The first drabble, naturally, has to go to my wonderful beta, who prompted this:

"Everyday Kurt walks to school and one day he passes this boy walking in the opposite direction who is his age (like 15 idk), but looks teeny tiny in his little Dalton uniform and has a black eye and a cast on his wrist and generally looks beaten up. This boy is Blaine, and every day they pass each other on the way to school and Kurt falls in love with him bit by bit. LITTLE DOES HE KNOW Blaine is falling in love with Kurt too, as he sees him every day. One day when Blaine's a junior and Kurt's a senior, Blaine sees Kurt sitting by himself in the lima bean and finally gathers up the courage to ask him out. "Hi, I'm Blaine" *cue the simultaneous death of one thousand fangirls*

YOU HAVE TO WRITE ME AN EXTRA LONG EXTRA SPECIAL DRABBLE CUS I'M UR BETA AND BEST FRIEND SO YES PLEASE MAKE THIS DREAM OF MINE A KLAINE REALITY PLEASE XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO"

So here it is, my dear. I hope you enjoy it! XD


Kurt can remember seeing the boy for the first time very clearly. Later, looking back, he won't be able to remember where he was on the street or what he was thinking before he saw him or even what he himself was wearing, but he will always remember the sight of him.

The weather was on the turn; sun still shining brightly but a chill in the wind that said autumn was leaving and winter was coming. It was two months into his first year in high school, and he'd had that terrified feeling in his gut that still hadn't gone away, despite the glee club and his friends. Walking to school that morning in his new jacket and fabulous boots, fully aware of what high school was like for people like him, but his head was high; fifteen and still baby faced and determined not to let the world break him.

And the boy was walking towards him, with gelled hair and a pale face, figure absolutely tiny in his stiff, too-new blazer with red piping and pressed grey trousers, smart, black shoes shop shiny and squeaking. Presentable and smart and… and beaten up. Kurt had stopped, staring with wide eyes and ignoring the little voice in the back of his head that told him to stop staring it's rude and creepy, oh my god he'll notice what are you doing because the boy had a dark bruise circling his left eye in a healing, yellowish green colour. The boy didn't appear to notice Kurt's staring, much to his relief, and simply carried on walking, steps careful and face worried as he tugged nervously at the corner of his blazer. It was then that Kurt noticed the boy's cast; cream and well worn, peeking out underneath the edge of his blazer sleeve.

Kurt couldn't help but twist his torso around to stare after the boy, taking in his dark, gelled hair where some of his curls weren't quite fixed in place, staring at his tiny, vulnerable figure, until he suddenly remembered himself and hurried off. All through his first day of classes, through his first face-off with a brightly coloured slushy, Kurt wondered what had happened to the boy in the blazer to give him those injuries.


Blaine had noticed the kid who stopped to stare at him on the street, vaguely, but he hadn't paid it much heed, other than a quick glance. He hadn't made the connection until much later.

Lots of people stared, now, now that… In the hospital, people hadn't stared. At least, not after they got used to it. But in public, when he'd been brave enough to go out, people would not stop staring at the bruises lingering on his face, at the cast still wrapped securely around his arm.

So he'd noticed, vaguely, but his mind had been taken up with worries about if he looked alright and what Dalton was going to be like and if people would make fun of him and if he would do okay and if he could make friends-

So he didn't notice, that day, nor for most of the rest of the week; each morning his brain was rushed and frantic and half-asleep.

But gradually, as he settled in, as he realised that people at Dalton genuinely didn't care, or if they did they left him alone, as he joined the Warblers, as he was befriended by Wes and David and the other boys as memories of punches and kicks and jeers began to fade, he began to notice. Notice the boy who passed him every day; the one with the tight expression and soft looking brown hair and ever more outrageous outfits.

Blaine had never been particularly outgoing in his fashion choices, but as someone now confined to a uniform for the majority of his time, he found himself looking forward to what the boy with porcelain skin would wear each morning, barely noticing the little smiles he gave, especially at the more outlandish ones.

The boy became a regular part of his routine; get up, wash and get dressed, gel hair, eat breakfast, walk to school, look out for the boy, get to school, etc, etc, etc. On the way home, too, he noticed. Noticed when he was wearing something different than he had been that morning, when his hair looked a little more rumpled than the previous day.

He wondered what caused it; the seemingly sporadic outfit changes. Wondered what caused the closed off expression on his admittedly adorable face, what caused the strut he walked with. The boy walked with a 'don't-care' attitude that Blaine simultaneously envied and found curious.

He wondered if the boy was bullied. He wondered if the boy would ever let it break him.


Blazer Boy, as Kurt had taken to calling him, passed him every morning and every afternoon, to and from school in the uniform he slowly began to take to and own (and Kurt was did so like to see people own their clothes, and the blazer was very dapper). He watched as his frightened expression began to even out into the usual emotions associated with high school kids - fatigue, annoyance, excitement, the gentle kind of anxiety caused by workloads and impending exams rather than fitting in and surviving.

Noticed that he often had earphones in, and sometimes was even lucky enough to catch snippets of the songs; Katy Perry and P!nk and so much top forty it almost made Kurt's head hurt, but… and he would never admit it to anyone in the Glee club except possibly Mercedes (and most certainly never in Rachel's hearing) it was kind of endearing; all of it being compiled into a sketchy collage that made up his image of 'Blazer Boy'.

He didn't hear him speak until well after Christmas; occasionally hum, a quiet huff when he'd stubbed his toe on a loose paving and Kurt had had to suppress as smirk at Blazer Boy's disgruntled expression at that, but he didn't hear him speak.

Until one day on the way home from school, in his third change of clothes after a particularly bad day, he was walking with his head down, shoulders slumped and a thousand things on his mind; Finn, Carole, his dad, and a voice caught his attention.

"…I really can't- Wes! I- no, of course I'm going to be there on Friday, but I can't tomorrow! I told you why, my brother's coming back to town- yes I think the Warblers are important, but he's my brother, Wes. I don't see him very often and- look, you know what, Coop's probably going to make me do a ton of singing with him anyway, so it's not like I won't practise at all- what? Why would- well, no, he probably wouldn't mind if I filmed it for you, but… seriously?" Blazer Boy walked past, chattering away into his phone, and unknowingly adding several pieces of information to Kurt's draft of him.

Kurt's head shot up, staring at Blazer Boy in wonder. He had such a nice voice. Smooth and mellow and god Kurt would give almost anything to hear him sing. Reluctantly, he carried on walking, well aware of how weird it would be if he stopped, even if he was hoping to listen for more.

Blazer Boy had a brother called Cooper. He had a friend called Wes. He sang with his brother, and probably with Wes in these 'Warblers' - maybe that was a Glee club? What if they met in competition?

Kurt hugged his new knowledge to his chest, feeling better than he had all week.


Blaine actually tripped over his own feet when he saw Boots (when the nickname had occurred and why it had stuck, Blaine had no idea, but what with the boy's apparent fondness for Doc Martins and other footwear along those lines, it seemed fitting) wearing flannel.

Because that was just wrong, on so many levels, and even more wrong on Boots - not that he couldn't wear what he wanted, but Blaine somehow doubted that anyone could have a fashion revolution quite that fast. Least of all someone as fashion savvy as Boots seemed to be.

Boots had smirked at him last time he'd tripped - and it had been so embarrassing, but if that wasn't the cutest expression he'd ever seen - but this time he barely even flicked Blaine a glance.

Blaine couldn't help but feel slightly… let down. They'd never actually made eye contact, but Blaine had thought they had some kind of… understanding. Which, in retrospect, was looking more and more like Blaine's usual stupid optimism making things up, but still.

He wondered what had happened to Boots to make him… well. Lose the boots.

His realisation of how nonexistent his relationship with the quirky boy was meant his mood plummeted over that week, leaving Blaine ridiculously mopey to the point that David threatened to slap him and Jeff and Nick offered him ice-cream (which they had only ever done for Blaine when he was super upset) but it hit rock-bottom when he passed Boots, and Boots wasn't alone.

He'd seen him occasionally with a small, very loud brunette with fashion sense so bad even Blaine found looking at her sweaters painful (which had resulted in way too many daydreams about how Boots put up with it), and also with a black girl who was named after some kind of car - though he couldn't for the life of him remember which.

And although Boots had had his arm linked through the girls', it had looked… platonic. Blaine had just looked at them and thought 'friends' without even consciously processing the thought.

But this.

This.

A blonde, admittedly very pretty cheerleader with the highest ponytail Blaine had ever seen was walking with Boots, her red uniform skirt short and exposing her very long legs. And Boots was holding her hand, in a decidedly non-platonic way.

It was at that point Blaine found himself running to Wes, David, Nick and Jeff and saying:

"I think I'm in love with a boy I've never even spoken to but he's got a girlfriend and that hurt and I don't know what to do."


To say that Kurt was relieved to be out of flannel and baggy jeans would be an understatement of epic proportions.

To say that he was happy about his dad accepting him would probably qualify for some kind of understatement award.

He was floating, and when he saw Blazer Boy the next day, he couldn't help but smile at him happily, dressed in clothing from the more outrageous area of his wardrobe and, as always, his favourite pair of Doc Martins.

Blazer Boy looked shocked, then choked up, and then he smiled back.

And, well. That just about made Kurt's week.

That, and the knowledge of what colour Blazer Boy's eyes were; hazel. Beautiful, honeyed hazel.


Blaine nearly gave a yell of joy when he saw Boots back in his skin-tight jeans and scarves and boots. When Boots grinned at him happily, face wrinkled and nose scrunched up in happiness, Blaine was just about ready to cry. He managed to smile back, and just that small interaction gave him hope, a warm glow settling in him and refusing to leave. Caused him to ignore the advice from his friends to give up or confess (Thad had butted in and told him to sing, Jeff had just offered him more ice-cream, Nick had told him to ask him out, David had told him it was a little farfetched but that he didn't really care as long as the moping and lamenting Katy Perry songs stopped, Wes had said he didn't want him pining and then told him to focus on the Warblers. Let it not be said that Blaine's friends didn't give him options.)

At the continued absence of the cheerleader, Blaine felt just about ready to burst into song and dance on a car.


Soon, summer came, and both boys found themselves disappointed at the lack of meetings. But the summer was hot and relaxing and full of fun and theme-parks and spa days and they only really spared a thought for each other when they walked down that street; hoping and wondering if they'd see each other again when term started.


Blazer Boy had- well, he hadn't grown, per se, but he had most certainly done something. The gel had increased to the point that Kurt wanted to force him under a hose, but those shoulders had filled out and he was so much more confidant; eyes sparkling and face loose and happy and relaxed.

He was handsome, and hot - a thought that Kurt had never been brave enough to properly use about anyone other than Taylor Lautner in privacy to Mercedes after she had said it first - but had had to use after he was lucky enough to see Blazer Boy sans his blazer. Those arms had quite literally made Kurt feel lightheaded.

He'd noticed his crush on Blazer Boy, of course he had; Kurt wasn't blind. He'd felt the way his cheeks heated when he saw him, remembered dreaming about his smile. But the sexual attraction… it wasn't something that Kurt was comfortable considering, if he was honest with himself - the whole idea terrified him.

But suddenly he found himself admiring Blazer Boy's light tan and wondering if the beautiful colour was everywhere, found himself wondering if his abs were as amazing as his arms, found himself dreaming ever more frequently. It was as if with the admittance that Blaine wasn't just Prince Charming - Ken doll attractive, his feelings all came together into one big mess he had been trying his hardest to ignore.

Kurt didn't like to be let down. He didn't like to be disappointed- and he'd been disappointed so, so so many times. When Finn said the words "faggy blanket", when Mr Schue dismissed him, when he had to throw that solo because he loved his father but Rachel would not shut up about it, when Mercedes didn't partner with him for duets, when Finn and his dad told him not to sing with Sam, when he got shoved, slushied, called names.

He hadn't wanted to be disappointed by Blazer Boy - the one constant, the one thing that never failed to cheer him up no matter how many E-numbers were in his hair or how many bruises he had. So he had pushed any and all feelings for him away.

But now he couldn't stop them anymore. It was like one minute, he was thinking 'oh god he's attractive wow' and the next his thoughts had run into 'and he does this and that and this and that' on and on and on on an endless loop.

He was- in love. With Blazer Boy. With a guy he didn't even know the name of. He was aware of how ridiculous that sounded, but. He liked the way his walk turned into a bopping, bouncy step, in time with whatever music he was listening to. He liked the way he nodded his head along, the way he would hum along to certain lines like he just couldn't help himself and he had to let the music out, liked the way his smile lit up not just his whole face but his whole body, liked the way he walked with his hands in his pockets, liked the way his eyes shone.

He liked him, but he'd never spoken to him.

And Kurt wasn't sure he could brave the risk of being disappointed if he tried.


Boots had shot up over the summer. He also started styling his hair up and off his face, and woah, okay, Boots had cheekbones. He was so pretty, but not a girlish pretty, exactly, just… beautiful. He was beautiful, and tall and graceful and… sure, he'd been cute before, but he was about ten times hotter now with those broad shoulders and lean legs and his ass -

Blaine felt slightly guilty about ogling a stranger's ass, but really, those jeans were asking for it. Suddenly the phrase 'skin-tight jeans' had a whole new meaning.

And he could not get the memory of his smile out of his head, couldn't stop his daydreams from turning to those blue, green, grey- glasz. Blaine was only slightly ashamed to admit he had looked for that word just so he could describe Boots' eyes.

But his appearance didn't make any difference to his feelings, other than a sudden increase in sexual desire.

Because Blaine loved Boots for the emotions in his beautifully coloured eyes, for the way he could look upset but proud and defiant all at the same time, for the way he strutted like he didn't give two flying fucks about what anyone thought of him, the way that when he smiled, properly smiled, he gave himself over to the emotion and scrunched up his face - an expression that remained the most adorable thing Blaine had ever seen, second only to his smirk.

That smirk just did things to Blaine, but that was besides the point. He loved Boots for the way he obviously picked his clothes with real thought, the effort he put in, loved him for the way he held his head up high.

By this point, all the Warblers (even the ones he didn't know very well in the lower years) were telling him to ask 'Boots' out.


The Lima Bean was a café that Blaine had been frequenting for nearly all his time at Dalton - it wasn't the closest, but their Medium Drip was to die for. He was picking up his drink from the other end of the counter when he heard the oddly familiar voice.

"…Grande non-fat mocha, please." He thought it was interesting; high and feminine but somehow he knew it didn't belong to a girl, there was a hint of masculinity in his tone that only served to make the voice more intriguing. He was about to turn round when his drink arrived and he had to say 'thank you' and smile at the barista because he was raised that way, but then he could turn around and-

Boots.

Right there, in Blaine's coffee shop, looking more miserable than Blaine had ever seen him, ordering a coffee and thanking the barista with a shaky, watery smile. Blaine was frozen as Boots passed him, head down and cup clenched in white-knuckled hands, and seated himself at the first empty table.

Blaine looks at him, this boy he'f been seeing almost every day for nearly a year, this boy he didn't even know the name of, this boy he'd never spoken to, this boy who'd cheered him up countless times and shared smiles with him.

Looked at him sitting slumped and nearly crying in his seat. The boy he loved.

And he made a decision.


It had been a terrible day. He hadn't been able to go home, not after Karofsky- he just couldn't. He couldn't face Finn or Carole or his dad. Hadn't been able to stay in school, not after…

He'd run. Through the streets and into a coffee shop that he knows none of the glee kids have ever frequented, ordered coffee and now he's sitting at his table, mind whirring and struggling not to cry because kissing Brittany in an effort to keep his dad's love had been one thing, but his first kiss with a boy was supposed to be special-

"Hi, I'm Blaine."

It was Blazer Boy.


Boots stares up at him, eyes wide and definitely watery, for so long that Blaine starts to feel awkward, shifting on his feet and about to retract his hand when-

"Kurt."


The day Blaine found out his boyfriend used to call him 'Blazer Boy' causes Blaine to blush red and stay that colour for nearly a full twenty minutes, and means the Warblers call him that for nearly all of his Senior year - including in their yearbook messages.

When Kurt found out his nickname was 'Boots', he howled with laughter for hours, then smirked - which still does things to Blaine, no matter how many times he sees it - and decided to show Blaine just how many pairs of boots he has.

They both cry when Blaine tells Kurt what happened at Sadie Hawkins, but when Blaine gets a detention from the Dean at Dalton for punching Karofsky (only a hastily put together story of self-defence concocted by Wes and Kurt - not a combination he really wants to experience again - saving him from more trouble) the tearful smile on Kurt's face as he mopped up Blaine's face made it worth it, and something that was cracked inside healed.

Cooper asks if he can turn the story of how they met into a film, which both Blaine and Kurt firmly refuse.

Blaine cries when Burt hugs him and says thank you for taking care of his son, and holds Kurt close when he finally gets the story of the flannel and the cheerleader out of him. Holds him closer when Kurt whispers to him 'you saved me' quiet and soft in the early hours of the morning when the sweat has long cooled on their skin.

Kurt cries when Blaine turns up at their house with harsh words echoing in his ears from his father, kissing him over and over again and calling anybody and everybody who ever hurt either of them 'fucking morons' - the first time Blaine ever hears Kurt swear.

Blaine is suspicious of Brittany until she asks him if he's a dolphin and tells him quite seriously that he'd better not hurt her Kurtie. Of course, finding out that she was with Santana might have helped a little.

Kurt teases Jeff mercilessly about his dyed hair, and helps Wes (sadly, the pair teamed up several times during the remainder of their High school years, and even after that, much to everybody's dismay) get Niff to happen.

Rachel tears up when they tell her how they met, clasping her hands together and gushing about the romance (mind you, the majority of the Kurt's girl friends gush, and Blaine's pretty sure even Puck was looking a little misty eyed).

The best thing, Blaine thinks, about the way they met, is that little details are always popping up, even years down the line.

When they're screaming and yelling at each other, when nothing makes sense and everything hurts, Kurt will blurt out that the first time he saw Blaine he watched him walk down the whole street and worried about him for the rest of the day. Blaine will stutter that he listened to the saddest Katy Perry songs on repeat for a full week when he thought Kurt was dating Brittany.

They'll be snuggling, and Kurt will be tracing patterns up and down Blaine's arm, absentmindedly recalling the day he saw Blaine without his blazer for the first time.

Blaine will see Kurt in a jacket or a pair of boots and say 'oh, I remember when you wore those!' and he won't mean in their life together, he'll mean before, before they even knew each other's names.

They refuse to let Cooper, Burt or Finn tell their story, when that day finally comes and they stand opposite each other and slide the rings onto each other's fingers, a promise in matching metal for always, and they tell the story together. There isn't a dry eye in the house. Cooper and Finn start a competition about who can write the funniest Best Man's speeches. Cooper's contains more embarrassing stories than anybody ever needed to know, but Finn wins because he's… Finn.

Their children groan and complain whenever their younger siblings or guests ask for the story, or when Kurt or Blaine bring it up as they like to do, but each and every one of them likes to hear it on Valentine's day in the evening. One of their daughters gets them to write it down and takes it with her to college, photos of her dads tucked into the pages, and their younger children follow suit.

Their grandchildren gather round at Christmas and New Year's to hear the story of how their 'grandpappies' met, their nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews and children and even their siblings and friends listening intently, although some pretend not to.

When Kurt dies, Blaine asks for 'Boots' to be inscribed on his grave, and when he follows his husband, 'Blazer Boy' is etched into his.

And while nobody outside their family understands it, that's okay, because it's for them, not the people who wander through the idyllic graveyard.

'Boots and Blazer Boy' sits on the shelf of the Hummel-Anderson household, old photos still tucked inside, binding cracked and pages creased and tea-stained, well thumbed and well loved.


For anybody who might not know, this is the first in a series of drabbles requested by my lovely reviewers of 'Hiding in Reflections'. Hope everyone liked! XD