Chapter Three

"Don't even go there, dude."

"What?" Blaine looked up from making coffee (the espresso machine was really easy to run once he'd gotten it up and working), but he was startled by Puck apparently creeping up on him while he prepared the morning coffees for everybody.

"I've seen the way you're staring at the old Captain," the man grinned and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest and managing to look both nonchalant and alert at the same time. "And don't go there. None of us know much about his personal life or anything, and he flirts a lot, but I don't think he's ever had like a serious partner. At least, not in the last few years. He tell you about himself?" he asked, and Blaine nodded absently as he tamped some espresso down.

"Just the short form of the story, because I'd imagine it's a lot longer, but...yes. And I'm not...he's just..."

"Yeah, he's hot, if you're into dudes. Which I guess you are, because otherwise you'd be staring at Berry or Fabray," Puck winked and patted Blaine on the back before he accepted his coffee and headed back down into the medical bay, leaving Blaine wondering how obvious he was being if everybody was noticing the looks he was directing toward Kurt.

He wasn't doing it on purpose...not really...but Kurt was just...magnetic, and so interesting, and yes, Blaine had resigned himself by now to the fact that nothing was ever going to happen between them, but that didn't mean he found the other man any less fascinating.

"He doesn't get involved with employees."

Blaine nearly jumped, wondering why everybody was just deciding to sneak up on him today, and he turned to look at Quinn who gave him an apologetic smile.

"Trust me, people have tried, and while I'm sure he's not...celibate, he doesn't make a point to tell anybody about his relationships. It can't be easy, knowing that anybody you're with is going to age and die and you'll still be...there," she sounded wistful and sympathetic and Blaine had to nod in agreement.

Immortality seemed wonderful, he supposed, but watching the people you love get old and die over and over again while you stayed the same didn't seem like an easy burden to bear. "Is he lonely?"

"I think he copes," Quinn replied, leaning back against the railing. "But what about you? Any wild plans for the weekend?"

"Not really," Blaine admitted. "It's my week off at the coffee shop or else I'd be playing there, but I'm not the sort to go out clubbing or anything," he laughed. "And you?"

"No, Kurt's got me on-call tonight so I have to be ready. I don't know where he goes, but I'm happy to do it. Not like it's interrupting my wonderful personal life," she muttered under her breath and Blaine swore to himself he was going to ask about that someday, but maybe when she was in a more conversational mood. "Well, don't work too hard," she patted his arm and walked away, back to her tower of computers that she rarely seemed to stray from.

He sighed and went back to making coffee, glancing up towards Kurt's office every now and then, and the day continued on without any major disturbances aside from when their Pteranodon friend decided to swoop down on Puck because he was dissecting some alien that must have been aquatic in origin.

"Why is that fucking thing loose?!" he yelled, getting a shriek in return, and that finally prompted Kurt to come out from his office and toss the creature a fish, the beast snapping it up gratefully and swooping back up into the rafters.

Which of course mean that Blaine had to head down to the market to buy more fish, but if buying fish for a Pteranodon was the strangest thing he had to do all day, he thought he could consider that pretty tame.

000

Blaine ended up staying late, doing some housekeeping because the others' warnings about the archives hadn't been exaggerations and it was truly a mess down there. He headed up toward the main area of the underground cavern after everybody else had gone home, flipping through a file and humming to himself, and the sound of booted feet on the metal catwalk about his head caused him to look up, although what he saw made his breath catch in his throat for all the wrong reasons.

"Blaine!" Kurt stopped halfway down the stairs, shifting from foot-to-foot, before he cleared his throat and stood up straight. "You shouldn't be here."

"Just finishing some filing, sir, and I'll be out of your way," Blaine squeaked, his voice thin and unsure, because Kurt looked...

Well, let's just say that it was easy to tell why he'd put Quinn in charge of things tonight, because if the way he was dressed was any indication, he wasn't planning on hunting aliens.

He was wearing black pants that looked almost painted on they were so tight, accentuating his long legs and making them look even lankier than they actually were, and his normal work shoes were replaced with black boots that went over the pants and stopped at mid-calf, covered in so many buckles and zippers that Blaine had no idea how he'd get in or out of them.

His torso was covered in a thin, dark-red shirt that was unbuttoned to past his collarbone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and there was a shimmer on the pale skin of his neck and chest that was definitely not there earlier. His hair was more coiffed than normal, swooped up in a way that looked effortless but probably required a lot of work, and his eyes were accented with smoky liner that made them seem even more intensely blue.

He looked like a man ready to drag somebody home and have his way with them (or, Blaine thought, go home with them and then have his way with them, because no way would he bring people back to Torchwood), and Blaine was starting to see that Quinn's claim about Kurt 'not being celibate' was more than right.

"No," Kurt said suddenly, and Blaine looked up in surprise.

"N-no, sir?" he asked, not sure what this was about, and Kurt shook his head.

"No, don't...come with me."

"Where would we be going, sir?" Blaine asked cautiously, looking down at his suit. "I don't think I'd be dressed properly for...wherever you're planning on spending the evening," he finished, and it wasn't supposed to be snarky or judgemental but it almost cane out that way and Kurt winced a little.

"You're fine, just take your jacket and tie off and....lose the undershirt, undo a couple of buttons. Those pants are flattering on you anyway," Kurt was back to his old confident self, and Blaine had to respect that he'd only seemed to have been put-off for about five seconds before everything else came back. It had to be a defense mechanism, he knew, but he didn't know Kurt well enough yet to know why.

"If you're certain..." Blaine didn't particularly want to go out clubbing but he thought it would be more than a little rude to refuse, so he excused himself to the washroom in order to dress down, leaving a couple of buttons on his shirt open, and by the time he'd come out again Kurt was tapping his foot a little impatiently.

"Good?"

"I hope so," Blaine pulled at his collar self-consciously, turning around, and Kurt hummed in approval.

"Come on, then," he reached out a hand and Blaine looked at it in surprise, not sure what the gesture meant, but Kurt seemed generally tactile so he took it and allowed the older man to pull him out to the parkade, unlocking the Navigator.

They both got inside and Kurt turned the key, the engine roaring to life as they zoomed out of the parking garage and Blaine found himself gripping the door tightly, not realizing that Kurt was such a reckless driver.

"People tend to get out of my way when they see this baby coming," Kurt said in response to his unspoken question, glancing over at him and grinning as they sped down the streets and eventually pulled up in front of a nightclub, all flashing lights and a long line of people snaking down the block. "Come on," Kurt got out and locked the Navigator, heading straight past the bouncer who merely nodded to them, and once inside Blaine had to let his eyes adjust to the darkness as he took everything in.

It definitely wasn't the type of place he was accustomed to, since he tended to favor the small neighborhood coffee-house music scene, but he had to admit it was a little exhilarating and he could feel the bass pumping through his body, urging him to move.

"Relax a little," Kurt all but yelled in his ear to be heard over the music. "Grab a few drinks, do some dancing, I'll meet you in a bit," he patted Blaine on the arm and sauntered away, oozing sexuality and Blaine could see more than a few pairs of eyes following him across the floor.

He headed to the bar and ordered a beer, not intending to have much because he knew he was a lightweight and embarrassing himself in front of his boss would be horrible, and he leaned his elbows back on the top of the counter and looked around, trying and failing to keep from finding Kurt right away.

He wasn't hard to find, not that it was any excuse, but Blaine had to tamp down the instant flare of jealousy he felt at the fact that Kurt seemed to rather enjoy having other guys practically all over him. It wasn't any of Blaine's business, not really, and he knew that Kurt was hardly looking for anything more than one night of pleasure. He'd gotten the feeling that Kurt intentionally closed himself off from feeling more because of how the relationships would inevitably end, but that didn't stop Blaine from wishing that maybe one of those random nights he could be the one taking Kurt home.

Better that he wasn't, though, because he was already too attached after only a week, and he needed to clear those thoughts from his head.

He turned away from the dance floor, nursing his beer, and only when he felt a rather strong presence behind him, something that smelled like pure sex, did he come back to reality.

"You don't look like you're having fun," Kurt was pressed against his back and Blaine almost groaned, because he could practically feel his blood throbbing, and he heard Kurt's low chuckle. "Sorry. 51st century pheromones, they can be a little overwhelming at times," he was still too close but Blaine forced himself to breathe slowly, not thinking about anything but staying professional.

"Was there something you needed, sir?" he asked cautiously and Kurt nodded, pulling him away from the bar.

"Dance with me, I'll explain," he urged, and while Blaine didn't really want to be that close voluntarily, he couldn't exactly decline so he went wrapping his arms cautiously around Kurt's neck as the older man held his hips. "Contrary to what you might think, or what Puck has told you, I don't go out clubbing that often. But Sam...Rachel's policeman friend...said that there's been some strange goings-on at this club lately and that it seemed like 'something your people would be into' so I thought coming here tonight would be good, and when I saw you were still at work...well, it never hurts to have some back-up," he pulled them a little closer together and Blaine shivered, nodding to show he understood.

"Have you seen anything yet?" he asked, leaning his head against Kurt's shoulder impulsively as Kurt squeezed his waist.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, but I'm sure that if something's...amiss it'll make itself known," he murmured, voice low and soothing in Blaine's ear and Blaine forced himself to relax into the strange embrace, because it was all just part of the job and nothing more intimate and he needed to remind himself of that.

"What are we looking for?" he asked softly, eyes darting around, and Kurt was about to open his mouth to answer when a piercing scream came from near the back exit, Kurt's hands leaving his body immediately as he drew a tiny pistol out from...Blaine had no idea where, because he didn't think anything could fit in those pants, but Kurt winked at him and moved away.

"Stay here, keep people moving toward the front, if I'm not back in five minutes come find me but be careful," he instructed firmly before heading off through the milling, panicked crowd, and Blaine reminded himself that Kurt couldn't die so he'd be safe, whatever happened.

It was time to get to work.