Kurt Hummel

i've never seen such clear skies, i've never seen such high hopes

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 19:36:46 GMT

One of the first decisions Kurt makes about his band is that he wants it to start as a cover band. Most of the people he's talked to about joining have strengths in vocals and instruments, which is awesome, but also probably makes the prospect of composing melodies and music kind of overwhelming.

So, he figures they'll start smaller. Try to bring their own spin to songs they each love from home. (And, even though the thought makes him cringe, Kurt hasn't completely ruled out the idea of covering Tiffany Charlotte either, if it comes to that.)

He's on his way to Kate's apartment to go over some ideas for initial covers, a pair of heavy headphones over his ears as he flips through some of the classics. Everything from the super pop stars like Britney, through the classic untouchables like Freddie Mercury. He's got this idea that won't leave his head either, of how Kate could easily put on a Gwen Stefani kind of feel, high on the fashion and the punk attitude. But that really requires coming together to figure out a look, a feel, a way of testing the waters and helping her settle into her stage presence.

Jamming out to a Daft Punk number, Kurt bobs his head left and right and knocks smartly on Kate's door, tugging his headphones halfway off to be somewhat polite.

When he sees who opens the door, he blinks and brightens.

"Oh, hey! I came here for Kate, but I need to talk to you too," he says, smiling broadly. "How are you? Is this an okay time?"

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the gardens wearing haute couture

Sun, 05 Jan 2014 05:40:19 GMT

Leaving the apartment has become an increasing struggle in recent weeks. The fact that new year's day turned out as disastrously for Darrow as it did only makes Kurt feel more justified in spending more time at home. He's been grabbing fewer hours of work, and going into spring semester, he'll have a slightly lighter class schedule than before. Slowly, he's trying to ease everything down, finding a balance of work and home that sways towards the latter, giving him more of an opportunity to spend time with Blaine.

This is always what happens, he thinks. Losing someone, whether metaphorically or literally, makes him want to camp out at home, with the people he loves, savoring every second that he has with them. It might be uninspired, cuddling up with Blaine on the couch and watching film after film, but it feels safe and it feels sustainable and it feels right.

The problem is, pulling the least of one's weight isn't good for retail. The amount he gets on commission is lessening, and the patience of his manager along with it. Unless Kurt wants to throw everything at that job again, he needs to find some way to make up the difference, and he wants to try. He wants to see if there's any way that he can keep the household comfortable, while still spending more time at home.

Which is why he's hanging up fliers for voice lessons on the corkboard at The Bean Counter, carefully stepping back to make sure that he's pinned it level with the frame.

"You think anyone will actually take me up on this?" he murmurs to himself with a soft sigh. He's not too hopeful that he'll find students, but honestly, even one would be nice. Singing is always a good release of tension and emotion, and spreading the joy of it to more people is something Kurt doesn't think he'd ever tire of, if they only gave him the opportunity.

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we can burn brighter than the sun

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 02:18:53 GMT

"So she knows about you, and she... kind of knows about what we are to one another, although I'm willing to bet that she hasn't stopped to think about the anatomy of it," Kurt says, seated next to Blaine in a cozy booth near the back corner of Life of Pie, a cafe with a specialty in pastries and baked goods. "Actually, I doubt that she's been exposed to much male anatomy either, so intimacy might be off the cards for now. Unless she asks about it. Oh god, what do we do if a Disney princess asks us about bumping uglies? I'm not sure my brain could handle it."

For the past ten minutes, Kurt's words have been flying at a mile a minute, starting as soon as the server walked out of earshot. Underneath the table, he grabs at Blaine's hand, holding tightly to it to try and gain some confidence and calm.

Not that Blaine is likely to know how to tread these waters any better than Kurt does.

"Anyway, she is at least okay with us knowing all about her world and her story. I actually suspect that she came here before the end of her movie. Well, really, it's obvious that she did given her hair," Kurt speculates, rolling his eyes and bumping palm to forehead. "I'm not as calm as I should be right now."

Pouting, Kurt leans over slightly, briefly resting his chin against Blaine's shoulder. "I just really want her to like you," he confesses.

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lilac trees in the heart of town

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 05:03:39 GMT

For all that Kurt knows the dangers of golden age syndrome, he still feels after all these years that there is no greater ideal of romance than what classic Hollywood put forth decades ago. Flowers and music, the twining of fingers, one raised to brush down the line of a lover's jaw. A Vespa ride through Rome, a boating ride into the sea, a misty embrace next to a departing train.

It might be an example of reaching too far and too high. After all, real life isn't always like the movies. At least, it doesn't end when the movies do.

But that doesn't mean Kurt won't keep trying to attain those small moments of perfection, fleeting but enough.

He's carefully made his plans for Blaine's birthday, a top hat jauntily placed on his head and a neat suit on his shoulders, nice enough that he carefully wipes down the fence right outside of Blaine's apartment window before leaning back against it. He's here, right when Blaine should be getting up and going about his morning routine, a large bouquet of red roses in hand.

Just red roses, this time.

Tipping his hat down over his brow, Kurt glances shyly over his shoulder, at the window with its blinds still shut. It's chilly, but that'll only help his voice more.

"I have often walked down this street before, but the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before. All at once am I several stories high, knowing I'm on the street where you live," he starts, voice clear and lower than usual as he pushes off the fence and steps across the sidewalk. "Are there lilac trees in the heart of town? Can you hear a lark in any other part of town? Does enchantment pour out of every door? No, it's just on the street where you live."

As he hoped, a few other residents of the building are also awake at this hour, curiously peeking their heads out down at the street. The sight of a little girl tilting her head curiously brings a smile to Kurt's face, and he waves.

"And oh, the towering feeling, just to know somehow you are near," he sings, an ache settling in his chest as he reaches out with a hand, wrapping it around a bar of the fence, shivering at the touch. "The overpowering feeling that any second, you may suddenly appear."

He spots movement by the window, pushing onto his toes curiously.

"People stop and stare, they don't bother me, for there's nowhere else that I would rather be," Kurt sings, building excitement as he presses his bouquet close to his chest. "Let the time go by, I won't care if I can be here on the street where you live."

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i'm a wandering soul; i got no place of my own

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:44:59 GMT

It was about two weeks before Kurt's birthday and he couldn't decide on what he wanted to do to celebrate, if anything. The already fairly arbitrary date felt a lot more so once he'd been shunted back and forth in time, not only physically, but emotionally as well, and just thinking about having spent over a year in Darrow left Kurt feeling a bit lost and hopeless. As well as he managed to establish himself in the city, it still wasn't where he wanted to be for the rest of his life. It wasn't New York.

Normally, he'd just ignore the birthday. Try to treat it like any other day. But he'd been dating Gavin for well over a month by that point, and somehow, it delighted Gavin to know that they'd be sharing this milestone so soon into their relationship. Gavin had been going on and on about reserving time at the best restaurants, toiling over trying to figure out which might appeal most to Kurt's tastes.

And so Kurt tried to go along, vaguely working through the motions, because it was the easier thing to do. A lot about Gavin seemed to be about the easier thing — he was handsome, he was caring almost a fault, and there was no logical reason not to be in the relationship. Maybe that was part of the problem, though. Being with Gavin wasn't especially interesting.

Coming back from a date, Kurt rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension as he unlocked his front door. Immediately, Cat surged out to meet him, pawing at his trousers until Kurt bent down with a grin to pull her up and into his arms, nuzzling her soft fur. "Hey, Cat. Are you proud of me? I kept to my curfew tonight."

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whatever happened to saturday night?

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:58:29 GMT

There's always something unnerving about a watch that comes to a full stop. In Darrow, Kurt's first instinct is always to look at the city around him, trying to pinpoint whether or not anything else is off, if anything else should serve as cause for alarm. Fortunately, today there's no dust descending from the sky, no indication that traffic's any different than usual. Just a pocketwatch that came to the end of its life.

Sighing, Kurt runs his fingers through his hair, and decides that the watch matters just enough to him that he's willing to shell out money for repairs.

After firing a quick text to Gavin to explain his absence and spending a good half hour on consoling Cat, Kurt slathers on sunscreen to deal with the quickly increasing amounts of summer sun, then sets out to find the nearest watch shop. His smartphone sends him to a little store a few blocks away, clocks hung on the walls from floor to ceiling, each more ornate than the last.

If they can't figure out how to fix his pocketwatch, Kurt suspects no one can.

He steps inside the shop, wandering through the antiques while he waits to be addressed.

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