Reminder that prompts are always welcome!

Kurt braced his forearms against the counter that ran along the back of the diner and heaved out a sigh, feeling some of the tension from his last table leaking out of his body. He usually enjoyed the Spotlight's schtick - flirting playfully with customers to establish rapport - but the table of fifteen year old girls he'd just served apparently hadn't gotten the memo that the waiters flirted with everyone, leaving him with a lot of lip-gloss-kissed receipts and tips with phone numbers scrawled across the topmost bill. One girl had even tried to hint that she'd be back later, causing him to anxiously check his watch and see how much longer he was scheduled.

All of Kurt's stress evaporated when a new customer wandered in the front doors, though. The boy looked like he was about Kurt's age, and was dressed adorably in a blue cardigan and bow tie. He fit in with the diner's vaguely Fifties theme perfectly, and he was heading for a table right in Kurt's section.

Score.

Kurt nearly knocked the menu pile over in his haste to get to the table. "Well hello there, handsome. You look like you could use a stiff one," he said with a cocked hip and a wink.

The boy choked, eyes widening in shock. "Um - I - I'm only - water, please," he stuttered, looking at Kurt with these big golden-brown Bambi eyes that made Kurt want to swoon. "Just water is fine."

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," Kurt said, deciding to back off for a minute and give the other boy a chance to collect himself. Tables full of stammering, flustered customers didn't tend to tip as well, and this boy was just too cute to scare off.

As Kurt scooted away to grab the boy's drink, he noticed him pulling out his phone and typing furiously. Kurt's heart sank - did he have a significant other already? That would be just Kurt's luck. He filled a glass with water and headed back to the boy's table, keeping a professional but not overly flirtatious smile on his face.

"Thanks, angel," the boy said as Kurt approached. His smile was charming and sunny, and Kurt felt his heart start going double time in his chest. "You're the best."

"Anything for my favorite customer," Kurt replied, hoping he didn't sound quite as breathless as he felt. So that's a no on the partner front. Excellent.

"Wow, and you don't even know my name yet," the other boy said playfully. "I can't imagine the schmucks you must usually deal with if I'm already your favorite."

"Cute boys in bow ties are always my favorite," Kurt said, reaching out to lightly brush a hand against the boy's collar, making him freeze up and blush. "I suppose it would help to have a name to put to your face, though. Can't just be calling you 'dreamboat' in my head, you know."

"I dunno, I like dreamboat. My real name's Blaine, though," the boy - Blaine - said. "Would you prefer Kurt or darling, darling?"

"How - you - " Kurt stuttered, irrationally wondering if Blaine could read minds.

"Name tag, dear," Blaine said, gesturing to Kurt's chest, where oh, right, he did have a little red plastic oval.

Smooth, Hummel. "Cute and clever. I should scoop you right up," Kurt said, recovering quickly.

"If the food here is any good, I might just let you," Blaine said, and that cocky tone should not be doing things to Kurt's libido when he was in public. "I love a man who can cook."

"Unfortunately for you, Chef's a woman," Kurt said. "But her burgers are some of the best in the city."

"Then I'll take the platter," Blaine said, folding up his menu and handing it to Kurt. He snagged Kurt's hand before Kurt could start writing down his order, though, looking a little nervous as he continued, "And I'll just pretend my handsome waiter is the one cooking. What's a little more illusion, right?"

"I don't think there's as much illusion happening in this diner as you think there is," Kurt said quietly, hoping his sincerity shined through to Blaine. He saw Blaine smile and felt him squeeze his hand lightly before letting him go again, a move that left Kurt feeling strangely bereft. "I'll go put your order in, cutie."

"I'll pine for you every moment you're gone, sweetness," Blaine said with a wink that almost made Kurt crash into the booth opposite Blaine as he turned and left.

Kurt thanked his lucky stars that no one else sat in his section as Blaine's meal progressed, leaving him with plenty of opportunities to swoop by and refill his water or check up on his food. It seemed like they were brushing fingers or touching arms and shoulders every time they passed, too, leaving Kurt with constant tingles shooting up his spine and a unfading blush across his cheeks.

"Can I get you any dessert, honey?" he asked when Blaine had polished off his burger, running his hand across Blaine's as he took Blaine's plate. "Our milkshakes are amazing, if I do say so myself."

"What's your favorite flavor?" Blaine asked in return.

"I like the chocolate, personally. I'm a fan of the classics," Kurt said. "Classic movies, classic date tropes, you know, all that stuff."

"Then I'd like to order a chocolate shake with two straws," Blaine said, giving Kurt another one of those knee-melting smiles.

"Two straws?" Kurt repeated, a smile blooming across his face involuntarily.

"There's this boy I'd like to share it with," Blaine said softly. "Do you think he'd be okay with that?"

"I think he'd love that, especially since his shift is ending," Kurt replied, equally quiet. "Let me just go put that order in, and then I'll send out your date."

The smile that erupted on Blaine's face at that answer could melt glaciers. Kurt hurried off to put in the order and clean himself up real quick, throwing his apron and name tag into his bag haphazardly and making sure his hair wasn't a total disaster before heading back onto the floor to grab the shake and the straws.

"One milkshake, two straws," he said, placing the cup on the table gently before sliding into the booth across from Blaine. "And one date."

"Perfect," Blaine said, reaching across the table to clasp one of Kurt's hands in his. "Absolutely perfect."

"We're not going to have to hide behind menus to avoid any greaser buddies of yours who come in, are we?" Kurt teased.

"Seeing as I haven't met all that many people in New York yet, we're probably safe," Blaine said.

"Oh, did you just move here?"

"Yeah, I'm starting college in the fall and wanted to get here as soon as I could," Blaine said, rubbing his thumb over the back of Kurt's hand. "Ohio's not really the greatest place."

"Believe me, I know. I'm from Lima," Kurt said. "NYADA - my school - is so much better than Ohio ever was."

"You're kidding me," Blaine said, looking stunned. When Kurt gave him a confused stare, he continued, "I'm starting at NYADA in August, and I'm from Westerville."

"What are the odds?" Kurt said, pretty sure the look on his own face now matched the shock on Blaine's. "And here I thought I was just going to get to flirt with a cute stranger when you walked into the diner today."

"What are you thinking now?" Blaine asked, a hopeful grin appearing on his face.

"I'm thinking we should go out for dinner tomorrow night," Kurt said. "If that's something you'd be into."

"Oh, I would," Blaine said immediately. "I want to see what you're like when you're not getting paid to flirt with me."

"Honey, I would have flirted with you had that not been part of my job description," Kurt said, laughing lightly. "The look on your face when I greeted you was priceless, though."

"I thought I'd entered some kind of parallel universe for a minute!" Blaine defended. "I had to Google this place real quick to make sure it was really a diner."

"I was wondering why you'd pulled out your phone," Kurt said, nodding his head at the explanation. "I thought you were texting a significant other in panic."

"No, there's no one like that in my life yet," Blaine said, the yet making Kurt's heart thrill. "Maybe after tomorrow night, though."

"You'll have to let me know," Kurt teased, leaning in to finally take a sip of their milkshake.

"I'll keep you posted," Blaine replied, leaning in for a drink of his own. When Kurt caught a whiff of his cologne, he had to keep himself from inhaling the shake instead of drinking it.

(The careful kiss Blaine gave Kurt after their date the next night was proof enough. By the time classes rolled around in the fall, the NYADA rumor mill was already buzzing with reports of a potential new power couple, a move that for once didn't raise Kurt's ire. Maybe because of Blaine's tendency to kiss him every time he started getting annoyed.)