He shivered slightly, tugging the winter coat more tightly around his thin body, glancing up at the third year with wide eyes, his small frame appearing even smaller, swathed in the warm fuzziness that surrounded him. It had always been something his mother had done, swathing him in blankets and jackets and coats during the winter, always making sure he wouldn’t be too cold when he went outside. Now that she was gone, Seolhyun had taken over that, but today had been a day when he had snuck out with the Gryffindor whose hand he was currently holding shyly.
"Hyung, it won’t be too cold, right?" His voice was soft and high-pitched, the voice of a child, and he wasn’t really sure where they were going but he trusted the older one. Wherever they were to go, Jeongguk was sure that Jimin wouldn’t lead them astray, and he tightened his little grip on the elder’s hand, the warmth of Jimin’s hand around his keeping his fingers sufficiently warm.
Notes: Kurt and Rachel meet up at the Lima Bean for coffee and talk, reconciling their friendship.
Kurt had been hesitating whether or not he should actually meet Rachel at the Lima Bean. He’d been so mean to Rachel over the past few months, and even though he knew Rachel was willing to talk to him, maybe even forgive him, he had no idea if he could forgive himself for it. But by the end of the day, Kurt decided to go because he needed to talk to someone about all this and he knew he couldn’t go to Mercedes without telling her the whole story and he had no idea where he and Blaine stood. Which only left Rachel. He took his time, driving a bit slower than he needed to and then finally got to the Lima Bean only a few minutes early. He went in and sat down at a table immediately and waited for Rachel.
Rachel wasn't sure what to expect from her coffee with Kurt. Hell, she wasn't sure what to expect out of anything anymore. Blaine was panicked over something that had transpired between Kurt and Dave. Rachel was panicked over butterflies she was getting because of a certain someone. Someone she never expected to feel anything for. Someone she made a stupid arrangement with that she knew would somehow backfire on her - like her fake tryst with Blaine. No, she was living in a world of uncertainty and that definitely didn't sit well with her. What did all this mean? It meant she needed her best friend back and would do just about anything to make that happen. As she darted inside, her eyes immediately scanning the semi-crowded cafe, Rachel felt her heart fall to her stomach when she caught sight of a very distraught looking Kurt. "Hey..."she said with a small, but warm smile, "...thank you for agreeing to meet with me." She sat down across from him and placed her bag on the back of her chair, "I know it isn't easy for you, but..."she looked up, her eyes sweeping over his face, "...I need you back in my life and..."She paused, reached across the table and took his hand, "...I think you need me just as much."
Kurt gave Rachel a small smile when he saw her approach the table. “Hey,” he said, returning her smile. He honestly didn’t know what to say but luckily Rachel was Rachel and she started the conversation. He listened to her and felt another pang of guilt cross him. The way she was acting… Kurt didn’t deserve that. At all. And yet here she was, being so nice to him. That’s when he realized just how much he’d missed his best friend. He let her take his hand and even squeezed it back a bit. He nodded and looked at her, taking a deep breath. “I miss you, Rachel. I really do. I just… I’m so sorry, for everything….” He worried at his bottom lip. “I should never have treated you that way and I am so sorry. I don’t even know why you want to be my friend again,” he told her, honestly.
Rachel shook her head and squeezed his hand, "No more apologies," she told him firmly, "We both made mistakes, okay? I never should have done what I did without discussing it with you, so you had every right to be hurt and angry." She glanced over at their usual barista who offered her a quick nod to let her know her order was on its way, "Now that we've gotten all of the apologies out of the way..."she cocked her head to the side and smiled sadly, "...talk to me? What's going on with you and Blaine? He's terrified that you've decided you can't forgive him. He..."she licked her lips, leaned forward slightly and dropped her voice to a whisper, "...he told you he loved you for the entire world to see and you replied privately. Are you having second thoughts?"
Kurt “Alright, alright, no more apologies,” he agreed, nodding his head. He sat up straighter and listened to Rachel, jaw dropping a bit when she started talking about Blaine. He wasn’t really surprised Blaine had told her about them, but what Rachel was saying still kind of shocked him. “What? No, god of course I’m not,” he told her. “I just... he’s been so adamant about keeping this… us, a secret and then he goes and does that? I didn’t know what to do… Plus after last night, I had no idea where we stood and I didn’t want to mess anything up even more. I didn’t… I didn’t know he was going to feel that way about it,” he said, the last part quietly.
Rachel frowned and sighed. Just another massive miscommunication again. "I think he told you he loved you because he wanted you to know he was serious about the two of you," she shrugged while playing with the straw wrapper on the table, "He really does and I know he feels absolutely awful about everything that's happened and - and I don't know what happened after you two dropped me off, but..."she peered up at him, "...don't pull away from him, Kurt. He's so in love with you. I..." she smiled sadly, "...I'd give anything for someone to look at me the way he looks at you."
Kurt sighed. “I’m... I’m not pulling away from him. I don’t mean too but I’ve been feeling so off today, Rachel. I haven’t known how to properly react to anything…” he said, knowing he was going to start babbling. “I love him so much, Rachel. It scares me sometimes…” he said. He saw Rachel’s sad smile. “Rach, you’re going to find someone who looks at you like that soon, I know it,” he said, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. “Any guy would be lucky to have you,” he told her with a smile.
Rachel shrugged in response to Kurt's reassuring words, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I've been letting my emotions get the better of me as of late, so..."she blew out a shaky breath, "...anyway, back to why we are here: you and Blaine." She squeezed his hand and smiled. She couldn't have been happier for her two dear friends. "Don't be scared," she told him, blinking back a few tears, "Embrace it and hold onto it for as long as you can because life is too short to take anything for granted. Promise me...you and Blaine deserve your happily ever after."
Kurt “Hey, no apologies, remember?” he told her, squeezing her hand. He smiled at her when she talked about him and Blaine. “I... I won’t be, I promise. I have no intention of letting Blaine go anywhere anytime soon, I promise,” he reassured her, squeezing her hand again. “Rach, don’t cry, it’s going to be okay. Blaine and I are going to talk it out, everything’s going to be okay.”
Rachel wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand, "I'm sorry. I feel like I've been on a roller coaster for the past few weeks and it's finally coming back to the station." She shook her head and blew out a breath, "Good, I'm glad you two are going to work things out and I don't want you worrying about me or my lack of love life. I've got a new plan and everything will be fine." She smiled up at barista when they apologized for interrupting, before handing her the usual soy latte, "I do need to ask you something..."she whispered again as she brought the rim of her cup to her lips, "...what happened between you and Dave Karofsky?"
Kurt: smiled at Rachel. "It's okay. I'm glad things are calming down," he told her. "Rach, of course I'm going to worry about you and your love life. Haven't you met me?" he asked. "Does this plan of yours happen to involve a certain quarterback?" he asked. He remembered seeing the way Rachel looked at Finn the night before. Kurt tried not to flinch when Rachel mentioned Karofsky. "What do you mean? He slushies me and shoves me into lockers. That's what always happens between us," he said, trying to be convincing.
Rachel bit the inside of her cheek at the mention of Finn, "No, I mean yes, but not really and it isn't what you think. He's going to be Blaine. Well, not Blaine exactly, but..."she leaned over the table and added in a whisper, "...you know what I mean. We're going to ummm..."she glanced around to make sure no one was listening, "...fake it." She sat back up and ran her fingers through her hair before eyeing her friend warily, "No, he...he said something happened. What aren't you telling me?"
Kurt nodded, understanding what Rachel was saying. "Oh... Well, maybe the two of you will have a really cute rom-com moment and end up together," he said with a wide grin. Kurt furrowed his brow at Rachel's response. "What? Who said something happened? I'm not not telling you anything, Rachel."
Rachel shook her head and pulled a face at him, "I highly doubt it. He doesn't - I don't know. I'm not really his type." She stated before tossing a waded up napkin at Kurt, "Besides, I am pretty sure there's a rule about not actual dating the guy you're pretending to...you know because then it wouldn't be pretending and..."She shook her head - she was not going to let her imagination run wild again. Their texting had put enough images in her head for one day - week - forever. No more image. "Anyway, I don't believe you." She told him flatly then took a sip from her cup, “You can't lie to me. It's not possible."
Kurt smiled and ducked from the napkin Rachel threw his way. "Never say never, Rach, he could surprise you. Kurt thought for a moment. "Yeah, but I mean, it's three of you that made the rules. Couldn't you change a few if you wanted?" he asked. He fixed Rachel with a look. He was about to tell her he wasn't lying to her, but then that would be a lie and lies are what had caused their friendship to fall apart in the first place. "Look," he said, leaning in and speaking in a low voice. "Before I tell you, just know that I'm okay, okay?" He took a deep breath before continuing. "Karofsky was just being his usual self and something just... I don't know, snapped and I followed him into the locker room to confront him and then he kissed me... And said that if I told anyone, that it would be the last thing I do...." he broke off, leaning back in his chair, gauging Rachel's reaction.
Rachel laughed and looked down at her hands, "He dated Quinn Fabray - the model of perfection...trust me. I am not his type," she said, pausing as she listened to him speak. "What?" She asked in disbelief, her head whipping in his direction, "You're kidding, right?" She asked, the anger immediately bubbling to the surface, "That's...he..."she lowered her voice and leaned towards him again, "...he violated you and then threatened you," she hissed. No wonder Blaine was infuriated, "Is that what...is that what you're telling me?"
Kurt "Rachel Berry, you are a beautiful girl that anyone would be lucky to date. Don't put yourself down," he told her. Kurt almost physically flinched back when he saw the anger in Rachel's face. He didn't think he'd ever seen her this angry but he did know that she could be scary. "No, Rachel. It wasn't like that. I mean about the threat, yes, it's true. But he didn’t like... hold me down or anything. I pushed him away and he left me alone," he said in a whisper again.
Rachel wanted to thank him for the compliment, but honestly couldn't see past the anger which sadly wasn't solely directed at Dave. No, if she had been honest with Kurt; he'd have had her to confide in and wouldn't have had to go through the torment alone. "I..."she squeezed her eyes shut and silently counted backwards from ten. Seething wasn't going to do anything, but make matters worse, so once she felt her rage slightly under control, she swallowed hard, blew out a shaky breath and opened her eyes, "...thank you for saying that, but I know he isn't interested and - I wish I had known this was going on. I could have helped. I could have protected you and I'm sorry." She told him in a low and unsteady voice, "Are you sure it's over? I mean, you'd tell me if he'd been continually harassing you, right?"
Kurt was starting to think it might not have been a good idea to tell Rachel about what had happened with Karofsky. He could see how upset she was, just by the look on her face as she closed her eyes and today was about them reconciling, not about her worrying about him like this. He took a deep breath when she started talking again. “Rachel, stop. None of this is your fault. You had no way of knowing this had happened and I honestly had never planned on telling anyone about it,” he told her honestly. Kurt looked at her again and he started playing with the hem of his jacket. “Of course it’s over. That happened weeks ago and he hasn’t done anything. I think Santana’s blackmailing him about it. But I’ll tell you if anything else happens, okay?”
Rachel didn't know whether to believe Kurt or not. The truth was they had been lying to each other for so long that she was beginning to wonder if the trust truly had been splintered. "Okay." She told him, deciding then and there to consciously choose to believe him. Despite everything that had transpired between them over the course of the past few weeks, he was her best friend and she refused to let anything else drive a wedge between them. "If you say it's over then..."she flashed him a small smile, "...I believe you. Just..."she exhaled out through her nose and squeezed his hand again, "...know you aren't alone." She laughed to break the tension then sighed when she caught sight of the time on her phone, "I am going to have to go. Tina and San are supposed to come over tonight to finalize a few plans, but I want to do this again." She pulled her hand away, so she could gather her things, "It doesn't have to be coffee, but something that's just for us...maybe a weekly thing?" She asked then rose to her feet and said with a warm smile, "I love you, Kurt and I've really missed you."
Kurt smiled at Rachel and squeezed her hand back. “Thank you. And I know I’m not, Rachel. I do,” he told her. He sighed when she said she had to go. He took a look at his phone and he knew that his father would be waiting for him to get home, too, but he didn’t want to leave. It kind of felt like a dream, that he and Rachel were reconciled, finally, and that if he left now it would be like it hadn’t happened. But he smiled when she mentioned them doing something together weekly. “We can have movie nights again? I actually kind of miss those,” he said, remembering when he and Rachel used to get together to watch movies all the time. “But it’s up to you, we can discuss it another time,” he said, getting up from his seat at the same time as her. He couldn’t help but return Rachel’s smile. It felt so good to have his best friend back. He moved in to give her a small hug. “I love you too, Rach. And I’ve missed you so much.”
