Beginnings in Disguise- A Glee AU

Chapter 3

Kurt's POV

"Who's Brody?"

Rachel promptly hangs up the call she was on and turns to look at me, her face beet red. "What? Uh- he's, um- nobody," she stammers. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"I only caught the tail end, but I heard enough to wonder who this Brody is. And don't you dare say nobody, because from the way you're blushing I can tell he sure ain't nobody."

"He's my co-star in the show I'm in," says Rachel. "We've been spending a lot of time together. He's really sweet, not to mention a total snack. Just now he asked me out on a date. Like, a real date. Not just running lines or something."

"And???"

"And I said I needed time to think about it." I give her a look that says, Have you lost your mind? She continues, "I do need time to think about it, Kurt. I really like Brody, but I'm not fully over Finn yet, and dating someone else just feels disrespectful to his memory."

Is she kidding me right now? "Girl, it has been seven years. I'm no medium, but I bet if Finn could talk to you right now he'd say something along the lines of, 'Rachel, I love you, but please stop moping over me. Clearly you're into this Brody guy, so date him. I won't be offended.'"

"I get where you're coming from, Kurt, I really do, but-"

"It's not healthy to be hung up on someone for so long, Rach. Besides, you only live once, and if Brody's as hot as you say he is, then by all means, go on that date!"

She considers my words for a minute, then replies. "Okay," she says. "I'll text him right now and tell him we're on for that date."

---
(later that week)

"God, I haven't been on a date in forever. This feels so weird."

"Relax, Rachel," I say. "You'll be fine. Just be yourself, he's gonna love you. Plus, you look stunning."

"Thanks, Kurt. I just- I don't know if I'm ready for this yet."

"Of course you are, otherwise this wouldn't be happening now."

"True. I'll let you know how it goes."

---

Rachel's on her date and she hasn't called me asking to pick her up yet, so I can only hope that's a good sign. And since Santana's working, I guess that means I have the apartment to myself. At least, that's what I think until I hear the door open.

"Hey, baby." It's Blaine Anderson, my boyfriend of five years. Like I said to Brittany, he comes to the apartment a lot; he practically lives here.

"Hi Blaine," I say. "Your timing's impeccable. Santana's at work, and Rachel just left."

"Where is she?"

"On a date, actually. His name's Brody; he's a co-star of hers, and according to Rachel he's super hot."

"Oh, that's nice," says Blaine. "I'm happy for Rachel that she's finally dating again; it's been how many years, seven?"

"Seven, yeah."

"Right. Well, in any case, this is a win-win situation."

"How so?"

"It's a win for Rachel because she's falling in love again," he says, "and it's a win for us because if Rachel's out of the apartment more, you and I can have more time alone together."

"Aw. I love you so much, Blainie."

"I love you too, babe."

---

Rachel's POV

"Rachel, you look absolutely radiant. Not that that's anything new, of course."

"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself. How've you been?"

"Pretty good," Brody says. "Even better, now that I'm with you." I can't help but blush. He's just laying it on thick, isn't he?

"That's very nice of you to say."

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

At first, I thought going on a date with Brody would be weird and awkward. It's generally best to keep your love life and work life separate, right? Or so I thought. But I guess I was wrong. This isn't awkward at all; on the contrary, nothing has ever felt more natural. More... right.

After some hours, our date has to come to an end. "This has been lovely, but it's getting late and I should really start heading home. I definitely want to do this again, though. Maybe we can work something out for next week?"

"Yeah, of course. I really enjoyed this too. I could walk you back to your apartmemt, if you'd like."

"Of course," I say. "You're such a gentleman."

---

"Hey Rach," says Kurt once I get back home. "How was the date?"

"Judging by her mood and the fact that her date walked her home, I'd say it went pretty well," says Blaine.

"Oh, it was amazing. And it's always great to see you, Blaine. It's been too long."

"Yeah, it has. I've been really tied up with work lately. I was finally able to get some time off, so of course I came over to see Kurt."

Santana rolls her eyes before butting in, "You say that as if Kurt's the only person who lives here."

"In my defense, Kurt's my boyfriend. Of course I'd be coming to see him. And besides, you and Rachel weren't home when I got here. You were at work and Rachel was on her date. Oh, and speaking of, I want to hear all about it. Do you plan on going on another one?"

"Totally. I know how pathetic this sounds, but I think I'm the happiest I've been since Finn died."

"You didn't bring Finn up during the date, did you?" asks Santana.

"I hope not," says Kurt. "Bringing up your dead ex on the first date? Talk about a one-way ticket to Awkwardtown."

"Not once," I reply. "If I'm being honest, I basically forgot about Finn. I think this means I'm finally moving on."

"That's great!" Kurt says.

Santana says, "It's about time."

"I'd love to meet this Brody guy one of these days," says Blaine. "Maybe you could invite him along with us the next time we go out together."

"Yeah, of course. I'd love for him to meet you guys."

"Could Brittany come with us too?" asks Santana. "She's our new neighbor, Blaine. You haven't met her yet, but she's awesome. We've been hanging out a lot; I've been pretty lonely since the whole Dani thing, and Brittany's fiancé is in Ohio, so she and I have just... been lonely together."

"Of course she could come with us," he says. "The more the merrier, right?"

"For sure."

"I'm gonna go to bed now," I say. "'Night, guys."

"'Night, Grandma Berry," says Santana. I've learned to just ignore her when she says stuff like that.

"Goodnight Rachel," says Kurt. "I'm glad your date went well."

"Thanks. And thank you for encouraging me to go on it, Kurt. You're a great friend."

"I have my moments."