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forabeatofadrum · 1 year ago

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A beautiful day in the neighbourhood

Summary: Kurt goes home to Lima for the holidays. There, he meets his parents' new neighbours, the Andersons. Kurt specifically is drawn to their youngest son, Blaine.

Notes: Hello everyone! This is my Klaine Secret Santa gift for @twinkkurt! I was a bit nervous when I got your username, because I love your art so much and I, uh, wanted to impress you. I hope you like it. I really liked writing it.

An additional thanks to Beth @quizasvivamos, who helped with brainstorming the title.

Happy reading!

AO3 | S&C

Kurt’s staring out of the window of his parents’ house with a wistful smile on his face.

He loves New York with his whole heart, but he has to admit that Lima has its charm. Back when he was a teen, he never thought he’d think this way.

Maybe now that he no longer lives here, he’s able to look at it in a different way. It’s nice to be here, with the knowledge that he’ll eventually go back home. Besides, New York is too loud and eccentric and a part of Kurt thrives because of it, but another part of him has learnt to appreciate this quieter atmosphere of Lima.

Oh, and it helps that Kurt never has to run into anyone from high school ever again. All his closest Glee club friends have left Lima as well, so he has no reason to seek out anyone who might recognise him from school. No longer being a high schooler is definitely the biggest perk of living in New York. High school was the main reason he couldn’t ever appreciate the quiet life here, because his life was never quiet. He could never appreciate the small tight-knit community feel, because he didn’t feel like he was welcomed into it.

But now he’s an adult who only comes back to Lima every now and then to see family and friends who are also visiting.

Kurt sighs as he watches a neighbour walk his dog. The neighbour sees him staring and smiles and waves. This truly is different from the rapid pace of the big city. His neighbour in New York barely gives him the time of day and she’s moving out within a few days. Kurt will not miss her. This man, on the other hand, has already shown Kurt more kindness in these few seconds than the other neighbour has in years.

Also, Kurt’s never seen this man in his life. He certainly doesn’t remember him.

“That’s Mr. Anderson,” Kurt hears.

He looks over his shoulder. His dad is sat on the sofa with a book open on his lap, but he also noticed Mr. Anderson walking past the house.

“Is he new in the neighbourhood?” Kurt asks.

His dad nods.

“Yes, he and his wife moved here a couple of weeks ago from Westerville. Apparently they had been planning on moving to a smaller house ever since their youngest son moved out.”

“And they moved to a random suburb in Lima, of all places?” Kurt asks, bemused.

His dad barks out a laugh.

“I know it’s hard to believe for a big city lover, but people still willingly move to the Midwest,” his dad says with a jokey tone.

Kurt moves away from the window and forgets about Mr. Anderson. Instead, he cosies up against his dad and he watches a rerun of Drag Race. His dad keeps reading, since he’s not bothered by the noise. Carole later comes into the living room and when she sees Drag Race is on, she eagerly joins Kurt.

This is what Kurt loves about Lima.

This is what he misses the most when he’s in New York.

This is also one of the moments he misses his brother, but he doesn’t want to bring it up when Carole is trash-talking the judging section. Besides, Kurt’s pretty certain she misses him too at this moment. It goes unsaid.

He and Carole watch three episodes in a row when the doorbell rings. It’s the delivery of groceries. Kurt’s dad gives the delivery person a huge tip to celebrate the holidays and the three of them put them away while chatting about the holiday plans. Tomorrow, some extended family members are coming over for Christmas and Kurt and Carole are going to cook a grand meal for everyone, while Kurt’s dad is going to set up a makeshift bar.

Everyone is going to be perfect.

Hopefully.

But when Kurt and his family are finished putting away the groceries, Kurt realises that they’re missing an ingredient.

“Rosemary! Carole, we are missing the rosemary!” Kurt exclaims. He checks the receipt again, but it really isn’t on it. Which is good, because then they also didn’t pay for it, but they need the rosemary.

Carole realises she forgot to order it, which can happen, but now Kurt’s fucked.

“Calm down, Kurt,” his dad says, “I will drive to the store tomorrow morning before the guests arrive.”

“I appreciate it, dad,” Kurt pouts, “But Carole and I need to start now, because it needs to be in the fridge overnight!”

“Ah. That’s… a problem,” his dad admits.

But then Carole lets out a small gasp.

“Wait a second! Burt, doesn’t Pam have a little herb garden?”

Kurt’s dad thinks it over.

“Yes, she does,” he answers, “But it’s winter, Carole.”

“But she might have some that she’s harvested earlier in the year,” Carole points out, “And Pam is a more experienced gardener. If there’s a way to keep rosemary alive in winter, then she’d know it!”

“Oh, you have a point there. Can we ask if she has some to spare?”

“I think we can just ask her. She wouldn’t mind,” Carole continues, “Kurt can go, because he knows how much we need. He found the recipe on the internet!”

“Brilliant,” his dad says, “Great plan, Carole.”

“That’s why you’re married to me,” Carole jokes.

Kurt waves his arms to get his parents’ attention.

“Hi, hello,” he says, “I love this idea. Who’s Pam?”

“Pam Anderson, the new neighbour,” Carole answers.

“Mr. Anderson’s wife,” his dad adds for clarification.

“On it,” Kurt says.

Carole tells Kurt that the Andersons moved into the house left of theirs, which delights Kurt, since he never really liked Ms. Johnson and her weird grandson anyway. He grabs his coat, since it’s very cold outside, and tells his dad and Carole that he’d be back soon.

The Andersons have a festive wreath on their front door and it makes Kurt smiles. He rings the bell and waits for Mr. Anderson or his wife to open the door. He can already hear the dog bark and his smile widens.

The door opens and Kurt’s ready to introduce himself and ask if Pam is around, but when he sees the man who’s opened the door, he’s rendered speechless. It’s not Mr. Anderson, but it’s another man. He must be around Kurt’s age and he’s dressed in a cozy sweater with a cute checkered bowtie to top it all off.

Kurt’s dad mentioned that the Andersons have a son and this must be him. Kurt assumes he’s also visiting family for the holidays.

“Uh, hello?” the son asks after a short silence. He looks a bit confused and Kurt realises he’s standing on this porch in complete silence, staring at him.

Right. Not a great first impression.

Kurt quickly composes himself.

“Hi, uh, my name is Kurt,” he says and he mentally high-fives himself for being able to sound coherent, “My parents live next door. The Hummel-Hudsons.”

A look of understanding crosses the man’s face. Now Kurt is no longer a random person that came out of nowhere. That’s progress.

“Anyway, my stepmother said that your, uh, mother might have some spare rosemary? We don’t have any and we really need it for the recipe that we’re trying out.”

The man steps aside so that Kurt can come inside.

“Come on in, it’s too cold to wait outside.”

“Thanks.”

Kurt follows the man to the living room where he’s greeted by an enthusiastic dog. There are three other adults. Kurt recognises Mr. Anderson, but there’s also a woman, presumably Pam, and another man who looks slightly older than the son. The son and Kurt explain the situation and, as Carole predicted, Pam is eager to help out.

“Oh, I need to go outside to harvest some,” Pam says.

“If it’s too much of a hassle-”

“Nonsense,” Pam cuts him off, “I’ll be back in a jiffy. Blaine, can you find my easy shoes?”

“They’re probably still at the back door where you left them, iná,” the son, who’s apparently named Blaine, says.

“Smartass,” Pam jokes.

Kurt tells Pam how much he and Carole need and Pam goes outside. Kurt’s standing awkwardly in this family’s living room, but luckily, the dog takes an interest in him, so Kurt has something to do.

“You like pets?” he says while petting the huge Bernese mountain dog.

“Oh, she adores them,” Blaine says.

“Who’s a good girl?” Kurt coos.

“Well, she wasn’t a good girl earlier today when she made me walk five extra blocks,” the still unnamed man says, “She’s strong and doesn’t listen when she doesn’t want to.”

“She got that from you then, Cooper,” Mr. Anderson teases.

“Dad!”

Kurt smiles. He likes this family. He can see they all treat each other kindly and that they are close, the same way his family works. Pam comes back with a handful of rosemary for Kurt and he thanks her profusely.

“No biggie,” she says, “Happy holidays.”

Blaine walks Kurt towards the door and they don’t say much, which is fine by Kurt, because then he has less opportunity to embarrass himself. He hopes he isn’t red in the face and if he is, then hopefully Blaine will think it’s because of the cold.

“Thanks again,” Kurt says and leaves.

Once he’s back in his own kitchen, he hands the herbs to Carole, who’s delighted. She’d already started meal prepping.

“Did you know that Mr. and Mrs. Anderson’s sons are visiting?” Kurt asks.

“Oh, no I wasn’t aware.”

“Me neither.”

“Have you met him- them before?”

“Only Cooper, the eldest,” his dad answers, “He helped his parents move in. The youngest couldn’t make it because of his studies. Cooper is… interesting.”

He and Carole share a private smile and Kurt needs to remind himself to ask about that later, but now he has a more pressing matter.

“And the youngest?”

Carole shrugs.

“Pam says he barely has time to visit, which everyone dislikes, but we get it.”

Kurt also gets it. He wishes he could be here with family more often.

“I did hear that he lives in New York as well!” Kurt’s dad says. Now, that is interesting. “Cooper lives in LA, and Blaine lives in New York. I mean, he’s called Blaine, right?”

He directs that last question to Carole, but Kurt answers it.

“Yeah, he’s named Blaine. I just met him.”

“Oh lovely,” Carole says, “What are the odds? Maybe you two can meet up in New York.”

“… I barely know him, Carole,” Kurt says quietly.

“So?” Carole says back, “Nowadays, people your age meet each other online. I don’t think that barely knowing anyone is a barrier these days.”

“She has a point,” Kurt’s dad adds.

“Alright. Alright,” Kurt says.

The truth is that it sounds nice to get to know Blaine a bit more. Kurt’s not stupid. He understands that he finds Blaine cute. It’s been a while since he met a guy who immediately renders him speechless, but Kurt also knows from experiences that looks aren’t everything. He’s here in Lima to see him family, not to jump on the neighbours’ son.

He and Carole continue their meal prepping and the conversation moves away from Blaine.

The next day is filled with joy. Kurt barely has time to see his dad and Carole, so he definitely doesn’t have time to see his extended family.

Everyone likes what he and Carole prepared and Carole points out that everyone should thank Pam as well.

After dinner, Kurt’s aunts prepare the desert and Kurt’s younger cousins beg him to go outside with them.

“Come on, it’s snowing!”

Kurt has to admit that snow also is more enjoyable here than in New York, because in New York, snow feels more like a nuisance blocking Kurt’s way. He’s constantly busy, getting from one place to the other. Here, Kurt has no reason to leave the neighbourhood today. They all go outside to make snow angels and what not.

Suddenly, Kurt hears a somewhat familiar voice.

“See, Squirt, people in this neighbourhood know where it’s at!”

Kurt follows the sound of the voice. Cooper is standing in the doorway of his parents’ house, decked out in winter clothes. Kurt can see Blaine behind Cooper and he’s shivering. He’s talking to Cooper, but he’s too far away for Kurt to understand.

“Coop, close the door,” Kurt can make out at one point.

Cooper says something back before going outside and closing the door behind him. Then he waves at Kurt.

“Hi, merry Christmas, forgive my stupid brother,” Cooper says loudly, probably so that Blaine can also hear it, “He’s a New Yorker, so he doesn’t appreciate snow enough. But I barely see this white goodness in my life, so I am out and about!”

“Tell your brother that I am also a New Yorker so he has no reason to stay inside,” Kurt jokes and Cooper’s eyes widen.

“Great idea!” he says and immediately goes back to the house.

Kurt and his cousins watch how Cooper’s locked out and how he’s demanding Blaine to let him in.

“Who is he?” one of Kurt’s cousins ask.

“Son of the new neighbours,” Kurt answers.

“Is he also coming out to play?”

“I think so.”

“Cool.”

Cooper manages to get in and five minutes later, he and Blaine come outside. Cooper immediately bonds with Kurt’s younger cousins. Blaine stands aside and Kurt takes a deep breath. He can be sociable. He’s a kind neighbour!

“Hey,” he says casually.

“Hi.”

“Not the biggest fan of snow, I hear?”

Blaine shrugs.

“I am, actually, but I just don’t feel like hanging out with my brother in the snow.”

“Why is that?” Kurt looks at Cooper, who’s started building a snow hut with Kurt’s cousins.

“He’s cool, pun intended, with other people, but ever since we were little he’d be kind of an ass. He’d try to put snow down my back, for example,” Blaine explains.

Kurt winces. That is kind of a dick move.

But at least he still has a brother. And even though Blaine sounds genuinely irritated, Kurt understands that Blaine doesn’t actually hate Cooper for the snow thing. After all, Blaine still could’ve stayed inside.

“You did come out here,” Kurt points out.

“I kind of have you to blame for that,” Blaine teases.

“Oh?”

“Cooper said you’re from New York. I had been using my New York status against him.”

Kurt laughs.

“Oh, don’t get me started on snow in New York.”

“Pffff, yeah,” Blaine says, “Good thing the subway is underground, but getting there, trudging through a thick layer of snow? Hell.”

“Hah, yes!” Kurt says and they fall into a comfortable silence. They watch everyone else have fun, and Kurt has an idea. He bends down to make a little snowball and shows it to Blaine.

Blaine raises an eyebrow.

“Now that your brother is occupied with keeping my cousins busy… are you in for a snowball fight?”

Blaine has an amused look on his face.

“You know what. Why not?”

Kurt’s aunts asked everyone to come inside, since dinner is ready. Kurt and his cousins are huddled together around the table, getting warm again. Everyone had a lot of fun and time flew by. Kurt didn’t even realise that his aunts were asking him to come in, since he was running around like a madman, trying to hit Blaine with his massive snowball.

And now Kurt’s enjoying his desert, but he’s still thinking about Blaine. It was really fun, so maybe Carole is right. Maybe he can ask if Blaine wants to meet up in New York.

What’s the worst that can happen? Blaine can say no.

Okay, that thought is terrifying.

But he can also say yes.

Kurt doesn’t actually talk to Blaine the day after. He only sees him in the morning, when Blaine passes the window. It’s his turn to walk the dog. Kurt and Blaine wave at each other, but that’s it.

In the afternoon, Cooper walks the dog and in the evening, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson take him out. Kurt’s almost sad when he doesn’t get the chance to wave at Blaine.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are out of sight and Kurt lets out a pathetic, sad sigh.

“Dear lord, just ring the bell already!” his dad says.

“What do you mean?” Kurt feigns ignorance, but he’s not surprised that his dad sees right through it. His dad has always known him the best.

“Don’t think I missed the smitten look on your face, kiddo,” his dad laughs, “Your thoughts were elsewhere. And your cousins mentioned that you and Blaine seemed to hit it off.”

“He is really nice,” Kurt admits.

His dad hums.

“And handsome.”

His dad hums again.

“And he lives in New York.”

“He does!”

Kurt looks outside again, because for a split second he stupidly believes he is in some Hallmark movie where Blaine appears outside his window to express his adoration.

There’s no one, obviously. He and Blaine have only known each other for a short time.

But as his dad and Carole point out, this doesn’t have to be the end of it. Kurt goes home to New York just before New Year’s and then he might meet up with Blaine and get to know him better.

Then Kurt thinks: Fuck it, he deserves a cute holiday romance.

“You know what, dad? I will go see him tomorrow.”

“Wonderful!” his dad says, and he’s so genuinely happy for Kurt, it makes Kurt’s heart swell.

“Burt says you’re going to ask Blaine from next door out on a date,” Carole says during breakfast and Kurt almost spits out his food.

“Dad!”

“What?” his dad asks, not bothered at all.

“I didn’t say that,” Kurt quickly says, “I said I am going to ask if he wants to meet up once we’re back in New York.”

“With the intention of dating him.”

“With the intention of getting to know him,” Kurt corrects, although he mentally adds ‘and potentially date him later’, but his dad doesn’t have to know that yet, although as usual, his dad knows better.

“You can get to know him on a date,” Carole says, feigning innocence.

“Oh my god,” Kurt hides his head in his hands.

“Don’t mind us, Kurt,” his dad sounds amused, “Or, don’t mind Carole. I don’t want to invade your privacy. You do what you want to do.”

“Hey!” Carole says back.

“Oh my God,” Kurt repeats, with his head still in his hands, but he can feel the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

He acts embarrassed, and maybe he is a little bit, but he’s also glad to have such a supportive family.

They really want him to be happy. Kurt knows so many people who don’t have it as good as him, so he’s not taking this for granted.

If Finn were still around, he’d volunteer to be Kurt’s personal wingman instantly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll keep you guys up to date,” Kurt relents, “I plan on seeing him later today.”

Kurt smells the opportunity for a little fashion moment, so he needs to make use of that. Most of his wardrobe is still in New York, but he likes to dress for the occasion, and asking his neighbours’ son to hang out is definitely a big one.

The conversation shifts to other topics, like his dad’s garage or Carole’s latest interest in diamond painting, and they finish their breakfast. Kurt helps out with the cleaning up and then it’s time to go up to his room to rummage through his limited wardrobe.

He’s going through his closet when the doorbell rings. Kurt doesn’t pay attention to it, because he can hear his dad moving around to open it, but his interested is piqued when his dad says it’s for him.

Kurt hastily puts on some clothes, since he was a bit undressed because he was trying on outfits, and he goes downstairs.

He stops halfway on the staircase when he sees Blaine in the hallway.

“Hey,” Blaine says.

“Hey?” Kurt says, unable to hide his confusion.

Oh, he also looks terrible. He picked the worst combination of clothes in his rush to get down.

Of course this happens to him when Blaine’s at the door. And don’t even mention his hair. It’s a monstrosity! Of course Blaine looks prim and proper.

“I’ll leave you two at it,” Kurt’s dad says and promptly turns around to leave, although once his back it towards Blaine, he winks towards Kurt.

The mix of embarrassment and happiness about his dad and Carole’s interest in Kurt’s love life returns.

“Hey,” Blaine says again.

“Oh. Hello,” Kurt finally comes down.

“I kinda wanted to talk to you before I leave.”

“Leave?”

Blaine nods.

“I’m flying back to New York later today,” Blaine clarifies.

“Oh.”

“I need to move apartments, so I couldn’t stay for longer,” Blaine continues.

“Right.”

“Which sucks, because I like seeing my parents.”

“Yeah.”

“Cooper not so much,” Blaine says, but again, Kurt can hear the jokey undertone.

Kurt smiles.

“Yeah.”

“But, uhm, I kinda wanted to ask if I could see you again? In New York, I mean? To, uh, chill?”

“To chill, huh?” Kurt says, amused, and Blaine turns a bit red.

“Weird choice of words,” Blaine agrees, “But what do you think?”

“Yes, sure,” Kurt tries to act casual and cool, but his mind is reeling. Blaine wants to see him too! Man, the moment Blaine’s out of the door, Kurt will probably jump up and down with excitement.

“Neat,” Blaine sounds relieved, “Can I have your number then?”

“Yeah!” Kurt answers and they exchange numbers.

“Alright. Cool. I mean, yeah, cool!” Blaine stumbles a bit over his words, which Kurt finds endearing.

“Cool,” Kurt echoes.

“Then see you soon!”

“See you soon,” Kurt says back.

Blaine leaves after that and as predicted, Kurt leans against the front door with a huge, disbelieved grin on his face. He might look like utter shit and his hair is a mess, but who cares, cause Blaine wants to hang out with him!

“And?”

Kurt looks up to see Carole’s head peeking around the corner.

Kurt’s smile widens.

Kurt isn’t in a rush to get back to New York, since he wants to savour every moment with his family and he meets up with friends, but knowing that Blaine is waiting for him in New York does make him more eager to leave.

Okay, Blaine isn’t actively waiting for Kurt, but Kurt can dream, right?

They’ve texted a little bit over the past few days, but now that Kurt’s actually leaving, he sends more messages.

“Kurt, get off your phone! We need to say goodbye!” Carole scorns, but it’s nor serious. Besides, she has a point. His dad and Carole and about to drive home from the airport, and Kurt’s on his phone to text Blaine.

“Sorry,” Kurt pockets his phone.

“You’ll see him enough,” his dad says.

“Ideally, yes,” Kurt says with a smile. He’s shooting his shot.

Not immediately, though. He doesn’t want to come off as overeager. He’s going home now, then he’ll celebrate New Year’s tomorrow with some friends, and then he’ll see if he can meet up with Blaine.

He and his parents say goodbye. As usual, the hug between him and his dad lasts a long time, but it’s time for Kurt to go. This really is the worst part of going back home. He knows his dad and Carole will miss him too.

New York is messy, loud, and gorgeous.

He takes the elevator to his floor. Then, he stops in front of his door and casts a look to his neighbour’s door. There’s a new rainbow doormat in front of it, which Kurt sees as a confirmation that his shitty neighbour is truly gone.

Once he’s inside, he lets out a sigh of relief. He’s so ready to just unpack and relax. He’ll need to do some groceries later, but now he wants to “chill”, as Blaine said.

So that’s what he does. He unpacks, makes some coffee, and browses social media on his phone in peace. He texts Blaine, telling him he’s arrived home, and he also checks in with some other friends about tomorrow’s New Year’s plans.

Yet, life continues. Groceries are part of adult, independent life. There’s no grocery delivery here for Kurt, so Kurt sighs and decides to just do it instead of procrastinate, which is something he’s proud of. He put on appropriate winter attire and grabs a shopper.

When he’s outside and turns around to lock his door, the neighbour’s door opens. Kurt doesn’t really pay attention, since he needs to lock his door. He’s forgotten once before, so he always pays attention here.

Once everything’s locked up, he turns to his side to introduce himself, since unlike his previous neighbour, Kurt does have manners, but his words die in his throat.

Blaine is standing on the rainbow doormat with a surprised look on his face.

“Hello neighbour,” he’s the first to break the shocked silence.

“Hello.”

“Long time no see-”

“What a surprise-”

It falls silent again, but it’s not an awkward silence. In fact, Kurt’s amused by this whole situation, because what are the odds? Blaine’s shocked expression has also been replaced by a more amused one.

“You’re my new neighbour,” Kurt sounds disbelieved.

“I see,” Blaine says back, “Hello, neighbour, again.”

The two of them laugh.

“I’m… going to go,” Kurt holds up his shopper.

“Oh,” Blaine opens the pocket of his jacket and takes out a folded up shopper, “Groceries?”

“Yes!” Kurt says. This is so weird. “I just got home from Ohio, so I have absolutely nothing.”

“I get it. Anyway, great to see you. I’m new here. Where do you get your groceries?”

“You haven’t done any grocery shopping since you moved here?” Kurt asks.

Blaine turns a bit red.

“Uh. No. I have.”

“Okay?” Kurt says with a frown.

“Sorry,” Blaine says and then lets out an awkward laugh, “This- I- Okay. I didn’t know how else to ask if you wanted to hang out now.”

Kurt’s eyes widen in surprise. Neither of them had made actual plans to “chill” yet. Kurt didn’t want to seem to eager, and Blaine hadn’t made any concrete suggestions yet.

Kurt’s down to hang out, even though he didn’t expect their first meet-up in New York to be for grocery shopping, but then he also didn’t expect Blaine to be his new neighbour.

“Sure,” Kurt says with a smile.

And that’s how they end at a coffee shop called Think Coffee instead of the grocery store. Kurt’s reasoning was that it’s easier to get coffee beforehand and before Kurt could apologise for randomly suggesting a coffee date (is it a date?), Blaine agreed to it.

Of course, they discuss how funny it is that their parents live next to each other, and now they also live next to each other.

“My dad mentioned that your family is originally from Westerville, I think?”

Blaine nods.

“Yes. Cooper and I went to a boarding school there, but we were day students. Do you know Dalton Academy?”

The name does ring a bell.

“From the Warblers?”

Blaine looks amazed.

“Yes!” he utters in disbelief, “That’s my former glee club!”

“Really?” Kurt asks, “I’m from the New Directions.”

Blaine shoots him a quizzed look.

“McKinley High, in Lima,” Kurt clarifies.

“… That sounds familiar.”

“This is insane,” Kurt says before taking a sip of his coffee. He needs to let this sink in. The day has certainly turned out to be different than expected.

“Yeah. I’m a Dalton boy.”

“And then your parents moved to Lima of all places, when you graduated.”

Blaine snorts.

“I know right?” he says, but then he smiles, “Although, it led to me meeting you, so I cannot hold it against them anymore.”

“I agree.”

“And you? Did you grow up in that house?”

Kurt shakes his head.

“No, but I did grow up in Lima. My dad got married to Carole a few years back, and then they bought that house for the four of us to live in.”

“Four?”

“Me, my dad, my stepmother and my stepbrother,” Kurt answers.

“I didn’t know you had a brother!” Blaine sounds surprised, “God, I hope he’s not as bad as Cooper.”

“Oh… Well… No,” Kurt says slowly.

“Did I miss him during my visit? I mean, my parents never mentioned him, so does he live out of the state?”

Kurt sighs. This part is always hard, painful, and eventually awkward. He didn’t plan on bringing up the dead brother story, but on the other hand, he does want to get to know Blaine and he hopes Blaine wants to get to know him as well. Well, it must be. Otherwise Blaine wouldn’t have joined him on this supposed grocery trip.

“He died, actually,” Kurt says quietly.

As expected, the silence stretches out and it becomes more awkward and awkward.

“Oh. Kurt. I’m… sorry,” Blaine eventually says, although he seems a bit lost for words.

“It’s okay.” It’s not, but it’s okay that Blaine doesn’t know what to say. Kurt can’t blame him. How do you properly react to hearing a young person died?

“Oh, shit!” Blaine suddenly exclaims, “And here I am, complaining constantly about Cooper! That’s such a dick move!”

“It’s okay,” Kurt says again, “You didn’t know. And besides, it was fun to see you two interact.”

“Yeah?” Blaine asks.

Kurt hums.

“Yes. It’s clear that your complaining and his teasing comes from a place of love. Me and Finn would do the same. God, you have no idea how many times I complained about his habits, or how many times he’d playfully tease me for my brooch collection.”

Kurt would give anything to hear Finn playfully mock his hippo brooch again.

“Can you tell me about him?” Blaine asks.

So Kurt does. He tells Blaine that he and Finn didn’t really like each other at the beginning, but then they both joined glee club, although it turned out that Finn got blackmailed by their glee club director who had planted a stash of weed in Finn’s locker. (“What?” “It’s not important, Blaine.”) That’s how they slowly became friends, and Kurt eventually developed a crush on Finn and decided to pair up his dad and Finn’s mom in an attempt to get closer to Finn. (“Excuse me?” “It’s in the past, Blaine.”) But eventually their parents got married and Kurt’s crush died out and they became stepbrothers. It was a bit rocky at the beginning, but they grew to love each other as family and dropped the “step” part quickly.

“So yeah, we didn’t always see everything eye to eye, but that’s just how family is. I miss him, especially now, during the holidays.”

“I can imagine.”

“The entire family always shows up, and it’s glaringly obvious that someone is missing,” Kurt laments, “I don’t like to dwell on it, neither do my dad and Carole, but it’s on our minds, especially when I see my cousins together, or when you and Cooper banter. But it also makes me think of good memories with him, like the time he and his friend Puck dressed up in Star Wars outfits for Christmas.”

“Oh. Amazing.”

“Or when Carole told Finn he needed to help out for Christmas dinner, and he burned it all down, so we ended up eating soup out of a can that year.”

Kurt chuckles and Blaine also lets out a laugh.

“He sounds lovely,” Blaine says.

“He was. Most of the time.”

They laugh again.

Kurt lifts his cup to get another sip, only to find it empty. Blaine also wiggles his cup around.

“Time flies,” he says.

Kurt hums in agreement. He gets out of his seat.

“Grocery time?” he asks.

“Oh. Yeah. Groceries,” Blaine sounds bewildered. It’s that Kurt definitely needs to eat, otherwise he also would’ve forgotten.

Kurt leads them to the grocery store he always goes to, which is one that Blaine hadn’t seen before, so that’s a nice extra. Kurt needs to buy a lot, since he just got home after a trip to Lima, but Blaine only needs some things. Still, he sticks around to talk to Kurt and so that they can walk home together.

“Hello neighbour.”

Blaine looks a bit surprised. He probably didn’t expect Kurt to just knock, but Kurt’s feeling daring. Yesterday’s coffee and grocery trip-slash-date was a lot of fun and Kurt decided to just go for it.

“Hello,” Blaine says back.

“Do you have plans for this New Year’s?”

“Yes?” Blaine says, which is fair. Kurt should’ve expected that. “But why are you asking?”

Kurt’s asking because he woefully fantasised about kissing Blaine, if he wants, when the clock hits midnight.

“Oh. Well, I am meeting up with some friends and I wanted to see if you wanted to join, but it makes sense you already have plans.”

Kurt’s about to awkwardly say goodbye and admit defeat, but Blaine stops him.

“I’m meeting my friends at eleven in the evening. I still have time. When will you meet your friends?”

“Also later today,” Kurt answers. Around ten, or something. It wasn’t very clear. It’s more one of those “drop by whenever you want” parties. He just wanted to check if Blaine were interested in joining.

“Sooo,” Blaine draws out the word, “I don’t think I can make it to your friend’s party, but what are your plans now?”

Now? Well, Kurt planned on binge watching trashy TV, order food and wait till it’s time to go see his friends.

“Nothing. I am free,” Kurt answers.

Blaine opens his front door further and steps aside.

“Feel free to come in, then,” Blaine says with a smile and how can Kurt refuse. He didn’t plan on this, but he isn’t mad about it.

“Thank you.”

Blaine gives Kurt a small tour of his still bare apartment. It’s clear that he’s only just moved in. Blaine tells Kurt that beforehand he lived in a shitty dorm room, so he was ecstatic when he found this relatively cheap apartment.

Kurt can relate. He used to live in Bushwick in a place that didn’t have proper walls. This building is still not the most luxurious, but it is an upgrade!

“My dad mentioned you moved here for your studies,” Kurt recalls.

Blaine nods.

“Yeah. I’m go to NYADA. Maybe you’ve heard of it.”

Oh, Kurt’s heard of NYADA. He got accepted into NYADA as well, but he turned it down to pursue an education in fashion instead. But he knows how hard it is to get into NYADA.

The conversation quickly turns into a long and winded discussion about the current Broadway season and how other shows got robbed at previous Tony Awards ceremonies.

Blaine also shows off his new coffee machine (“Got it as a Christmas present!”), so Blaine makes Kurt a fancy cappuccino. It’s so comfortable to be around Blaine and Kurt’s glad that Blaine likes him too.

An hour later, they’re on Blaine’s couch, huddled underneath a shared fleece blanket, and they’re eating snacks that Kurt brought over from his place while watching a Broadway bootleg. Kurt adores this show, but he’s having a hard time paying attention to it.

How can he, when Blaine’s so close?

He keeps staring at Blaine, so of course Blaine notices at one point.

“Something on my face?” he asks with a jokey tone.

Kurt doesn’t answer. He knows what he wants. He puts his hands on Blaine’s cheeks and pulls him in for a kiss.

Blaine kisses back and he wraps his arms around Kurt to pull him even more closer.

Kurt had wanted to kiss him at midnight, but he couldn’t wait any longer. There are no actual fireworks now in the background, but that doesn’t matter. Kissing Blaine already feels like fireworks are going off.

They keep kissing until they remember that they need to breathe.

“Woah,” Blaine sounds out of breath.

“Woah indeed,” Kurt echoes him.

The two of them stare at each other before Blaine throws himself on Kurt and kisses him again.

Later that evening, they’re finally finishing the bootleg. They got a bit preoccupied, so they weren’t able to watch all of it.

Both Kurt and Blaine cancelled their plans. They want to spend this New Year’s with each other. Outside, the city of New York is alive and bustling, filled with people who are ready to go wild and party. But Kurt and Blaine are fine, cuddling together in Blaine’s new apartment in their neighbourhood.

It’s a perfect way to start the new year and Kurt wouldn’t have had it any other way.

End notes: Here ya go, Arden! Your wishlist was an absolute delight and I actually had a hard time narrowing it down, because I wanted to include as much as possible. This fic uses the "genre: alternative universe", "genre: fluff", "genre: romance", "location: Ohio", "location: New York", "age: young adult/college", "designer!Kurt", "actor!Blaine", "preferred theme: holiday-themed" and of course "other favourite tropes/story elements: neighbours".

Happy holidays!

#holy fuck I wrote #2023 #klaine #glee #oneshot #klainesecretsanta2023

56 notes · View notes

forabeatofadrum · 2 years ago

Text

Je tik pred vami - a Ljubim te companion piece

Summary: Quinn Fabray has a lot more free time. Her boyfriend Blaine has moved to the other side of the world, but Quinn will be fine. Unfortunately, Denise Jackson-Smith, the daughter of a senator, just pisses her off. When Quinn keeps running into Denise, she can't help but despise her. After all, that's all that there is to it. Quinn despises Denise, right?

Notes: Welcome, welcome, welcome! This is the Quinn companion piece to Ljubim te, my Klaine Advent 2022 fic. In that fic, you learn that Quinn has fallen in love with someone named Denise and this is their love story. I really loved writing it, because I like writing Quinn in this AU and it was fun to explore how Quinn became who she is.

I also recommend that you read Plucking Daisy Petals by @thnxforknowingme/hundredindecisions, which delves a bit more into how Quinn and Blaine got together, so if you're also interested in this Quinn, read that as well!

The title is Slovene for "It's right in front of you". After all, Denise has been there this entire time. Enjoy!

AO3

Denise Jackson-Smith is insufferable.

Quinn almost regrets coming here. Ever since Quinn and Blaine moved to LA, she’s been going to these Women’s Political Collective meetings. Quinn isn’t in politics, but she’s still interested, and this organisation welcomes everyone who is passionate enough.

Quinn loves being here. She meets a lot of cool and inspirational women and they discuss topics that interest her, like reproductive rights, trans healthcare and equal pay.

Now that Blaine’s planning on going to Ljubljana, Quinn has a lot more time on her hands. One day, she’s at the meeting talking with some other women about what foundation is the best to use, when the door opens and another woman walks in.

She’s stunning and she carries herself with a lot of confidence. Her long dark hair is tied in a neat ponytail and that suit looks amazing on her. Quinn can’t help but stare.

“Who is that?” she asks another person.

“That’s the daughter of senator Jackson-Smith.”

Of course Quinn’s heard of senator Jackson-Smith. He’s a Democratic senator from California and Blaine likes his work, since Blaine says we need more senators from Asian descent. Quinn did know that the senator has a daughter, but she’s out of the public eye.

So why is she here?

“Her name is Denise,” another person murmurs, “Denise Jackson-Smith. That’s a mouthful.”

Just then, Denise turns around and she sees the group of women staring at her. She smiles and waves before turning away again. For some reason, it makes Quinn’s blood boil.

“Did you hear that Denise Jackson-Smith is in town?”

Quinn suppresses an eye roll. Why is her manager bringing this up?

“Yes, I did,” she replies, “We’ve met briefly.”

“Her father is the senator,” the manager continues with a smile on her face. Quinn recognises a smile like that. The manager sees an opportunity.

“I know. I ran into her at the Women’s Political Collective, after all.”

“See, that’s why I asked you to come here,” the manager’s smile widens, “From all of our employees, you’re the most politically active.”

“So?” Is she? That is kind of sad.

“Senator Jackson-Smith is a huge fan of our circularity and sustainability plan and he’d like to know more, so he is actually coming to visit our company.”

“That’s great. What does this have to do with Denise?”

“Ms. Jackson-Smith will accompany her father,” the manager answers, “But she is out of the picture, since she isn’t a politician herself. I hear that she’s graduated from a flimsy art college somewhere.”

Quinn does not like the mocking tone. Quinn initially wanted to study drama, and even though she loves business and doesn’t regret her change in major, she knows the arts are important. But Quinn bites her tongue, as usual. That’s all she can do, right?

“I still don’t follow, ma’am.”

“We need someone to entertain her. So tomorrow, you and Ms. Jackson-Smith will have brunch together.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve already met. It’s even more perfect than I thought!”

“But-” But I can’t stand her, Quinn wants to add. There are some people you just can’t stand from the moment you meet them, and Denise is one of them for Quinn. Quinn remembers being overwhelmed by Denise’s looks. Something about Denise just ticks Quinn off and sure, Quinn can’t really put a finger on it, but that’s how it is.

“Quinn,” the manager has a serious tone, “This is important. Being backed by an influential senator can help our plans immensely.”

Quinn wants to say that they are an outdoors-wear company and yes, they use recycled material, and yes, they want to patent a business plan about sustainability, but she’s not certain if the endorsement of a senator is the thing they need. Or vice versa. Doesn’t the senator have better things to do than visit a company?

She knows when to shut up, though. Quinn can feel those things.

“You will have brunch with his daughter. End of discussion.”

Quinn considers setting herself on fire, because that’s already how it feels.

She’s been having brunch with Denise for the past twenty minutes, and she feels like she’s on fire. The two of them sit in an awkward silence, because the conversation about the weather has dried up.

Quinn quickly checks her phone for the time. She knows Blaine’s already arrived in Ljubljana and while he’s off seeing new things, Quinn is stuck here.

“If it’s any consolation, I am also having a bad time,” Denise says flatly.

“Are you?”

“Well, you’re not much of a conversationalist,” Denise says and Quinn feels offended.

“I just don’t have a lot to say to you.”

Denise huffs.

“You didn’t have to ask me for brunch, you know?” she says and Quinn blinks in shock.

“Trust me, I didn’t ask you.”

Now, it’s Denise’s turn to look shocked.

“You didn’t?” the slight menace in her voice is gone.

“No, why would I?” Quinn sounds affronted. She genuinely doesn’t want to spend her free time with Denise Jackson-Smith.

Denise frowns and she looks down at her plate.

“Because usually everyone tries to get to my father by befriending me,” Denise admits and Quinn does feel for her when she hears it.

“Then, full disclosure, that is what’s happening,” Quinn says and she quickly explains what’s led to this situation. Denise looks annoyed, but also grateful for Quinn’s honestly.

“You’re the first person to be honest with me,” she says as a confirmation, “Not only that, but you’re the first person to be rude to me.”

“I beg your pardon?” Quinn asks.

“Usually, people are fake nice to me in order to get on my good side,” Denise explains.

Quinn scoffs.

“Believe me. I’ve been that fake person. I have no interest in that anymore.”

“Oh?” Denise leans closer. There is a curious glint in her eyes.

Quinn takes a sip from her glass and she looks back. She doesn’t owe Denise anything, but what does she have to lose? Denise appreciates honesty and so does Quinn. It’s a relief to not hold up a façade anymore.

“You should’ve seen me in high school,” Quinn laments. Then she proceeds to tell Denise the truth about what kind of petty girl she was. Quinn was mean-spirited and manipulative. She would do anything to be the head bitch in charge at her private all-girls school. She would be fake towards any other girl in order to get what she wanted. Quinn was cold, jealous and catty.

Quinn does feel genuine shame when she thinks of her actions, but she takes pride in knowing that she’s grown.

Granted, part of it was to cover up the fact that she had a baby. It’s not as if people didn’t know. It was hard to miss when her belly started growing exponentially. But once she came back to school after giving birth, she knew that she didn’t want people to know her as the sinful Christian girl who got knocked up. She would much rather be the person you wouldn’t fucking cross and it worked. No one ever dared to bring up Beth and by the time she graduated, the younger students didn’t even know. Beth was forgotten, which is what Quinn had wanted, no, needed.

She doesn’t tell Denise that part. No one from her new life knows about Beth, except for Blaine.

“Now, this is interesting,” Denise says when Quinn’s done talking, “What made you stop?”

“I got into Yale,” Quinn answers.

“You did?” Denise looks surprised, which pisses Quinn off. Why wouldn’t she have gotten into Yale?

“I did. And I realised that I was a bitch who never learnt how to deal with her shit,” Quinn says lightly, “I have to thank my parents for that. They taught me and my sister from a young age to just sit and smile. Really, as I said, I know what kind of fakeness you mean, because I did that. So I cleaned up my act. And I met Blaine.”

“Blaine?”

“My boyfriend.”

Denise sits back in her chair.

“How does he matter in this story?”

Quinn feels offended again. How dare she imply that Blaine doesn’t matter in any way? Denise doesn’t even know him.

“He’s had a similar upbringing,” Quinn says back, “We understand each other.”

“Alright, alright,” Denise at least has the decency to sound apologetic, “You’re very protective over your boyfriend, I get it.”

“Of course I am,” Quinn says pointedly, “I love him.”

That evening, she relays everything to Blaine over the phone. Quinn mimics how Denise talked to her and Blaine laughs. Blaine then tells her about his first day in Ljubljana and Quinn’s glad to hear he’s already met two nice people.

Blaine is tired, though, so Quinn tells him to go to sleep.

“Good, love you,” Quinn says.

There’s a small moment of silence. Quinn’s holding her breath.

“Ah. Good night, Quinn,” Blaine says back.

Oh.

“… Good night,” Quinn says.

The call ends and Quinn stares at her phone.

It doesn’t go unnoticed that Blaine hasn’t said that he loves her. When Quinn told him that she loves him at the airport, she was certain that it was the big moment from the movies. Quinn says she loves him, Blaine says he loves her, they have a passionate kiss and birds sing in the background.

Okay, there was a passionate kiss. Blaine even chased after her for it.

But he hasn’t said that he loves her.

A part of Quinn feels silly for wanting it. Blaine is Blaine. He’s his own person and Quinn cannot tell him what to feel. The right thing would be to tell him that there’s no rush and that he doesn’t have to say it back if he doesn’t feel the same.

But why doesn’t he feel the same? They’ve been together for over a year. They were best friends and that turned into something more. They are building their future together in LA. Isn’t this the moment where they both declare their love?

After all, Quinn loves Blaine, right?

When Quinn walks into her yoga class, she didn’t expect Denise to be there.

Quinn is this close to turning around, but she likes yoga. Quinn has always loved sports. She does yoga, she’s in a spin class and she loves to hike with Blaine.

She doesn’t want Denise Jackson-Smith to ruin it for her. Quinn thought she’d never see Denise again, since their brunch was awkward, even after they opened up to each other.

Denise sees Quinn and she smiles.

Quinn can feel the rage grow. Everything that Denise does just pisses her off.

Quinn knows Denise appreciates honesty, so instead of smiling back, she turns away from her and she finds a spot in the gym. She can’t let Denise distract her, and yet, during the session her eyes find Denise’s reflection in the big mirrors.

Denise looks so concentrated.

In turn, Quinn is distracted.

The yoga instructor notices and comments on it, which makes everyone look at Quinn and Quinn can feel the shame. Damn Denise. She especially hates it when she notices that Denise is also looking at her.

The moment the yoga class is over, Quinn packs her bag and walks away.

Of course, Quinn runs into Denise again during the next Women’s Political Collective meeting. Denise is the daughter of a senator after all.

Today’s meeting is about the intersection of race and politics. Quinn keeps silent, because she knows it isn’t her place to talk about that, but this does give her more chances to stare at Denise.

Denise looks very invested in the conversation, which makes sense. Quinn has read that her dad has gotten grief from conservatives, since he wasn’t born in the United States. Unlike the President, senators don’t have to be American-born in order to do their jobs, but they need to at least have nine years of citizenship. Denise’s dad was adopted as a baby from Japan, so he’s been an American citizen since he was around one years old, and yet that doesn’t swerve conservatives.

Yes, Quinn knows this. Yes, she might’ve looked up Denise online and since Denise doesn’t want to be in the public eye, Quinn got more information on senator Jackson-Smith. And yes, Quinn read all of it.

She doesn’t care. Not really. But she had nothing else to do.

Denise is leaning forward. She is attentive and determined. There is a slight frown on her face. Quinn stares at the fire in Denise’s dark eyes and the dark, perfectly sculpted eyebrows. Quinn wishes her own eyebrows looked that good.

Denise sits back as she talks about her own experiences and Quinn feels bad for the fact that she isn’t listening. After all, Denise is saying valuable things and Quinn also has a lot to learn. But for some reason, everything that Denise says falls deaf to Quinn’s ears. She can’t stop thinking about how fucking classy Denise looks right now. She demands attention and she gets it.

It’s common for the members of the Women’s Political Collective to mingle, even after the meeting. People bring snacks to share around and Quinn’s made some wraps.

“That looks delicious,” she hears.

Quinn looks over her shoulder and she grimaces when she sees Denise.

“Hi,” Quinn says flatly.

“Hi,” Denise says in an equally flat tone.

“Is there anything you want?”

“Wraps, obviously.”

“Oh. Right.”

Quinn steps aside so that Denise can get some wraps. The moment Denise has them in her hands, Quinn wishes she could slap them out of her hands. Or she wishes that she could’ve spiked them. Or she wants to tell Denise that actually, they aren’t for her.

But Quinn stops herself.

She knows herself. She used to be like this, but she’s better than that.

Or at least, that is what she thought. She has no idea where this need for pettiness comes from, but Denise just triggers it in her.

“Enjoy,” Quinn says.

“Thank you,” Denise says back, but to Quinn’s dismay, she doesn’t move away to talk to other people.

“Yes?” Quinn asks and she raises her (not-as-perfect-as) eyebrow.

“You really don’t like me, do you?” Denise says with a smile.

“I don’t,” Quinn replies, because again, Denise appreciates honesty.

“Why?”

That pisses Quinn off. Can’t Quinn just not like Denise for no reason? Sometimes, people don’t click and it’s neither person’s fault.

Quinn tells Denise that.

“That’s fair,” Denise says casually, which also pisses Quinn off. Is Quinn not deserving of Denise’s annoyance? Really, everything this woman does just makes Quinn tick.

“Why are you sticking around then?” Quinn challenges her.

Denise shrugs.

“I appreciate you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“As I said before, you’re upfront with how you feel about me and that is refreshing.”

“Really?” Quinn sounds unimpressed, “You want to hang out with me because you know I don’t like you?”

“As I keep saying, I appreciate the honesty.”

“That’s fucked up, you know?” Quinn can feel the agitation build. What is wrong with Denise?

“It might be,” Denise says calmly, which only agitates Quinn more, “But it’s the truth. You interest me, Quinn Fabray. I think we could be great friends.”

“Are you some kind of masochist?” Quinn snaps back. How dare Denise like the fact that Quinn is rude? Quinn is rude because she can’t stand being around Denise. “Do you get off when people degrade you, or what?”

Quinn watches Denise swallow and Quinn also realises what she’s just said.

“Why are you interested in what gets me off?” Denise taunts.

“Oh, fuck off,” Quinn grumbles, but fuck, she can feel her cheeks burning.

Denise has a satisfied smirk on her face and Quinn wants to slap it off. She thought that her desires for bitch-slapping also left the moment she started ay Yale, but once again, Denise brings back all of those weird feelings.

“Enjoy your wraps,” Quinn says before turning on her heel and walking away. Unlike Denise, she has no interest in further conversations and there are a lot of more interesting women here.

“Are you stalking me?” Quinn asks when she sees Denise at her regular hair salon.

“Why would I be stalking you?” Denise sounds bemused, which, as usual, pissed Quinn off.

“Why are you here?” Quinn demands.

“To get a haircut,” Denise deadpans and that’s when Quinn realises how stupid she sounds. Of course Denise is here at a hair salon to get a haircut, not to personally antagonise Quinn. Denise probably doesn’t even know this is Quinn’s regular place.

Still fuming, Quinn walks away to the waiting area.

She needs to calm down. She’s being unreasonable. But she can feel her heart beat in her chest and her face is red, probably from anger. For some reason, Quinn hates the fact that Denise goes to her regular hair salon. This is Quinn’s place!

Quinn scorns herself. She’s better than this. She turned her life around.

She almost wants to cancel her appointment, just to get away from Denise, but that is childish.

Quinn hates feeling this way. She wants to believe she’s grown. She was certain of it, but fucking Denise Jackson-Smith has to ruin it for her.

Quinn barely hears it when her name is called in, because she was so deep in thought. On her way to the chair, she passes Denise, and Quinn almost trips over her feet when she sees what Denise has done to her hair.

She cut it.

Denise cut her long locks to a pixie cut. She’s styled her hair with gel so that it sticks up.

“Quinn?” the hairdresser asks when she’s noticed that Quinn’s stumbling along.

“Coming,” Quinn squeals out.

Quinn can’t live like this. She needs to do something about this.

She’s scrolling through Denise’s Instagram for some reason.

She’s becoming obsessed with Denise’s whereabouts. Quinn needs to know where she is, so that she’s certain they won’t be in the same place. It’s clear from Denise’s account that Denise moved to LA and yes, LA is a big city, it’s certainly bigger than Ljubljana, but the world can be small at the most inconvenient times.

But Quinn really can’t live like this. She can’t be afraid to go somewhere without checking first, so it’s time to tackle this problem head’s first. She is going to beat Denise to the punch.

Quinn sends Denise a DM, requesting to meet up.

“I admit I am a little bit confused as to why I’m here,” Denise says before taking a sip of her boba. Quinn and Denise are at a small bubble tea shop. It felt like a nice place to go.

“That makes two.”

“You invited me.”

“You said we could be great friends.”

“And you suddenly want that?” Denise sounds apprehensive, “What changed? I was certain you hated me.”

“I do hate you, but maybe we’re both masochists,” Quinn sighs.

Denise looks amused and Quinn hates it. She shouldn’t be allowed to look like that. All facial expressions of Denise’s seem sharper because of the haircut. It makes her face pop.

“What?” Quinn sighs, “You were right. It is refreshing to just be. I can be myself around you and you can be myself around me. Deal?”

“What a weird way to start a wonderful friendship,” Denise says, but she holds out her hand. Quinn rolls her eyes, but she shakes it.

“Deal?” she asks again.

“Deal,” Denise says.

And after that moment, Quinn and Denise are friends between quotation marks. Quinn shows Denise around LA, since she just moved here, and Denise tolerates Quinn’s snippy behaviour. In fact, she gets a kick out of it.

At first, that annoyed Quinn, but over time, she grew to like it. She wasn’t kidding. It is nice to just act the way she wants without overthinking it. She feels so free. Not even Blaine makes her feel this free, since with him, Quinn wants to be the good perfect girl that she has worked so hard on to be. Not to say that that isn’t the real Quinn, but this is another side of her and it feels good to show it. She trusts that Denise will cut her off if she does ever cross a line.

They meet up a lot to go to places. They have lunch or they go shopping and Quinn’s even introduced Denise to her spin class, so they also go to yoga and spinning together.

And Quinn hates to admit it, but Denise is fun to be around. Quinn realises that Denise has become a huge part of her life when she talks to Blaine about what Denise had to say about body neutrality.

“But you should see him, Quinnie!” Blaine says over the phone. He’s been talking about his new friend Kurt. Of course Quinn knows about Kurt. Quinn and Blaine talk almost daily, either through text or through phone calls, and Blaine loves to talk about Kurt. “No man should look that handsome! And his body! Should I work out more?”

“You have a nice body, Blaine. You should value your body, you only have one!”

“Yeah, but Kurt’s nicer! His chest, Quinn! His chest!”

“Have you seen him shirtless?”

“Yes! He got drenched in a storm and I gave him a new set of clothes. He changed in front of me.”

“You’re a good friend,” Quinn says and she feels affection for him, “But Blaine, you look great. Even if you don’t look like Kurt. It’s hard to believe it, but Denise actually told me about something new the other day.”

“Denise?”

That stuns Quinn for a second. Quinn’s been hanging out with Denise a lot, but she’s never mentioned it to Blaine? That is weird.

“Oh, that’s senator Jackson-Smith’s daughter’s first name.”

“She’s still in LA?”

“Yes, we’ve been hanging out and today we talked about this thing called body neutrality!”

Quinn proceeds to explain the concept and Blaine listens. Afterwards, the conversation turns into talking about Denise. Really, why hasn’t she mentioned it before? Blaine talks about Kurt plenty. Quinn’s even seen photos of him, since Blaine’s sent them.

Quinn realises Blaine’s tired and they wrap up. Once the line is dead, Quinn realises she hasn’t told Blaine that she loves her in a while.

Weird, but to be frank, Blaine isn’t constantly on her mind. In fact, Denise occupies more of her thoughts.

Quinn shrugs. It doesn’t matter. She knows that she loves Blaine, even without the constant affirmation.

Quinn rejects Blaine’s incoming call. She’s in the middle of a shopping spree with Denise. Quinn quickly snaps a photo of the two of them. By now, Blaine knows that Quinn hangs out with Denise most of the time. She mentions Denise all the time, the same way he mentions Kurt. Both Quinn and Blaine like that the other has made a great friend.

“You can call him, if you want,” Denise says.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Quinn says as she sends the photo to Blaine, together with a small apology, “We talk plenty.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Quinn says. Blaine’s wishing them the best and Quinn smiles. “I mean, it’s become less. When he first moved to Slovenia, we talked on a daily basis, but the two of us are busy. We have lives of our own. We work full time and we do our own things. He has Kurt, and I have you.”

“You have me?” Denise laughs.

“I do, don’t I?” Quinn teases back.

“I guess you do,” Denise says quietly.

“Yeah.”

Quinn can’t pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but something changed between them over the past couple of weeks. At one point, the mutual hostility made room for whatever this is. Quinn can’t say they’re best friends forever, but Denise no longer annoys her solely by existing. They’re no longer friends between quotation marks, but actual friends.

In fact, traits that Quinn used to find annoying are almost endearing now that she gets to know Denise.

They still piss each other off, but by now it’s more like they rile each other up for fun. It’s an inside joke. No one else gets it.

“What’s Blaine like?” Denise asks.

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“What else is there to say?” Quinn asks.

“It’s just that you never mention him. I know you’re together and I know you love him, but other people I know cannot stop gushing over their partners. You don’t do that.”

“Maybe I am just not like other people.”

“Hm.”

Really, Quinn doesn’t feel the need to talk about Blaine. She knows who he is, and that’s what matters, right? She cares for him on a deep level. Besides, once Blaine is back home, Denise will meet him.

“Dee, he’s in Ljubljana, he’s not dead,” Quinn says, “I miss him, but not all the time, and this is only temporary. I know he’ll come home to me. And I am visiting him soon. We’re going to spend four days in Ljubljana and the final three in Rome.”

Quinn nods to herself. She is looking forward to it.

“But you don’t miss him?” Denise asks and Quinn wonders why she can’t let it go. Why is Denise so invested? She seems more invested in it than Quinn.

“Not all the time,” Quinn repeats, but it does make her stop and think.

Should she miss him all the time? Blaine is her boyfriend and Quinn loves him. And Denise is right. Other couples are always yearning for each other. Quinn and Blaine have some friends in LA who are dating each other. And they have friends from Yale who have settled down together. Heck, back at high school, Brittany and Santana were insufferable when the other wasn’t around.

What does it mean that Quinn doesn’t feel like that?

But she shakes the thought aside.

Okay, sure, maybe Quinn and Blaine’s relationship is different, but what is a relationship anyway? They like and respect each other. They like spending time together. The kissing, cuddling and occasional sex is fine, but the most important part is that they cherish each other and enjoy being together. Isn’t that enough? Quinn can be with him without waiting by her phone for a sign of life from Blaine.

So yes, Quinn is fine without Blaine.

Quinn quickly learns that she, in fact, is not fine without Blaine.

It’s been four days since Blaine stopped responding to her calls and messages and Quinn is losing her mind.

Denise holds her while Quinn’s crying.

“What ha-ha-has led to this?” Quinn says through her sobs, “Why is… he doing this to me?”

“I got you, I got you,” Denise says soothingly, and she’s right. Quinn’s buries her face in Denise’s shoulder and she revels in the embrace. Quinn needs to be held. She needs Denise’s strong arms and calm voice.

“I don’t-” Quinn sniffs, “-know what is happening, Dee. What do I do?”

“Is he still expecting you to come?”

“I don’t even know!” Quinn cries out, “I cannot reach him. He doesn’t respond to my calls or texts or Instagram DMs. It’s as if I don’t exist. I even messaged him on Facebook. Facebook, Denise. Facebook!”

Quinn lets out another wail. She didn’t think she could feel this way. She never expected Blaine to make her feel this way in the first place.

“… I’m going to kick him in his balls,” Denise mutters.

“Please, don’t,” Quinn manages to say.

“But he’s hurting you! He’s breaking your heart!” Denise sounds choked up.

“He… isn’t,” Quinn admits, “Or maybe he is? I don’t know. I don’t care. I just want to know if he’s okay.”

“So, you’re worried about him?”

Quinn nods against Denise’s shoulder.

“Isn’t there another way to reach him?” Denise asks.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you know the phone number of his office?” Denise suggests.

“… I can look it up.”

“And just like that?” Jessica asks.

Quinn nods.

Jessica whistles and Denise shoots her a nasty look. Only Quinn sees it. The other women of the spin class are staring at Quinn, since they all want to know the story. They just finished their spinning routine and they’re now chilling in the canteen.

“And you’re fine with him not giving you an explanation?” Xia asks, incredulously.

Quinn nods and this time she keeps her gaze on Xia, not Denise. She doesn’t need Denise’s disapproval of the situation. Quinn knows that Denise doesn’t like it.

“Really?” Sahar also sounds surprised, “Because if my girlfriend would do this, I’d demand explanations. Plural. Multiple explanations.”

“Right?” Denise cuts in.

“Dee,” Quinn says with a warning tone. Denise holds up her hands as a defence.

“I think it’s important to trust your partner,” Imane says, “And I think Quinn just trusts Blaine.”

“Exactly, thank you!” Quinn says.

It’s the truth. She trusts Blaine fully. She understands that something has happened and that it rattled him to the core. It does make Quinn uneasy that she doesn’t know, because now her mind takes her into all sorts of directions. Has someone hurt him? Did he do something he regrets? Did he get unexpected news that he needs to process?

She does worry, but she knows Blaine. Blaine’s always been brutally honest with her. In fact, Quinn is the only person he can be honest to, since they know who’s underneath the confident appearances. For a long time, Quinn also only trusted Blaine, until Denise came along and Denise made clear from the start that she prefers Quinn to be honest.

Quinn’s tried telling that to Denise, but Denise doesn’t want to hear it. It’s almost as if Denise is angry on Quinn’s behalf, but Denise doesn’t get it.

Actually, Quinn doesn’t know if Denise would get it. They see each other a lot, but Denise has never mentioned a partner. Quinn knows Denise is single, but she’s never heard stories about a possible ex, so maybe Denise’s never been in love. If that’s the case, then who is she to judge Quinn?

The conversation moves to other topics and after an hour and another round of smoothies, it’s time to say goodbye.

“Till next week!” Jessica yells.

“Oh, wait, no,” Xia says, “Quinn will be in Ljubljana next week.”

“Right, have fun!”

“I will!” Quinn waves before walking to her car with Denise in tow. She’s Denise’s ride home.

The moment they’re in the car, Denise opens her mouth to say something, but Quinn cuts her off before she has the chance to say anything.

“I don’t wanna hear it, Dee,” Quinn groans. She leans her head on the steering wheel.

“You can’t possibly make me believe you’re fine with this,” Denise says, “You sobbed in my arms. Look at you now.”

Right. The steering wheel thing doesn’t make Quinn look confident.

“He can’t get away with this,” Denise continues.

Quinn shakes her head.

“He won’t. I promise. I am going to Ljubljana to see for myself what has happened,” Quinn says, “But whatever happened must’ve been big, Denise, and I am not going to push him! I want him to come to me when he’s ready!”

“And what if he doesn’t talk?”

“He always does,” Quinn says, “Look, you don’t know him. You only know him through my stories.”

“Aka, I don’t know him,” Denise says, “You barely talk about him.”

“What’s there to say? He’s fine, I mean, up until now. Besides, you will meet him once he’s back home.”

“Can’t wait,” Denise says flatly, and Quinn feels so fucking tired.

“Can’t you just let it go, for my sake?” Quinn sighs, “I love him, okay? And yes, things have been a bit weird, but that’s understandable. He’s on the other side of the fucking world and distance makes things weird. The moment I will see him next week, everything will make go back to the way it used to be. I’m sure of it.”

At least, that is what Quinn hopes for.

She starts the engine and the two of them drive home in silence.

The moment Quinn sees Blaine at the airport, she doesn’t know what to feel. She hasn’t seen him in real life in months and she expected to feel more. Maybe she’s still a bit jarred because of the fact that he ghosted her.

Still, something feels off.

Was three months too long?

“Blaine!” she yells out and he sees her.

The moment he’s in reach, Quinn grabs to kiss him. She plants a huge passionate kiss on his lips. She’s putting all her love for him into it, just to hold on to it. Blaine kisses back.

After a while, Quinn needs to breathe.

“Here,” Blaine holds out a bouquet of crumpled roses, “You look nice.”

“I’ve missed you,” Quinn says, “Oh, I am so glad to be here!”

“Shall we?” Blaine holds out his arm and Quinn hooks hers around it. Together they walk outside.

Quinn’s in Blaine’s shower. Blaine just left to get burek, so she has some time to herself.

Blaine doesn’t want to have sex with her.

She doesn’t mind.

Or, she wishes she doesn’t mind. She meant what she said to him. He doesn’t have to justify a no. A no is a no and Quinn respects that, but something’s felt off the moment she landed in Ljubljana. As she said to Denise, she had hoped that this would make it all alright. She noticed that Blaine was a bit lost and she tried to help him out, but that backfired.

Blaine doesn’t want her.

It’s alright. They prefer kissing and cuddling, which is great, since Quinn is always a bit nervous. She’s only had sex with one other man and he made her drunk and got her pregnant. Quinn shudders at the thought of it. Every time she thinks about sex, she remembers that she is a mother.

But she trusts Blaine with her life. There was a lack of trust between Quinn and Puck and that led to Puck being able to take advantage of her. Blaine isn’t like that. He knows of her past and he always comforts her when she cries when she’s reminded of Beth and the conflicted feelings that come with it. Quinn and Blaine have a bland sex life and sometimes it’s downright boring, but Quinn always feels safe with him and she wants that safety.

It’s actually been a long time since Quinn wanted and instigated it, so that makes it an extra bummer.

The weird thing is, is that she isn’t upset about Blaine not being interested. If she’s quite honest, she was also working very hard to get turned on, which is weird, since it’s been a long time. She hoped that Blaine touching her would finally light that spark, but he cut it off before they could try.

So she’s upset that she didn’t seem interested and that frustrates her.

They try again a few days later. Quinn has Blaine pressed against a wall underneath the rugby stands. Quinn keeps going and going and she hopes to finally feel something. It confuses her.

Again, Blaine cuts it off before she can ask him for more.

They go back to the stands and Quinn is just so frustrated with herself and then she gets frustrated about being frustrated. She shouldn’t feel obligated. It’s nice to be with Blaine again. They’ve explored Ljubljana and other parts of the beautiful country. Quinn really likes being there and she can’t stop making photos of everything. They seek out nature. They have dinner at great restaurants. It’s as if they’re back in LA, except they’re in Ljubljana. They’ve fallen back into their comfortable state of being. Quinn is having fun with her best friend. That was always the most rewarding part of this relationship. She’s never bemoaned the lack of attraction, so why is she now?

Quinn’s certain that Kurt and Blaine cannot see her. She’s bought a wonderful hat and when she wanted to leave the shop, she saw Kurt and Blaine through the glass window.

Or better yet, she saw Blaine. Kurt has his back turned to her.

But Blaine is all she needs to see.

The look on his face is new. She’s never seen Blaine looks so enamoured. He certainly never looked at Quinn like that.

Kurt pushes Blaine’s hand off his shoulder and Blaine’s face changes.

Quinn feels uneasy. It’s as if something big is happening right in front of her, but she can’t quite place her finger on it. She knows she’s missing something. It didn’t go unnoticed that she hadn’t met Kurt yet. Even Tadeja asked if she already had, but nope.

She watches Kurt and Blaine discuss something and Blaine looks anxious. Quinn doesn’t like it that he’s anxious.

Quinn decides to make her presence known. She gets out of the shop and she pretends to look for them. It works.

Blaine sprints to the nearest bus station and Quinn watches her go. She stopped crying a while ago, but out of reflex, she wipes her eyes.

Her boyfriend is in love with someone else.

Or, ex-boyfriend.

Once she sees Blaine getting on a bus, presumably to Kurt’s place, Quinn knows it’s over.

She clutches her bag with her new hat to her chest and she slowly walks away. She has no idea where she’s going, but since Ljubljana is a small city, she recognises where she is. She’s just walking around aimlessly.

Every step she takes feels heavy, though. Everything feels heavy. It’s as if she’s dragging her body around. It’s all too much.

After walking around for an unknown amount of time, Quinn gives up and she sits down underneath the statue at Prešeren Square.

Like Blaine, she feels as if her entire life has changed in a small amount of time. When she saw Kurt at that pizza place, she didn’t know it would lead to this. Her relationship ended abruptly and it’s a horrendous feeling, but not in the way she expected.

She’s upset, definitely. She’s defeated and her mind is in shambles, but she’s not heartbroken. It is what it is and Quinn can already feel herself accept it. She only saw Kurt and Blaine together for a small time, but the moment Quinn realised that Blaine had feelings for him, it made sense.

Why does it make sense?

Quinn is more upset about her life not going the way she expected than about her heart being broken, because she doesn’t think she is heartbroken. She thinks of what Blaine said and what his reasoning was behind staying with Quinn. It was wrong to stay together, just because the sake of it. And when Blaine said that, Quinn realised she also only sticked around because she thought it was the way it was supposed to be. She wants the safety and security of the relationship. She wants to be reassured that this is right.

She loves Blaine, but maybe not in the way she wants to, and it confuses her. How is she supposed to love him anyway?

Quinn doesn’t know what to do, so she makes her way to Blaine’s apartment. That’s when she sees Kurt standing at the art shop and Blaine running towards him. She doesn’t think they see her, and Quinn realises she doesn’t want to impose.

She’s lost in a somewhat unfamiliar city and she has nowhere to go, but she does have her phone and a wallet. Quinn makes a plan. She walks back to the McDonald’s so that she connect to the free Wi-Fi (and she orders some McNuggets, just because she can). There, she looks up hotels in Ljubljana. She picks the City Hotel, simply because it’s top rated at TripAdvisor and she goes there, with her hat and McNuggets.

Blaine’s leaning against the table in her hotel room. He looks really good. He looks really happy. Quinn doesn’t know the details of what happened between Kurt and Blaine last night, and maybe she shouldn’t, but it’s clear that it did a lot of good for him.

Quinn’s sat in the chair in the corner of the room. She asked him to be here, but it is a bit weird.

“Kurt said you had an epiphany of your own,” he says.

Quinn nods and instantly starts laughing. This is insane. Blaine also cracks a tentative smile.

“Is this really happening?” Blaine says.

“I think so,” Quinn affirms, “I have feelings for Denise.”

“I want to be surprised, but strangely enough, I am not.”

“That’s how I felt with you and Kurt,” Quinn says, “I didn’t expect it. I was still shocked, but it makes sense. It’s also starting to make sense that I am into Denise.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Quinn says confidently, “Yeah, Blaine. It does make so much sense.”

Quinn tells Blaine how she’s been interested in Denise from the moment she saw her, and how Quinn was seeking her out, even though she was in denial about that. Everything that Denise did, made Quinn tick. She couldn’t stop staring at Denise when they were in the same room. Quinn knows everything about Denise’s look. She always focuses on how her hair falls, how her eyes are a gorgeous shade of brown, how her face looks so soft, yet her eyebrows are sharp and perfect.

And then they actually got to know each other and Quinn’s interest in her only grew. She hung out with her all the time. She couldn’t stand being without her. She could be herself around her.

Quinn didn’t mind not seeing Blaine, ghosting aside, but she did mind not seeing Denise for a long time. That was a huge green flag.

“You did mention her all the time,” Blaine admits.

“You mentioned Kurt all the time!” Quinn says and another round of laughs hits her. It was right in front of them. The moment Blaine met Kurt and Quinn met Denise, their relationship was as good as over. It didn’t stand a chance.

Blaine finally joins in with the laughter, because it is kind of funny.

“Aren’t you afraid, though?” Blaine asks after the laughter has died down.

Quinn frowns. Why should she be afraid?

“No? Of what?”

Blaine looks shocked to hear it. Quinn can see it.

“Are you?” she asks.

Blaine nods slowly.

“Why?”

Blaine stammers over his words.

“This is all so new,” he eventually manages to say.

“Is it, though?” Quinn ponders, “We’ve had these feelings for quite some time. We just didn’t know what to do with them.”

Quinn does get that it is weird, but it just makes sense that she is into Denise. Quinn was in a weird headspace when she rushed back to the hotel, but she did have some thoughts fleeting through her head.

Quinn is gay.

Is she a lesbian? Or bi? Does it even matter, really?

Should she have known? Like Blaine, she genuinely didn’t, but also like Blaine, she never stopped to reflect on her feelings. They weren’t raised to self-reflect. They were raised to be the perfect son and daughter.

The signs were there.

The way Quinn’s past behaviour was triggered by Denise made Quinn stop and think about her past. In hindsight, Denise isn’t the first person who made her feel like this. At school, lot of girls ticked her off. She would get upset if those certain girls didn’t pay her any mind, because Quinn craved their attention. She even drew pornographic images of Rachel Berry when she was “pissed off” at her. Come to think about it, it isn’t very heterosexual of Quinn to draw girls like that.

Quinn was the head bitch in charge and yes, it was to project a certain desired image of herself, but also because she revelled in the idea of all these girls wanting to be like her in some way. Or the idea of all these girls wanting her in some way.

And even after that, she loved being around women. She joined a feminist group at Yale. She loves her all-female yoga club and spin class. She adores all the women in the Women’s Political Collective. She feels better around women.

Quinn thought it was a safety thing and it probably still is, but maybe there was something else going on as well?

Blaine is right, though. Things will change and there will be highs and lows. They need to figure out what to do with their shared life in LA. They need to figure out how to tell their friends and families. They completely need to reassess the future that they have been working towards. That is scary, but in this moment, unlike Blaine, Quinn doesn’t feel scared. Maybe the fear will catch up with her at a later point, but all she can think of now is Denise and only Denise. The practicalities can wait.

It’s all a bit overwhelming to think about. She’s only had this realisation for a few hours. Blaine must’ve gone mad, since he’s been thinking about it for weeks.

She asks Blaine about it and Blaine confirms that this is the reason he ghosted Quinn. He couldn’t handle himself.

“Oh, Blaine,” Quinn gets up to hug him. He relaxes into the familiar embrace. They can still hug and be there for each other.

Blaine, her ex-boyfriend. Blaine, her best friend.

He quickly talks about what it was like for him, and he explains the signs in his life. Quinn remembers the conversation they had about body neutrality. She’s known for a long time that Blaine felt insecure around other attractive men, but it also never clicked in her mind.

“I mean, yeah Blaine, it sounds pretty fucking gay that you wondered what it was like to kiss a guy,” she says.

“I almost straight up asked Nick and Jeff.”

“Straight up?” Quinn giggles.

“Oh come on!” Blaine says, but he also sounds like he finds it funny.

Damn, they are both gay. That’s why it never worked out. Hopefully they’ll be able to laugh about it one day. They’re already getting there.

Quinn pulls away so that she can look at him.

“What now, though?” Quinn asks him.

“I don’t know.”

“We’re supposed to leave for Rome, but…”

Quinn beckons him to go on.

Blaine turns red.

“I want to stay here with Kurt.”

Quinn coos and Blaine hides his face in his hands.

“Then stay here,” Quinn says, “You want to, right?”

“Definitely,” Blaine says through his hands, “I can’t stop thinking about him, even now. This is so new and I want to savour every moment. I want to stick around and see where it is going.”

This is why Quinn wasn’t into Blaine. She isn’t sad to hear this. On the contrary, her heart melts when she hears how in love Blaine is.

“I also want to be with Denise right now.”

“Then do that,” Blaine lowers his hands, “I mean, if you can.”

Quinn straightens her back. What is Blaine suggesting?

“I don’t even know if she likes women,” Quinn says quietly.

“Don’t you want to go and find out?”

“What should I do?”

“Well, Quinn, I don’t want to kick you out of Ljubljana or anything,” Blaine says, “In fact, you’re free to stay, even at my place, but I can’t be the perfect host.”

Quinn smiles.

“Because you’ll be occupied with Kurt?”

Blaine turns even redder. It’s adorable.

“You’re saying I should go home early and confess?”

“It’d be properly romantic,” Blaine laughs, “Flying back to the other side of the world is way more romantic than my blubbery confession in my hallway. You told me to follow my heart. I am telling you to do the same.”

Quinn thinks it over. Blaine does have a point. She likes Kurt and Blaine together, but she’s not interested in being a third wheel for the remainder of the trip. She also doesn’t feel like going to Rome alone. She could stay and maybe chill out with Tadeja, since she’s really cool.

Or she could go back to Denise.

That sounds the most appealing. Now that Quinn’s realised the extent of her feelings, she misses Denise more than ever. It’s as if her entire being is yearning for her.

Blaine is right. Quinn should also follow her heart.

“Get me my phone,” she says to Blaine, “I need to book a plane ticket.”

The moment Quinn lands in LAX, she sends Blaine a message telling him she’s arrived.

Then she gets a taxi to take her home. She barely slept during the plane ride, since she was filled with adrenaline and nerves, but she needs to be smart about this. A part of her wants to go to Denise straight away, but Quinn should be rational.

She should go home and sleep.

She cannot make an ass out of herself.

Quinn feels the jitters, though. She can’t believe she is actually doing this. She’s going to confess to Denise. She knows it might backfire, because she doesn’t even know if Denise would like her back, but now that Quinn understands her own feelings, she needs to get it off her chest.

But really, she needs sleep first.

Quinn didn’t sleep properly, but she’s glad she got some of it. After breakfast, she puts on her best clothes, she styles her hair and she puts on her prettiest make-up. The last time she dressed up like this was for Blaine and it makes her laugh.

Oh, Blaine.

He’s so lovely. He and Kurt have sent her some gifs of encouragement. It’s kind of weird to have her ex-boyfriend and his new boyfriend root for her, but in the same vein, she roots for them.

She sends a selfie back and then it’s time to go.

Denise doesn’t know she’s coming. She doesn’t even know Quinn’s back in the country.

Maybe Quinn should tell Denise she’s on her way, so that she won’t be disappointed if Denise isn’t home, but Quinn also doesn’t want to raise questions and a possible rejection.

This is nerve wrecking.

She passes a florist and on a whim she decides to buy a bouquet of roses. It’s thrilling. Quinn’s always received flowers, but she didn’t really give them. She’s going to change that. A lot will be different from this moment on.

Denise doesn’t live too far away, so Quinn can’t spend a lot of time dwelling on whatever might happen. Once she’s rang the doorbell, it’s time.

“Hello?” Denise’s voice rings through the intercom.

“Hey,” Quinn says lamely, “It’s me.”

“… Quinn?”

“Yeah. Can you open the door?”

“What- How did- Wait, okay, come on up.”

Quinn hears a buzzer and the door to the building opens. While riding the elevator, Quinn takes one last deep breath. This is her last chance to turn around, but she doesn’t want to. She knows that she needs to tell Denise. She hides the bouquet behind her back and she steps out of the elevator.

Denise is already standing in the doorway. She looks very confused to see Quinn and Quinn can’t blame her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in Ljubljana?” Denise asks with a frown.

“Came home yesterday,” Quinn answers.

“Why? Is everything alright? Is Blaine still there?”

“Yes. He’s doing alright. We broke up, though.”

Denise’s eyes widen in shock.

“Quinn, oh my God, I am so sorry…” Denise trials off, awkwardly, but Quinn uses one shoulder to shrug. She really doesn’t mind the break-up and she thinks that Denise doesn’t really mind either. Quinn sees that as a good sign.

“Denise,” Quinn then says, “I didn’t come home early to get away from Blaine.”

“Okay?”

“I came home early… to give you this,” Quinn says and she shows Denise the roses. Denise looks absolutely baffled.

“What?”

“Denise, I know this might sound sudden. Trust me, this is sudden for me as well, but I am in love with you.”

“What?” Denise says again.

Quinn nods.

“I think I have been in love with you ever since I first met you, but I just didn’t know. I thought I was jealous of you, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I spent all my free time with you in my head. Even when I still thought you were a bitch, I needed you around me, and when I realised I was wrong, I never wanted to stop being around you.”

Denise has a weird look on her face, but she doesn’t stop Quinn and she doesn’t seem disgusted. On the contrary, she seems curious.

“I was so stuck in my head, Denise. I didn’t stop and think about myself. It wasn’t until I was in Ljubljana and I saw that Blaine had fallen in love with another man-” Denise’s eyes widen “-that things started to make sense. I never loved him. I believed I did. Truly, I did.”

Quinn laughs awkwardly. Maybe this isn’t making any sense to Denise, but it makes sense to her, and that is what matters. Quinn kept telling everyone, including herself, that she loves Blaine, so yes, it is a big change. But now Quinn understands that she kept reaffirming her supposed love for Blaine because she needed to keep believing it.

“What I am saying is that once I saw how Blaine acted around Kurt, that I knew. I saw myself in that. And when we broke up, I realised I wasn’t sad, because it felt right. We weren’t meant to be together, we never were. When Kurt and Blaine showed me what love looks like, I realised I already knew. I love you, Denise Jackson-Smith. I want to kiss you. I want to be with you, if you’d let me.”

No going back.

Denise looks absolutely lost for words.

Quinn holds out the bouquet of roses and Denise stares at it as if it’s an alien object. Quinn likes to think she’s a patient woman, but she can feel her stomach drop.

“Quinn, are you serious?” Denise asks.

“Dead serious. I flew home just to confess.”

“Come in,” Denise steps aside so that Quinn can go inside. She holds the bouquet close to her, since Denise didn’t take it.

Denise closes the door behind her and she leans against it.

“Quinn, are you serious?” she asks again.

Quinn nods.

“Don’t you… want me?” she asks.

“I do,” Denise says quickly and Quinn can feel the hope return, “God, Quinn, fuck. I do. But I thought you were straight.”

“Well, so did I,” Quinn says, “And I don’t know what I am. I don’t know if I am a lesbian, or bi, or whatever flavour of queer. All I know that I could be yours.”

“Fucking hell,” Denise slumps against her door.

Quinn tilts her head in confusion. Denise just admitted that she has feelings for Quinn as well, but she doesn’t seem excited about it.

“What… What is it?” Quinn asks.

“I just…” Denise closes her eyes and she looks pinched, “I just need to know that this is real. Quinn, I’ve- You’re not the first quote-unquote straight girl who suddenly wants me. I studied art. There were a lot of girls who were straight but after a couple of drinks they’d get close.”

“That’s not what is happening, I swear,” Quinn says quickly.

“Yeah, she said that as well,” Denise mutters, “She just thought it was exciting to screw a senator’s hot daughter and once she got what she wanted, she decided it was an experiment after all. And she wasn’t the only one. And experimentation is fine, but just… not with me.”

“Denise…”

Denise looks at Quinn and there are tears in her eyes.

“I want you too, Quinn Fabray,” she says tearfully, “I do. I really do. But I’ve been hurt before. This is why I no longer make a big deal about the fact that I like women, because it’s always attracted the wrong crowd.”

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Quinn takes a step forward and Denise realises she’s backed herself against a wall. Quinn stops in her tracks when she sees it. “Denise, I don’t- I can’t tell you what to do. If you don’t want to be with me then…”

Well, then that sucks. The thought alone is unbearable. It’s as if Quinn can feel her heart shatter. So this is what heartbreak is like.

She takes a breath.

“Then I can’t force you to be with me. I will go home. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me, alright? I don’t know what to do to proof to you that this is real, but if you know, let me know, because I would love to show you.”

Denise nods slowly.

Quinn looks at her bouquet of roses. Then she looks around the hallway for a surface to put them on. She doesn’t want to take them home and be reminded of this failure, but trashing them feels like a waste.

She looks at the small table near the door that leads to the living room. That will do.

The roses lie on the table and Quinn decides that it’s time to go.

“Well. I am off.”

But to her surprise, Denise doesn’t move away from the door.

“Uh, can I?” Quinn asks, but Denise looks at the roses.

“You bought those for me, right?” she asks with a small voice.

Quinn nods.

“No one’s ever given me roses before.”

“First thing for everything,” Quinn says.

Denise looks back to Quinn.

“It’s… I want to believe you, Quinn. I like you so much. I have dreamt of this moment and now-” Denise laughs awkwardly, “-I’m ruining this.”

“You’ve dreamt of this?” Quinn asks.

“Yes. This. You’d stop by and tell me you broke up with Blaine and that you’re not straight and you’d want to be with me. That is exactly what happened.”

It is.

“Then, how do these dreams end?”

“With this,” Denise says and she puts her hands on Quinn’s face. Quinn’s eyes widen and her heart races with excitement when she realises what Denise is doing. She lifts up her chin in anticipation. Denise is a bit taller and Quinn never thought about that, but now she does. Now, she can. Denise moves closer to her face, but she doesn’t kiss Quinn. “With me kissing you.”

“You can,” Quinn tries to stay calm.

Quinn gets it, though. Denise is hopeful, but she also doesn’t allow herself to hope. She doesn’t want to feel the pain again.

“Please, Denise. Take a chance on me,” Quinn pleads. Denise is so close and Quinn fights herself to not kiss her. “You’ve appreciated honesty, from the very beginning, so let me be honest. I haven’t lied to you before. I wouldn’t start now.”

Then, a cautious smile appears on Denise’s face.

“You gave me roses.”

“I did.”

“You flew from the other side of the world to confess.”

“I did.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?”

“Yeah. Leap of faith.”

And then, Denise finally closes the gap between them and she kisses Quinn. Quinn saw it coming but she’s still thrown off guard by the unexpected feeling that comes with this. She thought she knew what it was like to kiss and to be kissed, but she didn’t. Everything she thought she knew is being flown out of the window and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Quinn hooks her arms around Denise’s neck and the two of them keep kissing until they’re spent.

“Woah,” Quinn breathes out.

“Yeah.”

Quinn leans her head in the crook of Denise’s neck, which surprises Denise, but Denise holds her.

“Was that real enough for you?” Quinn asks.

“Yes. Yes, it was.”

The roses have been put in a beautiful vase.

Denise is in her kitchen and Quinn’s sat in her living room. Her mind is reeling. She just did it. She confessed and got the girl. She fucking got the girl.

Denise hands her a cup of tea and then sits down next to Quinn with her own cup. Quinn leans against her and the two of them sip their drinks in comfortable silence.

It feels right. Quinn’s spent so many years of her life trying to live up to what she was supposed to do, but this is where Quinn is supposed to be. She couldn’t be happier.

End notes: Thank you for reading.

#klaineadvent #klaine advent 2022 #klaine advent #glee #holy fuck I wrote #2023 #oneshot

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