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“Come on, Blainers! This is a big deal for her! You know she’ll be crushed if her favorite uncle isn’t there!”
Blaine snorted. “I’m her only uncle, Cooper,” he said, rolling his eyes. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, gripping the phone tightly in his other hand. “Fine, I’ll talk to my manager about getting the time off, but you know there’s no guarantee. Especially with it being the Christmas season.”
He could practically hear his brother rolling his eyes on the other end of the line. “It’s one night!” he protested. “Why don’t you just tell your manager you want to do some recording in New York because it will feel more like the holidays there. You can hardly set the tone of Christmas in LA.”
The curly haired man snorted. “That’s rich coming from the man who spent the majority of his young adult life here,” he quipped. “Look, I’ll see what I can do. If nothing else, I can at least arrange a congratulatory gift for Tilly,” he added.
Cooper was strangely quiet for a moment. “I promise, I will make it worth your while if you come. And not just because your friend Rachel is dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy.”
“Wait,” Blaine said suddenly. “Rachel’s the Sugar Plum Fairy? I didn’t know that!”
“She didn’t tell you?” Cooper asked, sounding very slightly stunned.
Blaine shook his head before remembering his brother couldn’t see him. “No,” he said. “It might have slipped her mind because for all I knew, she was only taking classes with the New York City Ballet to strengthen her dance training for her Broadway career.”
It was Cooper’s turn to snort. “Is that what she told you? That woman would go to any lengths to make it seem like she wasn’t still trying to prove she’s the best at everything.” He snorted a second time. “But really though, I promise there is a reason you should be there besides Tilly and Rachel. You won’t regret it!”
“Why do I feel like I already am?” Blaine asked, sensing suspicion in his brother’s voice.
“Blainers!” Cooper spat, sounding scandalized.
The younger Anderson sighed. “Fine, I’ll do my best. But I still can’t make any promises.”
Cooper matched his younger brother’s sigh with one of his own. “Alright,” he said. “I guess that’s the best I can hope for.”
The two brothers said goodbye and hung up the phone. Blaine knew that if he didn’t somehow make it to Tilly’s big performance as Clara in The Nutcracker, he would never hear the end of it from Cooper.
As it turned out, his manager was all too happy to grant him a few days in New York, provided he agreed to do some press and promotional interviews for his Christmas in California concert coming up in the week leading to the twenty-fifth of December. Blaine was all too smart not to look a gift horse in the mouth and he immediately agreed to the conditions. The next thing he knew, he found himself on a plane bound for New York City.
He’d spent the majority of the flight catching up on some sleep as he’d been go go go all season so far and hadn’t had a whole lot of shut eye. Which was why he was both surprised and grateful his weekend in New York would be so lowkey.
His eyes blinked open when the announcement of final descent met his ears and he could see the beaming lights of the city still far below the plane as they gradually lowered down to the ground. It was late, enough so that Blaine had told his brother not to bother picking him up. He’d just take a car from the airport directly to Cooper’s apartment. He didn’t want Tilly to be up past her bedtime. She was barely eight years old, after all.
However, when Blaine finally disembarked at JFK and made his way to the baggage claim, he was surprised to find Cooper waiting for him.
“Hey squirt!” his brother called out. Blaine nearly dropped his carry on.
“Coop,” he said. “I told you not to come. It’s too late. What about Tilly?”
Cooper rolled his eyes. “Rachel’s watching her.”
Blaine raised his eyebrows. “What’s Rachel doing awake this late? I thought she had standards,” he said.
Again, Cooper rolled his eyes. “Rachel’s a professional too, Blaine. She knows how to handle awkward sleeping schedules.”
It was Blaine’s turn to roll his eyes. “Not in the way, I do.” Cooper just shook his head at him.
“So, you’re free tomorrow night for the opening night performance then, right?” he asked. Blaine nodded.
“Yes, but I do have a couple of interviews scheduled for the afternoon. But my manager made sure that my schedule was clear for the performance tomorrow. You’re lucky I have such a good manager, one that cares when I care about doing things for my family. Though she usually balances everything out with finding ways for me to still do work somehow in between.” He paused for a moment. “Unless the break is something she’s enforcing.”
Cooper laughed. “Squirt, I can’t imagine you not having such a terrific manager,” he said.
“Please don’t call me that,” Blaine said. Again, his brother just laughed and led the way out of the airport, making for his car that was parked in the garage across the street.
The drive to Cooper’s apartment was eerily quiet. It was strange because Blaine was used to his brother never shutting up. But now it seemed like he for some reason had nothing to talk about. Cooper reached out and turned on the radio, putting it on a Christmas music station, which ironically was playing music from The Nutcracker.
“Really, could there be any more of a sign that you’re supposed to be here, Blainers?” Cooper said with a grin.
Blaine rolled his eyes, turning to stare out the window. Snow covered the side of the road and all of the buildings. There’d been a break in the fall over the past day or two, but the sky looked ready to burst with a fresh round of flakes to enhance the blanket.
“Looks like it’s going to snow,” he commented, watching the other cars through the slightly frosted glass of the passenger window.
Cooper rolled his eyes. “The newscaster said the same thing. But they predicted it would have started before you landed and it’s still holding up. Hopefully it will stay that way until we get home. It’s crazy enough driving through New York City without it snowing.”
Blaine knew his brother had a point. But hearing him say something in a kind of serious manner was weird. Cooper was very rarely ever serious.
However, he was not entirely lucky. By the time they finally reached the car park for his building, light flurries had started to fall from the sky. Blaine wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck as they climbed out and Cooper got his luggage from the trunk.
The two of them hurried into the building and straight for the elevator which took them up to the third floor.
When the ding announced their arrival, and Blaine stepped off the elevator, he was surprised to find the door to Cooper’s apartment was already open and Rachel was standing in the doorway. However, she wore an expression Blaine couldn’t read.
“What’s wrong, Rachel?” Cooper said immediately as he and Blaine stepped into the apartment.
The short petite brunette woman sighed and gave her head a short shake. “Tilly got sick while you were gone,” she said before she turned and smiled at Blaine, pulling him in for a hello hug.
Blaine frowned though. “Is she okay?” he asked.
Cooper was the one who answered, calling from the hallway where he was taking Blaine’s luggage to the guest room. “She’s fine! Tilly usually has a bout of nervous tummy before a big performance and this is the largest role she’s ever had so far. It’s a big deal for her.”
Blaine looked unsure but he didn’t press the matter. No one knew Tilly better than her own father after all. Not even her mother. But the very thought of that woman had Blaine cringing and pushing down a sudden wave of anger.
Tilly’s mother had run out on Cooper and Tilly when the little girl was barely a year old. And neither of them had heard from her since. Other than divorce proceedings. Not to mention, Tilly’s mother hadn’t given them a reason for leaving. She had no issues giving Cooper full custody of their daughter and didn’t even want any of the assets. In short, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with either of them and to be completely rid of any reminders she’d been married or had a daughter.
Cooper had been furious. Especially after all the promises of how they were going to raise Tilly and the excitement the woman had seemed to exude while they were expecting.
“She pulled the wool over my eyes, Blaine,” Cooper had told him.
“She pulled the wool over both your eyes,” Blaine had responded, turning to look at the one year old napping in her playpen.
Blaine shook the memory from his head. That was seven years ago now and still, there was no sign that Tilly’s mother regretted the decision. It made him even angrier. But he was glad that despite her own busy life as a Broadway actress, Rachel had stepped in to give Tilly a sort of motherly figure. She’d met Cooper through her friendship with Blaine.
She took a seat beside him on the couch. “So Blaine, Cooper tells me you’ve come for opening night tomorrow,” she said, sounding perhaps unrealistically casual. Blaine narrowed his eyes. He could always tell when Rachel was up to something.
But he pushed the thought away and nodded. “Yeah. He practically begged me. Said that Tilly would miss me if I wasn’t there to see her. And then he told me that you’d be dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy and that caught me by surprise. I didn’t know you were serious about ballet.”
She gave her head a shake. “Not entirely,” she said. “But I’m not in a show right now and this is the best way I can keep myself from falling into one of those jobless ruts. You know me, I refuse to let myself have any downtime,” she said. “Besides, ballet has always been a serious part of my life. I’ve just never really considered performing professionally before. And actually, I wasn’t going to do it, but Tilly begged me to, so how could I say no to that? She said something about finally getting to perform together and how happy it would make her.”
Blaine gave his head a nod. “Ballet has always been important to Tilly. Cooper enrolled her when she was little of course, but when she got old enough, he let her decide whether to continue with it or not. So it’s a big deal for her to hit such a professional level.”
Rachel was quiet for a moment. “I could have been where she is at her age. But it was the one time my dads ever said no. They didn’t want me involved in professional show business so young.”
Blaine was surprised by that. He’d always thought that Rachel’s dads had done everything to make sure their daughter would be a star. The woman did have kind of a big head and she could be insufferable sometimes. But with Cooper for an older brother, Blaine took Rachel in strides.
It was at that moment that Cooper appeared from the kitchen, carrying three mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. He joined the two of them on the couch, handing them each a mug, which both nodded their thanks for.
“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Cooper suddenly asked, giving Rachel a look. The brunette scoffed and set her mug on the coffee table.
“No, I didn’t tell him. Relax, Cooper,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Blaine narrowed his own eyes and glanced between his brother and his friend. “Tell me what?”
Cooper just shrugged nonchalantly. “I told you on the phone, squirt, there’s another reason I wanted you to come to the show tomorrow night.”
“Don’t call me that,” Blaine quipped, rolling his eyes. “Are you going to tell me about this other reason or am I just going to have to wait and see?”
Cooper smirked. “Sorry, Blainers. But the information is classified. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.” His tone came off a bit sing-songy and Blaine glanced between the two of them once more. What were they hiding?
The following day felt like both a whirlwind and like it was crawling along like a snail. With the thought that Cooper and Rachel were up to something, Blaine’s anticipation for the performance that evening was at an all time high. Not even Tilly’s excitement of her uncle’s arrival had been able to squash that down.
“I can’t believe you’re here, Uncle Blaine!” the eight year old cried for about the tenth time since breakfast had started that morning. She was shoveling chocolate chip pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream into her mouth. Clearly, she’d gotten over whatever nervous tummy she’d had the night before.
Blaine just chuckled. “You’re getting whipped cream all over your chin, Tilly,” he said. The little girl just giggled and wiped her face with a napkin. Blaine just shook his head. He really did love his niece. And Cooper had turned out to be a great father, which surprised Blaine, what with how full of himself his brother could be. Honestly though, as he grew into older adulthood, Cooper had matured quite a bit. Having a child to raise had certainly helped.
“Are you coming to see me and Auntie Rachel dance tonight?” she asked excitedly.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Blaine replied, smiling at her. Tilly beamed at him.
“And then you can get to know-” But who Blaine could get to know, he hadn’t found out. Cooper had clapped a hand over his daughter’s mouth and stopped her from finishing the thought.
“Tilly, we talked about this, remember?” Cooper said, a very slight warning tone.
“But daddy!” Tilly protested.
Cooper sighed, shut his eyes, and counted to ten. “Matilda Bernadette Anderson, this is not up for discussion,” he said firmly and then Blaine furrowed his brow as his brother leaned over and whispered something in his daughter’s ear. Tilly turned and glanced at her uncle with a curious expression before she merely nodded her head and returned to her breakfast.
The encounter was still at the forefront of Blaine’s mind later that day when he was doing his few interviews.
“So Blaine, I know we are meant to be talking about your Christmas concert in LA, but I just wanted to ask, what brings you to New York City on such short notice this weekend?” the interviewer said.
Blaine chuckled and gave his head a short shake. “My niece is playing Clara in the New York City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. I came to support her. And then I found out my friend Rachel Berry is also in the show so I guess I’ll be supporting her too.”
“Your niece? That’s your brother Cooper’s daughter isn’t it?” the interviewer asked.
He nodded. “Yes. She’s his pride and joy and we’re all very proud of her,” Blaine responded. The interview had then reverted back to his Christmas concert, after the interviewer had plugged The Nutcracker for the audience and encouraged them all to go see it.
By the time it was time to head to the theater, Blaine was both incredibly exhausted and really excited. He was quite sure that whatever Cooper and Rachel and now even Tilly were hiding, he was about to find out at the show.
As the uncle to the youngest star, and a close friend of one of the other main cast, he was allowed into a space the rest of the audience could only dream of seeing. The dressing rooms and backstage and a real close up at things like the growing Christmas tree. Blaine had never been quite so close to that iconic element of The Nutcracker Ballet. They even were kind enough to give him a rundown of how the piece actually worked. And Blaine was confident that even that wouldn’t stop him from believing in the magic of the tree.
“Daddy,” Tilly said, pulling on Cooper’s sleeve. She was still only in her leotard from rehearsal and had to start getting into costume. “Can we tell him now?”
Blaine raised an eyebrow, not even sure what his niece was going on about, except that it probably had something to do with whatever big secret the three of them were keeping from him.
But Cooper shook his head. “No honey. We’re going to wait until later, okay?” Tilly looked a little crestfallen. “Come on, daddy will help you get into your Clara costume.”
The prospect had Tilly brightening almost immediately and she ran off, dragging Cooper behind her.
One of the reasons this was such a big deal for Tilly was that she was on the younger side of the spectrum to play the role, the broadest span being between the ages of seven and nineteen, while the more consistent average span was between nine and fourteen. In actuality, Tilly was the right age because the character in the original story was seven. However, the casting of the role was based upon needing an older dancer for the more technical elements of the character’s routines in the second act.
Blaine shook the thought away, glancing at his phone. He realized that he should probably go take his seat for the show.
He managed to find Rachel who was already partway into her Sugar Plum Fairy costume and offered her a smile. “I’m going to head out to go find my seat now. You and Tilly break a leg,” he told her.
Rachel smirked at him, something that had him highly suspicious. “Just pay close attention to the whole show,” she told him simply. “And most importantly, enjoy!”
Blaine shrugged off the feeling of suspicion and just nodded. “I’ll be cheering for both of you,” he said, turning to head from the backstage area and making his way into the front of the house. He was sure by now the rest of the audience was starting to stream in and make their way to their seats.
“And hopefully one more,” Rachel whispered to his retreating back and she turned and forged her way through all the people backstage, coming to a stop outside one particular dressing room door. She knocked lightly.
“Just a minute!” called a voice from inside. Rachel heard some slight muttering before the door opened and a little brunette boy came rushing out, fully dressed in costume. “Try not to get anything on that Junior!” the voice who’d answered her called after the boy. “Did Finn have costume trouble again?” she asked, leaning in the doorway.
The man inside the dressing room merely rolled his eyes and shook his head as he sat at a vanity and picked up a makeup brush.
“He’s too much like his father,” Rachel said, inviting herself into the room.
“Yet somehow more coordinated,” the man replied, not looking away from the vanity mirror. “To what do I owe the honor Rachel?” He didn’t question her partial state of costume dress. After all, she still had plenty of time before she was actually needed on stage.
Rachel approached and stood behind him. “Do you remember my friend I was telling you about?”
“You mean the Grammy nominee who lives in LA?” the man replied. Rachel playfully rolled her eyes. “What about him?”
A smirk crossed her face. “Well, he’s in the audience tonight.” That got the man’s attention and he put down the makeup brush and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Rachel Berry, I swear to a God I don’t believe in if you-” But Rachel cut him off.
“I didn’t. Cooper invited him,” she said quickly. The man looked confused.
“Cooper? Why the hell did Cooper invite him?” he asked.
Rachel stared at him for a moment. “You never made the connection did you?” she asked. The man just raised an eyebrow at her. “Anderson, Kurt,” she said. “Cooper Anderson! My friend is his younger brother, Tilly’s uncle.”
Kurt just stared at her for a long moment because no, he hadn’t made the connection. For one thing, Anderson was a common last name, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if they weren’t related. He sighed heavily and turned back to face the mirror, picking up his makeup brush again.
“Why is this so important to you?” he asked.
“Because, Cooper and I both agreed that he would be perfect for you!” Rachel replied exasperatedly. Kurt gave her a look as if to say, ‘don’t you dare go there,’ but she huffed and continued anyway. “Come on, Kurt! It’s been years since you and Adam called it quits!”
Kurt muttered something under his breath.
“What was that?” Rachel asked.
The pale man sighed and glanced at her. “I said it was more like he moved back to England and decided against trying long distance than us calling it quits,” he said, rolling his eyes.
Rachel looked at him for a moment and when she spoke again, her voice was a soft and rare gentle tone she hardly used. “You deserve to be happy. Just…don’t deny something before you give it a chance.”
Kurt looked at her through the mirror and sighed heavily. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if he’s related to Tilly’s father, I’m not holding my breath,” he said. Not to mention, the guy was a famous singer. Sure Kurt was a star of the New York City ballet, but his celebrity didn’t compare to that of Blaine Anderson. And guys of his caliber would never even think to give Kurt a second look.
“I promise you he is nothing like Cooper. Blaine’s ten years younger than him and the two of them couldn’t be more different. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to realize they’re brothers if you didn’t already know they were.”
The pale man didn’t respond. Not with words anyway. He merely nodded his head and made a gesture with his makeup brush that this conversation was over.
Rachel sighed and moved back towards the door. “I know I’ve made some bad choices and done some ridiculous things, but please just trust me on this one,” she said before she exited the dressing room and pulled the door shut behind her.
Kurt sighed heavily and stared at the door through the mirror for a long moment. Rachel was a bit much, maybe an acquired taste, but there was no doubt that when she was good, she really was good.
Blaine had been surprised to find that he was sitting front and center. Of course his brother would make sure that he had a prime seat in the house. Though the curly haired man was not sure whether he used the fact that he was Tilly’s uncle and Rachel’s friend or that he was the Blaine Anderson to get him the seat. And he didn’t dare ask.
The house was filling up, nearly full now and the flashing of the lights indicated that the show would begin in probably no more than five minutes. Everything in New York was famous for starting right on time.
Blaine checked his phone. He had a couple of texts from his manager, confirming a few more appearances for the following day. He rolled his eyes. No real time off to celebrate the opening night. But Tilly and Rachel would hopefully understand. At least, the latter would.
His eyes were torn from the amazing set on the stage when he felt the seat beside him dip and he looked over. Cooper was smiling at him.
“How’s Tilly?” Blaine asked.
“She’s okay. She hasn’t thrown up again, so that’s good. When I left the backstage area, she was playing with Finn Jr.”
Blaine cocked his head to the side curiously. “Finn Jr.?” he asked.
Cooper just laughed. “He’s playing Fritz, Clara’s brother in the show,” he said. “And I think he might have just a little bit of a crush on Tilly.” He laughed again, shaking his head.
The younger Anderson gawked at him. “Tilly’s eight. If this boy is supposed to be playing Clara’s younger brother, he is almost certainly too young to be developing any crushes,” he said, shaking his head.
His brother just rolled his eyes. “Come on Blaine, it’s puppylove,” he said playfully. “And probably no different from when you used to have crushes on the Disney Princes.”
“Hey!” Blaine said in defense. “Prince Eric was a smashing hero!”
“I always preferred Flynn Rider,” Cooper replied nonchalantly. Before Blaine could argue, the lights dimmed, indicating that the show was about to begin. The two brothers fell silent and turned their attention to the stage in front of them.
The Christmas party that opened the story began with a lively dance and Blaine and Cooper were both beaming as Tilly danced her way out onto the stage as young Clara. They laughed in tandem over the sibling rivalry breaking out between her and Fritz.
Uncle Drosselmeyer, Clara’s Godfather, presented the dancing toy gifts in succession and the audience applauded and laughed with delight and then…he produced the infamous nutcracker. Blaine marveled at the extensive gift as his niece expertly conveyed Clara’s immediate attachment and love for the toy. She danced around with the nutcracker in her arms.
Until Fritz grew jealous and tried to take it away from her. They fought over the nutcracker until…her brother broke it and Clara collapsed into a fit of tears. Fritz of course was scolded and Uncle Drosselmeyer returned to tie a handkerchief around the nutcracker’s head. Clara continued to cradle her new favorite toy.
Blaine was captivated by his young niece’s talent and gracefulness. He was quite sure that reviews for Tilly were going to be all positive. And she could use that confidence to only perform better and better as the show progressed. He immediately found himself wishing that he would be able to watch her in every performance, just like he knew Cooper would be doing.
Then came the battle scene. Late at night as the clock struck twelve and the tree began to grow. Clara suddenly found herself faced with the Mouse King. And then, a life size nutcracker appeared on the scene, drawing his sword to battle.
Blaine found he was now drawn to the dancer in the Nutcracker costume. He’d never seen anyone move so gracefully, flawlessly executing the steps, a feat considering the large Nutcracker head the dancer had to wear for the scene.
He didn’t notice that Cooper was glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes, a smirk on his face.
The battle progressed and Blaine gasped along with the rest of the audience. Suddenly, the Nutcracker found himself on the verge of defeat. Clara pulled off her slipper and threw it at the Mouse King, distracting the rodent so that the Nutcracker could defeat him with his sword.
And in the defeat of the Mouse King, a spell was broken and the Nutcracker was transformed into a handsome prince.
And handsome he certainly was. Tall, lithe, elegantly pale skin, with chestnut hair swept high off his head. Blaine found himself unable to stop staring at the gorgeous dancer who flitted around the stage with ease.
“Like what you see?” came a whispered voice. Blaine turned his head sharply, staring at his brother, who was smirking at him.
“Who is he?” he asked, turning his eyes on the gorgeous man on stage.
Cooper chuckled. “That’s Kurt Hummel. But you would have known that if you read the program.”
Blaine rolled his eyes.
Cooper gave him a knowing look. “He’s one of the stars of the New York City ballet. Incidentally, Finn Jr. is his nephew.”
“Really? I never would have guessed,” Blaine commented.
His brother shrugged. “Technically you could say stepnephew. Finn Jr. is Kurt’s stepbrother’s son. But they have never thought of each other as anything less than brothers.”
Blaine nodded. “That’s how you tell true family though,” he said.
Cooper rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Finn Jr. has always kind of idolized Kurt. Which is why he takes ballet.”
“Talent must run in the family,” Blaine commented.
On stage, the Nutcracker Prince and Clara were now riding away through the Land of Snow on their way to the Land of Sweets. Blaine was a little disappointed once they had ridden offstage, but immensely enjoyed the Waltz of the Snowflakes.
And then it was time for intermission.
“See you in fifteen minutes,” Cooper said.
“Where are you going?” Blaine asked.
“To check on Tilly and tell her how amazing she’s doing so far. Maybe you ought to go get a drink or go to the restroom.” Blaine just nodded, thinking they were both good ideas and he stood from his seat to move through the audience, following the rest of the crowd as they made their way to the lobby for intermission.
While Blaine went to do whatever he was going to, Cooper made his way backstage once more where Rachel was warming up in the wings.
“Well?” the petite brunette said. Cooper smirked.
“Blaine was completely captivated,” he said. “Couldn’t take his eyes off him.” A smile crossed Rachel’s face.
“Good, now we just need to get Kurt to notice him. Although, he does know who your brother is. But he didn’t realize he was your brother.”
Cooper rolled his eyes. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t know who Blaine was. After all, that kid is a bigger star than I ever was.”
Rachel shook her head at him. “I know that he’s ten years younger than you, but I wouldn’t call your brother a kid,” she said. Cooper shrugged.
“He’s always going to be squirt to me,” he said.
“Daddy!” came a voice and Cooper turned in perfect time to scoop up Tilly as she jumped into his arms.
“Princess!” he said just as loudly. Tilly giggled. “You are doing such a beautiful job, I’m so proud of you.”
Tilly blushed and just clung to him for a moment. Kurt was not too far behind her and he had a sort of amused expression on his face.
“What’s so funny?” Cooper asked him.
“Tilly may have thrown her slipper just a little too hard,” Kurt said, snorting. “Lyle has a bump on his forehead.”
Cooper gawked at him. “That can’t be Tilly’s fault! That mouse head is like ten feet thick!” He knew he was exaggerating, but he still highly doubted that a slipper could give a man a bump through a thick costume head.
Kurt shrugged. “He won’t admit where he actually got it, so good speculation.”
“Kurtie!” Tilly cried. “Did you see my uncle? He was sitting right next to daddy in the front row!”
The pale man raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at the little girl. “Why are you three so intent that I notice him?” he asked suspiciously. Cooper, Rachel, and Tilly all glanced at each other.
“I already told you he’s perfect for you, Kurt,” Rachel finally said, crossing her arms. Kurt rolled his eyes and gave his head a short shake.
“Right, I forgot, this about you guys playing matchmaker,” he said. “Does he know what you’re up to?”
Tilly was the one to answer that. “Nope! I wanted to tell him, but daddy and Auntie Rachel wouldn’t let me.”
Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and gave both of them a disapproving look. “If I remember right, didn’t you say your brother doesn’t really like being set up?” he said looking at Cooper.
“Which is why we haven’t told him a damn thing. Only that there was a reason other than Tilly and Rachel we wanted him to be here,” Cooper said.
The pale man sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I’ll be back,” he said.
“Where are you going?” Rachel asked.
“I’ll be back,” Kurt repeated and they watched him march out of the backstage, clad in a robe covering his costume.
Kurt looked towards the front of the house, noting that Blaine was most certainly not in his seat and he cursed, knowing that he was going to have to bravely venture into the lobby. He knew he didn’t have much time, so he was just glad that he knew what Blaine Anderson actually looked like. And he’d be lying if he said he didn’t find him attractive, but he also thought the famous singer was completely out of his league. Which meant he believed all of what Cooper and Rachel were trying to do was going to be for nothing. He certainly wasn’t good enough for someone as amazing and gorgeous and perfect as Blaine Anderson.
Fortunately for him, because of the fact that Blaine was so famous, Kurt had almost no trouble spotting him in the lobby. Some fans had stopped and asked him for selfies. Because of course they couldn’t let the guy just enjoy watching his niece perform.
Kurt rolled his eyes. He stealthily made his way through the crowd of people and tapped Blaine on the shoulder.
“Excuse me,” he said softly.
Blaine turned his head and felt his jaw drop. There, standing behind him, was the gorgeous dancer who was playing the Nutcracker Prince.
“Oh, um…hi,” he said sort of sheepishly.
Kurt glanced around and without thinking, took Blaine by the hand and pulled him off back towards the backstage area.
“Forgive me,” Blaine said. “But shouldn’t you be preparing for the second act?”
The pale man blushed and bit his lip. “I will, but I just wanted to come out here and apologize,” he said.
Blaine looked at him in confusion. “Apologize? What do you have to apologize for?” Kurt was ready to strangle both Rachel and Cooper.
He shut his eyes and counted to ten for a moment before he reopened them to see that Blaine was still looking at him in slight confusion, but now it was mixed with a little bit of concern.
“Our friend and your brother seem to be plotting together,” he replied.
Whatever Blaine had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “I beg your pardon?” he said.
“They’re trying to set us up,” Kurt said. This caught the curly haired man by surprise and Kurt was caught off-guard when the other blushed a dark red. He hadn’t thought Blaine Anderson was capable of blushing. He had always struck him as completely confident and the kind of guy who could easily land anyone he wanted.
“How do you know that?” Blaine asked, voice an octave higher.
Kurt sighed. “Because Rachel told me so,” he said. “And then I find out that they didn’t tell you anything. So that’s why I’m apologizing.”
Blaine’s expression became slightly hardened and Kurt could sense the annoyance in his eyes. “Thank you. It seems I might have to sit my brother down and give another talk about meddling in my private life.” He sighed heavily.
“I know what you mean. My brother tends to do the same thing sometimes. Even asks me to babysit my nephew if only because he’s instructed him to lure guys to me.” Kurt rolled his eyes. “Finn means well, but he doesn’t know the first thing about gay relationships.”
Blaine shook his head. “Neither does Coop, though he would deny that until the end of next year.”
Kurt laughed lightly and bit his lip. “Um…forgive me if this is too forward, but how long exactly are you here for?” he asked quietly.
“That’s not too forward at all,” Blaine replied. “But I’m really only here for the weekend. My manager let me come provided I agreed to do some promotional stuff for my Christmas concert.”
“Oh right!” Kurt exclaimed. “I heard something about that. So you’re going back to LA soon then?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Blaine replied, looking a little bit sad about it.
Kurt bit his lip again and was quiet for a moment. “Would you maybe…consider having coffee with me tomorrow morning?” he asked.
Blaine was surprised by the sudden request. Was this beautiful man asking him on a date, despite the meddling of their friends and family?
“I’d really like that, yes,” he finally said. No way was he going to pass up a potential date with a man who was absolutely out of his league.
A beautiful closed mouth smile bloomed across Kurt’s face then. “Great. I have to go now, but please stay after the performance so that we can exchange contact information.”
“Oh I’ll be here,” Blaine said. “I’m staying with Cooper, so I can’t exactly leave until he and Tilly are ready,” he explained.
That seemed to make Kurt even happier. “Great. Enjoy the rest of the show,” he said and then he did something Blaine certainly hadn’t been expecting. He leaned in and pecked a chaste kiss to the curly haired man’s cheek. Smiling again, Kurt turned and hurried off backstage.
Did that really just happen? Blaine had certainly never expected anything to happen between them.
He swiftly made his way back into the theater as the lights signaled five minutes until act two was to begin. Cooper was already waiting in his seat when Blaine got back to the front row.
“There you are,” Cooper said. “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it back.”
“Well I considered walking out, but I can’t do that to Tilly,” Blaine said flatly.
“Walking out?” Cooper said in surprise. “Blaine?”
The curly haired man rounded on him, crossing his arms. “How many times have I told you to stop meddling in my personal life and relationships?” he asked. Cooper’s eyes widened.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“Cut the innocence act Cooper. I know what you and Rachel have been up to.” Before Cooper could say anything else, he went on. “Kurt found me in the lobby.” The older Anderson seemed to still in his seat. “He told me everything, so to speak. Why didn’t you just tell me you had someone you wanted to introduce me to and leave it at that?” he said.
Cooper was quiet for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. “Would you really have come if I told you I wanted you to meet someone?” he asked.
“Two things,” Blaine replied. “One, yes, because I came here to support my niece. And two, just because every other time you’ve meddled in my personal life has been a disaster, doesn’t mean I’ll say no to meeting someone new. Come on Coop, I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Well…I hardly get to see you anymore. You’re always super busy and I would never ask you to try and take time off because I’m really proud of you and the man you’ve become. I honestly think that you are a better man than me, Blaine.” And Blaine stared at him in such shock he was momentarily speechless. “Don’t look at me like that. Maybe a younger Cooper might not have admitted anything like that but you and I both know I’m not that person anymore.”
It was true. Sometimes Blaine still saw the old Cooper, but being a father had done wonders to ease up on his brother’s sense of…I’m the one everyone should be using as an example, so to speak. Cooper used to be all about Cooper, obnoxious, bigheaded, and self-centered, but having Tilly had done a lot to change that. He knew now that there were people that were undoubtedly more important than himself. Like his daughter for one thing. And while he’d never admitted it before, Blaine was also more important to him. And he was incredibly proud of how successful his brother was. Not to mention, Blaine had done it all on his own, without Cooper’s influence. And that was what really made him a true star.
“You’ve always handled the spotlight better than me. And you’ve never let it go to your head. You deserve to be where you are in the world, Blaine,” Cooper added.
Just then, the lights dimmed, indicating the start of the second act. Blaine didn’t have the chance to reply even if he found the words.
The curtains opened with the Nutcracker Prince and Clara arriving in the Land of Sweets, and finally, Rachel’s introduction as the Sugar Plum Fairy graced the stage and Blaine marveled at her skill. Despite spending most of her time on a Broadway stage, Rachel glided into the ballet with a finesse Blaine hadn’t known she had.
Even so, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Kurt, despite the fact that the Nutcracker Prince and Clara spent the majority of the act just sitting upon thrones and watching all the festive dances of the Land of Sweets.
But Blaine couldn’t help it. Kurt was radiant. He was glowing. He was absolutely stunning and the curly haired man’s heart skipped a beat when he remembered that he was going on a date with Kurt the following morning.
His eyes moved to Tilly, whose expressions as Clara were spot on, stunned by all the beautiful dances she was being entertained by.
And the act eventually culminated in perhaps the most difficult dance of the show. The Sugar Plum Grand Pas de Deux. Rachel’s expertise and skill shone through as she performed the duet.
Onstage, the Nutcracker Prince and Clara applauded along with the audience at the end of the number and Blaine could see that Rachel was breathing heavily. A sure sign of a job well done. But he wouldn’t expect anything less from Rachel. She always put more than a hundred percent into every performance she ever did.
The act crescendoed into the finale where Clara found herself awakening as though the entire thing had been a dream. The nutcracker rested safely in her arms once more, and the curtain closed.
The audience rose to their feet, a massive sound of applause smattering the house as the dancers returned to the stage to take their bows. Blaine clapped hardest for three people. Tilly, Rachel, and of course, the Nutcracker Prince himself, Kurt.
When all was said and done, Cooper led Blaine backstage where the dancers were congratulating each other on an amazing opening night.
“Tilly!” Cooper shouted, spotting his daughter. She grinned and ran over to him, but when she noticed Blaine behind him, she changed direction and dove at her uncle.
“Uncle Blaine!” Tilly shouted. Blaine expertly caught her.
“Hey sweetie! You were amazing! I’m so proud of you!” he said, kissing her forehead.
“You really mean it?” Tilly asked, gazing at him in wonder.
“Of course I do! You were a prima ballerina,” he replied. She hugged him again, tucking her face tightly against his.
“You need to shave, Uncle Blaine. Your face is all scratchy,” she said. Blaine just laughed.
Just then, Rachel approached them. “Kurt asked me to bring you to his dressing room,” she said, looking at Blaine curiously.
Blaine flushed. “Oh…I kind of met him in the lobby at intermission,” he admitted.
“He knows, Rachel. Kurt told him.” Her eyes widened.
“Well,” she said, biting her lip. “He was kind of upset that we didn’t tell Blaine anything. Which says something because he didn’t personally know him.”
“But he knew Blaine doesn’t like me meddling in his personal life,” Cooper pointed out.
Rachel rolled her eyes at him. “Of course he did. He knows who Blaine is, publicly and it’s not like some big secret that Blaine doesn’t like you doing that,” she replied.
Blaine set Tilly down and crossed his arms. “So why didn’t you stop him, Rach?” he asked.
She gave him a sort of half-sheepish, half-apologetic look. “Because Kurt’s a good friend of mine and he also deserves to be happy. He hasn’t had anything for himself since he broke up with Adam and that was years ago now. I thought you would be perfect for him.”
Blaine was stunned by her response. And he could tell that she was a bit sorry for pushing too much.
“Are you and Prince Kurtie going to get married now?” Tilly suddenly asked. All three adults went suddenly still. Blaine was the first to recover and he knelt down in front of her.
“Sweetie, it takes more than just meeting someone to decide to marry them. You need time to get to know each other first and then you have to decide if that’s what you really want.” Tilly looked up at him with wide eyes.
“I think you’ll make him happy Uncle Blaine,” she said quietly. “And that he’ll make you happy. Please try.”
Blaine felt his heart swell at his niece’s words and he hugged her tightly. “Then I guess we’ll just have to cross our fingers and hope for the best, now won’t we?” he asked.
“Come on Tilly,” Cooper said gently. “Let’s go get you changed, cleaned up, and ready to head home.”
She nodded and took her father’s hand, allowing him to lead her back to her dressing room.
“Come on,” Rachel said. “I’ll show you to Kurt’s dressing room.” Blaine just nodded and allowed her to lead him further backstage.
It didn’t take them long to arrive at a dressing room door, and Rachel knocked.
“One moment!” came the now familiar voice from inside and Blaine felt his toes curl. Kurt’s voice was so angelic. Delicately high-pitched and elegantly beautiful. Blaine thought he could listen to him speak for hours.
And then the door was opening, and there was Kurt, already out of his costume and dressed for heading home. Even in his post performance wear, he looked immaculate. Blaine wondered how he had managed to strip and shower so quickly. And then he blushed at the thought of this beautiful perfect man in the shower.
“Special delivery,” Rachel said. Without another word, she walked away, Kurt shaking his head after her.
“Hi,” he said to Blaine.
“Hi,” Blaine replied, smiling softly. Kurt opened the door wider and gestured for him to step in. “Thank you. You were absolutely amazing by the way,” Blaine complimented.
Kurt smiled softly at him. “Thank you,” he said.
Blaine bit his lip. “Um…Rachel said you wanted to see me?”
“Right,” Kurt replied, coughing lightly. “Give me your phone,” he said. Blaine looked at him for a moment before he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to him. Kurt input his contact information and sent himself a text. “There, now I have your number too,” he said, smiling again.
“Great,” Blaine replied.
For a moment, the two of them just stood there quietly. And then Kurt moved and shut the door behind him.
“Forgive me,” he said.
“What are you-” But Blaine was cut off when he suddenly felt Kurt’s lips pressed to his own. Blaine stumbled back against the door, hands coming up to cup the pale man’s face.
This beautifully gorgeous man was kissing him. Blaine felt his heart stutter in his chest. Kurt’s hands fisted themselves in his cardigan and both men’s eyes were closed. Blaine took a chance and licked at the seam of the other’s mouth. Kurt obliged and the curly haired man slipped his tongue into the pale man’s mouth.
Kurt’s mouth tasted sweet, like all the treats they’d just watched dancing across the stage. And Blaine found he couldn’t get enough of that taste. He couldn’t get enough of the essence of Kurt that surrounded him. He wanted more. He wanted to stay there.
Finally, they broke apart, both remembering that they needed to breathe. They stared into each other’s eyes, heaving with heavy breaths.
“Sorry,” Kurt said in a small voice.
“For what?” Blaine asked, voice barely louder than a whisper.
“I couldn’t help myself,” Kurt replied, chuckling nervously, and biting his lip. And damn did Blaine think that was hot.
“I’m not complaining,” he said. And then he thought of something. “But, one condition,” he added.
Kurt gave him a confused look. “What’s that?” he asked.
“We keep this from Cooper and Rachel. If they find out, we’ll never hear the end of it,” he said.
“Deal,” Kurt replied and suddenly pressed his lips back to Blaine’s. Blaine moved his hands down to wrap around the pale man’s waist and hold him there. “So,” Kurt breathed when he pulled away again. “Are we still on for that coffee date tomorrow morning?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Blaine replied.
The beautiful smile Kurt rewarded him with was more than worth it.