romantic. Blaine’s said before that he didn’t realise it either, but to be fair, he’d never been in love before.

It’s a good thing that Blaine came to Ljubljana.

Studying here is already the best choice of Kurt’s life.

Speaking of the city.

“Did you know that some believe that Ljubljana is named Ljubljana after the Slavic word ljub, which means to love?” Kurt says.

Blaine looks pleasantly surprised.

“Really?”

Kurt nods happily. He found out when he first moved to Ljubljana. Someone at the university mentioned it during a tour of the city. Kurt didn’t really think much of it back then, but he’s always remembered it, because he thought it was cute. He still thinks so.

Kurt really didn’t expect to find love, but he did.

“Fitting, isn’t it?” Kurt says, “How do you say I love you in Slovene again?”

“Ljubim te,” Blaine answers.

“Well, I ljubim te you too!” Kurt says back.

Blaine laughs.

“You know, I don’t think that’s how you say it, but the sentiment is the same.”

It is. This city has given all of them so much and Kurt knows it will always have a little place in his heart. Only a little bit, though, because most of it is reserved for Blaine.

End notes: Hooray! We made it! 🇸🇮

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you guys will have a chance to visit Ljubljana one day. I also want to go back, but alas. In the meantime, let me redirect you to the Slovenian Glossary, which discusses all the places that were mentioned in this fic. Here’s also a masterpost for this fic.

Thank you all for following along, or if you’re reading this after I’ve finished, then hi, hello! Thank you for reading. See you for the next Advent!

#klaineadvent #klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent #klaine #glee #holy fuck I wrote #2023 #multichaptered #klaine advent: burst

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wowbright · 1 year

Text

Fic: Prodding

Klaine Advent 2022: recast

Words: ~ 3000 words

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: Kurt gets surprising news from Mercedes.

I’m back with more vignettes from my Mormon!Klaine universe for Klaine Advent 2022! This vignette takes after Philosophies of Men.

My Mormon!Klaine Masterpost.

--------

“No!” Kurt shrieked from the kitchen at such an ear-splitting volume, Blaine almost cut himself with the razor. “This is not happening!”

Blaine went into emergency management mode. His heart pounded, but he made himself take deep, steady breaths. If Kurt had hurt himself, it wouldn't help to have both of them panicking.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Blaine asked as he rushed into the kitchen. Kurt sat at the table, staring at the letter from Mercedes. Ah, not a physical wound then, but an emotional one. That might be even worse.

Kurt looked up at Blaine, his cheeks flushing a ruddy pink. “Sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud.”

Blaine sat next to him. “It's OK. Is it something you want to talk about?”

“You still have shaving cream …” Kurt pointed vaguely to Blaine’s neck.

“That's OK. I was almost done. If it's uneven, I can touch it up later.” Blaine grabbed the face towel that was draped over his shoulder and dabbed at his skin. “Presentable?”

“I'm not the right person to ask, Blaine. I always think you're presentable.”

Blaine felt the edges of his ears go hot. This felt like flirting. Was this flirting? No, of course not. Kurt was in the middle of having strong emotions. That's why Blaine was here. “Um, so I'm guessing Mercedes said something that upset you?”

Kurt set the letter down and buried his face in his hands. “It shouldn't. I don't know why it does.”

Blaine tried to think of situations in which that phrase could apply. He wondered if Mercedes was having a once-in-a-lifetime event—a wedding, a Broadway premiere—that Kurt couldn't be there for because he was here in Germany. Kurt would deny himself the right to feel sad about it, because missionaries were supposed to be happy to make sacrifices. “So, good for Mercedes, but bad for you?”

“No.” Kurt muttered through his fingers. “Good for me, and bad for Mercedes.”

Blaine drew a blank. "How so?"

“It’s … I swear, if I had any other mission companion than you, I wouldn't be able to share my disappointment with this. And maybe you won't get it, but ... I'll give it a shot.” Kurt had uncovered his face by now, but was looking away from Blaine, his gaze set on the kitchen window. His voice was full of foreboding. “She's meeting with the missionaries.”

Blaine didn't understand the sentence at first, it was so far removed from any of the terrible-type news he might have expected. He had to play it over in his head a couple of times before he processed it. “Wait. That's good, isn't it?”

“She's black, Blaine.”

“Right.” Blaine still wasn’t following.

“You're the one who woke me up to the church's problems with racism. How can I, in good conscience, support her investigating a church that sees her as less?”

Oh. Blaine knew the things he had told Kurt about Brigham Young had shaken him, but he hadn't realized how much. For Blaine, the racism of the second prophet of the restoration was disturbing, but it was part of a larger picture. Because Blaine didn't have blind faith in the leadership, even their worst actions couldn't harm his faith in the goodness of the church or its ability to bring people closer to the truth.

Blaine suddenly understood that, for someone like Kurt, who had spent his whole life thinking Brigham Young was as perfect as Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ, learning he wasn’t would make him question all his beliefs.

It was like those looms Kurt had shown him at the Deutsches Museum. There were ones that made fabric by weaving many different strands together, and others that did so by knitting a single strand into a sweater or an enormous piece of cloth. Blaine’s faith was like woven fabric—if you pulled out a single thread, the worst that could happen was a small gap in the fabric. And this wasn’t always a bad thing—sometimes clothmakers did this intentionally, to create texture and beauty in an otherwise monotonous design.

But Kurt’s faith was like a knitted fabric—if you pulled too hard on a thread, the entire thing would eventually unravel. There was no upside.

Blaine have never meant to damage Kurt’s faith like that. He'd meant to enrich it.

“I'm sorry, Kurt. I didn't realize how much that affected you. But Brigham Young's been dead for more than a hundred and thirty years. He said and taught horrible things and, yes, a lot of our members believed them far after they should have known better. But that doesn't mean the church is inherently racist—just that it’s made mistakes. Our leaders have flaws. That’s why we have the guidance of the Holy Ghost—to confirm or disaffirm the things they’ve told us.”

Kurt looked skeptical. He broke a cookie into quarters, but didn't put any of the pieces into his mouth. “It’s not just Brigham Young. Black members were kept out of the temple until 1978. The temple, Blaine. The place we need to go to be with our families forever.”

“And that's awful. But I think of those leaders before 1978 the same way I think of Brigham Young. They were wrong. And the thing I hold onto is that they eventually came to understand they were wrong, and they repented. Do you know about Bruce R. McConkie? As an apostle, he taught that black people were spiritually inferior to everyone else on earth. But when the revelation came ending the priesthood ban, he said, ‘Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young … or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. … We have … a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don’t matter anymore.’”

“But they do matter, Blaine. Because those policies hurt real people. And racism is still a problem in the church. All these pasty missionaries from the Mormon Corridor who want to pretend they can't see color, the fact that we can't sing gospel music in sacrament meeting because it’s too ‘ethnic’—”

“Yes. And that’s bad. Of course it’s bad. But it’s a problem everywhere, Kurt, inside the church and out of it.” Blaine spoke from experience. He'd been made to feel inferior for not being one-hundred percent white by some church members, but he'd also been made fun of for it at school and in playgrounds, too.

Kurt scoffed. “Not in Mercedes’ church! Everyone there is black. At least, almost everyone. The first time I went there with Mercedes, after I got over feeling out of place, I started noticing how comfortable she felt there. Just—safe, you know? In a way I hadn’t seen anywhere else. She wouldn't get that at one of our wards. She'd be surrounded by white people, just like she is everywhere else.”

Blaine was struck with a sense of longing. He wondered what it would be like, to be in a place like that. He often passed as white, but that still didn't mean he felt one-hundred percent safe in groups of white people. There was always the risk, even among the seemingly nicest folks, that someone would start making ethnic jokes or ranting about immigrants. And while he didn't have to worry about that as much when he visited the Philippines, there were so many cultural nuances he didn't understand, besides the fact that his Tagalog was terrible and his English was so obviously American-accented. It left him feeling like he did much of the time in his early days in Germany, on constant alert.

If a sense of belonging was so hard to come by, it couldn't be the only thing you considered in choosing a church. “Look. If she feels a pull toward the gospel, then she feels a pull toward the gospel. I've been a minority in every ward I’ve ever attended. But the church still works for me. What did she say in her letter about it, anyway?”

Kurt looked down at the letter and huffed. “Not much. Just ‘In Chicago for an entire month! Met a pair of female missionaries on the L train and have talked a couple times. They gave me a Book of Mormon—sorry, Kurt I didn't bring the one you gave me in high school on tour with me.’ Then she put in a smiley face. ‘It’s interesting. I like the story about the tree of life. We should talk about it when you get back! We’ll be in Columbus…’ et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”

“OK. Well, that doesn't sound like she's on the verge of converting. Maybe she's just bored. I understand those national theater tours can be grueling.”

Kurt scowled at his scuffed CTR ring, twisting it back and forth over his finger. “I don't even know if that's what I'm upset about. Maybe I'm just angry at myself. You know how much time I spent trying to convert her in high school? Because I thought this church was the best option for everyone. And because she was the only girl I could remotely see myself marrying, and if that was the case, she had to convert. I wasn't going to go through the sacrifice of marrying a woman unless it was a temple marriage. Which, honestly … how many lectures did we get in priesthood quorums about not objectifying the sisters? But isn't looking at a woman as a ticket into heaven objectifying, too? I never considered her feelings about it. If it was good for me, it was good for her. But now, thinking about her reading the Book of Mormon and reading some of the stuff in there—It makes me feel queasy, Blaine.”

Blaine thought he knew what “stuff” Kurt was alluding to. “You mean about the Lamanites been cursed with the skin of blackness? If she's talking to the missionaries, they'll explain it to her the same way we explain it to investigators. That it’s a metaphor, like when we say someone is having ‘dark thoughts.’”

“Do you really believe that, though? Because if Brigham Young was a racist, then maybe Joseph Smith was, too. Maybe he put some of his own opinions into the Book of Mormon.”

“No. First of all, Joseph Smith wasn't a racist. He ordained black men. Second of all, God’s not a racist, so the Book of Mormon can’t be racist, either. It’s the one that tells us God ‘denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male female.’ Even the Bible doesn’t say that.”

Kurt studied Blaine dubiously, then picked up one of the long-abandoned pieces of cookie he'd left on his plate and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it completely before speaking. “I just can't stop thinking about when Elder St. James told me about the doubts Elder Thompson was having. It wasn’t just vague, generic doubts. Elder St. James went through this whole list of specific passages in the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price that Elder Thompson said were racist. And I've been reading over them since and … Blaine. If I take my believer goggles off, if I really look at the passages and take what they say at face value, without trying to find a reason they can't be as bad as they sound—they really do sound racist. I mean, the ‘skin of blackness’ passage sounds even more literal in German. In English, it says ‘because of their iniquity … the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them,’ which—I mean, now when I read it? Interpreting that as dark thoughts seems like a real stretch. I've heard the theory that ‘come upon’ means the same as ‘drape upon, and so ‘skin’ actually refers to ‘clothing’, and it all means that they were no longer allowed to wear the white temple clothes and were forced to dress in black once instead. But in German, it says ‘their skin became black.’ There's none of that idea of being clothed in something. And the German translation is approved by the brethren. So the whole idea of ‘skin of blackness’ being about clothes goes out the window.”

Blaine felt a little queasy. He grabbed one of the German Books of Mormon from the bookshelf and flipped open to 2 Nephi 5. “No, Kurt, that's wrong. It says ‘their skin became blackish.’”

Kurt sat back in his chair, his arms crossed. His mouth was closed, but Blaine could see his tongue moving under his cheeks and lips, probing his teeth. “And how is that any better?”

“Well, schwärzlich could also mean darkish instead of blackish, so maybe it just means their skin got dirty or … OK, it doesn't sound better. But it could still be a metaphor. Joseph Smith was translating from Reformed Hebrew. All languages have idioms that don't translate well. Maybe this is one of them.”

"Sure, maybe. Except that it keeps getting repeated over and over in the book of Mormon. Not just Nephi, but Jacob in Alma talk about good people’s skin being white and bad people’s skin being dark, and if skin means clothes in Reformed Hebrew, then why didn't Joseph Smith translate it that way? Or if it means countenance or spirit, then why doesn't Joseph Smith translate it like that?”

Kurt stood up from the table and began pacing, fidgeting with his CTR ring the whole time. Blaine hoped the jeweler would be done with his new ring soon. It would be much easier to fidget with. “When you or I translate the word ‘in’ from English into German," Kurt continued, "we pick a different word depending on the context. Sometimes it’s in, and sometimes it's im, an, auf, hinein, or unter. Der Hahn can be a rooster or a faucet, but if you're talking about a sink, you should translate it is faucet, not rooster. If Joseph Smith had the gift of translation, then he should have been able to translate things correctly. So either what was written on the golden plates was racist, or Joseph Smith translated it badly and in a way he knew would be interpreted as racist, because he was an American living in the 1830s. Which means he wasn't using his gift of translation to its full extent. Because I'm not gifted, Blaine, but I know that if a German says, ‘My grandparents live where the fox and hare say goodnight to one another,’ I can't translate it that way into English or nobody will understand what I'm saying. I have to say that their grandparents live in the middle of nowhere.”

It was a lot to take in. Blaine was all for Kurt questioning things. He'd been trying to get Kurt to do that for most of their time together, prodding Kurt to recast the beliefs that constrained him into ones that would lead to his liberation. But now, instead of Blaine being the one doing the prodding, it was Kurt. Blaine wasn't so comfortable being poked.

Maybe he could chide Kurt for spending his personal scripture study time scrutinizing passages that gave him doubts, instead of focusing on things that would help them with investigators. But that would be hypocritical, since Blaine had been spending his personal study time fawning over Song of Solomon and anything in scripture vaguely resembling a gay love story—not particularly useful for helping with investigators, either.

“Fine,” Blaine said defensively. “Maybe those passages really are racist. But that would still be a matter of men inserting their beliefs in place of God's teaching. Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon was the most correct book of any book on earth, not that it was perfect. And yes, Brigham Young was a racist and tons of our leaders have been racists. It was racism that kept the church from letting black members into the temple until 1978. And there are still people in the church like my granddad who lean on those false teachings, and people in the church who are well-meaning but insensitive, and maybe the leaders could do more to denounce teachings of the past.”

Blaine took a deep breath, gathering up the courage to prod back. “But I still don't understand why you think all these things make the church an unacceptable place for Mercedes. Because you’ve found a home here, despite all the terrible things the leaders have said about gay people, despite the cruel expectations they put on you. And I'm not saying you shouldn't be concerned about racism. What I don't understand is why the church’s racism is so bad that Mercedes shouldn't even be taking lessons with the missionaries, but the homophobia is so hunky-dory you can give your whole life to the church, no questions asked.”

Kurt stopped pacing. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. “That's different. Being gay is …” Kurt drifted off.

“A sin?” Blaine asked, even though it raised his bile just to speak the words. He didn't know if he was gay, but he knew what it was like to love another man. And it was the opposite of sin.

“No. Being gay isn't a sin.”

“But thinking gay thoughts is?”

Kurt shook his head. “I don't know. I don't think so.”

“Doing gay things?”

Kurt sank back into his chair and contemplated the surface of the table. “Maybe? I'm not sure. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I would've said ‘definitely.’ But if the church can be wrong about other things ... I don't know.”

“So,” Blaine said gently, “is it different at all?”

#klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent: recast #wowbright writes fic #mormon!klaine #klaine fanfiction #racism #homophobia #Long discussions about scriptural minutiae #And probably some typos #I still need to do the last valentines one #Also yes I know you can take prodding as a double entendre but I'm using it as the title anyway #Blaine may not like to be poked in this way but he sure like to be poked in some other ways

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klaineadvent · 6 months

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Klaine December Fanworks Challenge!

Hey Everyone!!

Polls have been tallied, the people have spoken, and everyone wants some December Klaine action!

So this year we'll be launching the

December Klaine Fanworks Challenge!!

What does this mean?

DAILY PROMPTS

There will be daily prompts beginning December 1 and ending December 21. Hopefully this will give everyone who wants a daily prompt plenty of opportunity for that, but also give participants time to complete the challenge and still have time for whatever holiday celebrations come their way. These daily prompts are not themed in any way and come from a random word generator I found online.

WEEKLY PROMPTS

The weekly themed option was a popular choice, so we're going to try it out! The theme for this year will be Christmas Songs, and each Friday for four weeks there will be a post featuring a Christmas song with a sampling of lyrics from that song to inspire you to be naughty or nice.

Write either or both! Mix and match! Whatever works for you! Not a writer? Fanart is very welcome!!

We'll be joining forces with the @todaydreambelieversfic blog to boost the fanworks, and will let you know what you can do to help in the coming days!

Also, for now we're going to keep this challenge on the Klaine Advent blog (brought to you by Klaine Advent, as it were). Hopefully this won't be too confusing...

Look for a post on Thursday with more details but please reach out with any questions before then and we'll try to get them answered.

And very special thanks to @caramelcoffeeaddict who is working up all of the artwork and came up with the brand new name for the challenge!!

#december klaine fanworks challenge #dkfwc #klaine advent 2023

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gleekto · 1 year

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Klaine Advent 2022: Chemistry Sucks (10/?)

Blaine finds Kurt square and irritating.

Yet at a party one night, they promise to sleep together if they don’t have other opportunities by the end of the year. A dare. Naturally competitive spirits.

Day 1, Day 2,Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9

Chemistry Sucks (Day 10: Overt)

Blaine can't believe that he finally makes it to the gay youth group - that they finally make it to the gay youth group - and that Kurt is the one who gets pursued. Very overtly.

"So Kurt, he's with you?" Matteo asks Blaine within ten minutes of their arrival when Kurt goes to grab a soda. Blaine stares at him blankly.

"We came together, if that's what you mean."

"No, I mean is he off limits?" Blaine looks at this guy for a moment - curly blonde hair, athletic build, friendly. Apparently outgoing and here for a reason.

"No? I mean we're friends but we're not together. So I mean," Blaine can't believe that he's going to be the one to set Kurt up with the guy who will end their bet. "Go ahead."

"Oh. Oh good. Because I thought maybe there was something - But anyways. That's great. Kurt is cute."

"Kurt is hot. And smart too." Blaine doesn't know why he feels like he has to defend him. This guy is obviously interested. And not bad looking himself. He's taller than Blaine, that's for sure. He's taller than Kurt, actually.

"Yeah, I mean. That's what I meant. But could I ask you a favor then?" Blaine looks at him strangely wondering if he will ever leave. "I"m kind of shy," Yes, buddy. Sure seems like it. "Would you mind-"

"Look, Kurt is my friend but I'm not getting involved in any of this-" He gestures between Matteo and Kurt over at the soda table.

"Will you give me his number then?" Blaine just really wants this conversation to end.

"Sure fine." He sends Matteo Kurt's number as quickly as he can before turning back to Kurt. "I'm just going to grab a drink too."

"Got one for you." Kurt hands him a Sprite before he has a chance to order one himself. That's what he would get anyways, which of course Kurt knew.

"Oh thanks."

"Why do you look like you've been caught with your hands in the cookie jar?" Kurt looks around and sees a curly haired guy holding his phone and smiling widely at him when his phone buzzes.

"Who is...Thinks I'm cute. Matteo? How did he-"

"He just kept asking me about you so I gave him your number," Blaine confesses. "And yes, that's him over there with the dimples." Kurt looks over and then quickly away.

"Blaine, why would you give him my number?" Kurt is obviously irritated when they both hear his phone buzz again.

M: Blaine gave me your number. Said you two weren't together?

Kurt turns to him, seemingly seething. "Well at least that's true," Kurt folds his arms in front of him.

"Honestly I was just trying to get him to stop asking me about you. And maybe I shouldn't have given him the number so quickly but he is cute. And he's your ticket out of our bet, right? And I know you love to win."

Kurt huffs. "I do love to win. But," Kurt looks over at Matteo as neutrally as possible and then back to Blaine. "He's cute. But he's not my type."

"Oh aren't you the one for snap judgments. He's good looking, Kurt. Looks pretty athletic," Blaine's not sure why he's pushing it but he feels like he has to be the good friend here.

"Guess I"m not really the sports-type then," Kurt shrugs. "You know, I'm a glee club guy." Blaine wills himself to suppress the small note of smug satisfaction he has at hearing that. They are not together and they are in fact here for this. They're rivals really. "Look what you've done," Kurt shakes his head over and over. "Now what do I say back?"

"I don't know. Thanks?"

Kurt starts typing and holds up his phone discreetly so Blaine can see.

K: Hey. Well Blaine told you the truth. We aren't together. But I do like him so unfortunately sort of off the market right now. Nice to meet you though :)

"Oh my god, Kurt."

"You got me into this mess. So you will get me out of it," Kurt says intently before hitting send. "I told you I don't settle for second best."

In the end, Blaine thinks they both had a good time. They had managed to both go over to Matteo - as friends - and turns out he goes to Carmel High. And there were a few other guys who were friendly and wanted to check out the all ages night at Scandals over the summer. Blaine would be in New York by then, but still, they all exchanged socials. It's nice to know Kurt won't be alone next year. Blaine obviously isn't taking this whole rivalry with Kurt thing seriously enough, though, because he only experienced the smallest twinge of jealousy that Kurt is the one who got noticed tonight. And he isn't even sure who he was jealous of but he is definitely trying not to think about that.

As he's climbing into bed, his phone buzzes. Kurt again? He just dropped him off. He smiles as he picks up his phone. But it's not Kurt.

Rich: Hi Blaine. It's Rich from the group. Wondering if you'd like to hang out some time?

Ha! No reason to be jealous at all. He did get noticed after all. He immediately shifts the text bubble to Kurt.

B: You'll never guess who just texted me.

K: Rich?

B: What! How did you know?

K: Because he was staring at you all night. And made up that let's all exchange numbers things so he'd have your number.

B: That was so we could meet up in the summer.

K: Mmmhmmm. So when are you meeting up?

Blaine actually hadn't thought about that part.

B: Actually, I don't think we are. Didn't feel the chemistry, you know? Guess he isn't my type.

He closes his phone.

#klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent: overt #gleekto writes #chemistry sucks

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