#njta

DRINK

[This one is part of my Not Just the Alcohol verse, a twist on S2/BIOTA]

“...say what’s in this drink?”

Kurt turned off the mixer to the sound of the familiar refrain wafting through the kitchen. He was suddenly hit with the memory of the year before. He couldn’t help but marvel at the impossibility of how things had turned out for him and a contented smile crossed his face as he caught Blaine’s eye.

“What are you thinking?” Blaine asked, pulling a cookie sheet from the cabinet and setting it on the counter.

“This song,” Kurt gestured vaguely in the air. “Do you remember singing it?”

“You helped me rehearse,” Blaine said.

“And I had an unrequited crush on a straight boy that I was trying desperately not to let show,” Kurt said back. “Do you have any idea how irresistible you are with those eyes of yours and the flirty winks?”

“What, these eyes?” Blaine said innocently, beaming at Kurt with exactly the sparkle he couldn’t resist.

Kurt smacked him playfully, but Blaine leaned close, flirtatious as ever, and started to sing to him once more. With a glance he implored Kurt to join him and this time when the song ended, he pulled Kurt in for a tender kiss. “Better?” he asked as they separated.

Kurt laughed. “Much. But I wouldn’t trade it you know. As weird as it was crushing on my best friend’s boyfriend, I’m glad we got to be friends first.” He grabbed a pan and started scooping out the cookie dough.

“Me too. God I was terrified. But I think knowing already how amazing you were, it made it easier for me, you know? Because as scary as it was I knew there was this potentially wonderful thing waiting for me if I could just be brave enough to embrace it. Well, and if you felt the same way,” he admitted with a little self-deprecating shrug.

“You really didn’t know? That I liked you?”

“I really didn’t.”

“Well, I guess that speaks well of my acting ability then. Maybe I’ll add it to my resume,” Kurt joked.

“Or it just speaks to my cluelessness. But yeah, let’s go with the first one. Your way sounds better.”

Kurt shook his head at his boyfriend. He was hopeless, but adorable. “Of course it does. My way always sounds better,” Kurt said cockily, but with no bite behind it. “Now come on, you’re the one who’s supposed to be baking ME cookies, and I’m doing all the work.” He swatted at Blaine with a spoon, but Blaine dodged out of the way before it could land.

“Yes, dear,” he said sweetly, grabbing the first full sheet of cookies to slide into the oven.

Summary:

Even though the background character was never named at McKinley, we saw Dominic Barnes on Glee before he joined the Warblers as Trent. My head canon says of course it's him, but why did he leave McKinley? Here's a very brief answer, set just after Kurt transfers to Dalton.

Canon-compliant one-shot that also works as part of the Not Just the Alcohol verse, where it would fit into chapter 1, even though I didn't think to write it at the time.

~

Kurt looked around at the room full of guys he'd just been introduced to after his first practice with the Warblers. One boy in particular looked familiar but Kurt couldn’t quite place why.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asked Trent, a round-faced boy with a cheerful disposition.

“You transferred from McKinley, right? I used to go there. I think I remember seeing you around with the glee club last year.”

“Oh, that must be it,” Kurt replied. “But, if you sing, why weren't you in glee? We were always looking for new members. Especially guys who could actually sing.”

“Well, I guess you could call it self-preservation. I was already the fat kid, and I was starting to realize I was gay, even though I wasn't out yet. I was enough of a target for the jocks without joining glee too. I saw the slushies you guys took in the halls.”

“Mm…” Kurt murmured as he nodded thoughtfully. “I can understand that. So is that why you transferred? To avoid bullying?” Kurt wondered how much Trent’s story paralleled his own.

“No, not really. I never came out at McKinley, so things really never got too bad. I'd get comments on my weight now and then. Though that Coach Sylvester was probably worse than any of the other kids.”

Kurt gave a wry smile and nodded in agreement. Coach Sue was awful. “So why did you leave then?”

“My mom. She's an English teacher and she got a job here. Free tuition was one of the perks. It was pretty much a no-brainer. I knew I could feel safe coming out here too, so I guess maybe that was part of it, but it wasn't the main reason. If my mom wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t be either, for better or for worse.”

“So Dalton, it’s been good for you?” Kurt asked. He was still a little bit wary that Dalton could really be the idyllic haven it seemed like on the surface.

“You mean being out? Yeah, it has. I know I’ve only been here a few months, but it definitely isn’t McKinley, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I would have come out at school if I was still there. But here it’s really not a big deal. Especially with these guys,” Trent gestured around to the other Warblers who were dispersing after rehearsal.

Kurt eyed Trent, still trying to absorb the idea that being gay could be such a non-issue. “Thanks, Trent,” he said warmly. “I’ll see you around?”

“Of course,” Trent replied. “You know where to find me.”

When Blaine and Rachel meet at theater camp they easily slip into the roles of boyfriend and girlfriend. Blaine befriends Kurt when he transfers to Dalton, but when a game of Spin the Bottle leads to a kiss between the two boys, Blaine begins to question things. Klaine endgame.

A Season 2/BIOTA AU

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