Title: Family Tree (or Happy Birthday, Cooper Anderson's Little Brother)
Title: Happy Birthday, Cooper Anderson's Little Brother
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4,660
Spoilers: 3x15 (only if you have not seen the promo)
Warnings/Pairings: Klaine, Niff, Blangst (I had to, okay?), cheese, Klaine fluffity, more cheese
Summary: Someone from Blaine's past comes home on vacation from LA for Blaine's 17th birthday, and Blaine isn't too happy about it.
A/N: Written for the lovely star55 for her birthday. Sorry I couldn't get this done on time! Also, I generally view Blaine as a February or September baby, but I wanted to stay within Glee's timeline of sorts. Not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. I also want to thank coiffedandcurly and briadru4 for the birthday gift ideas. <3
It's been two days, fourteen hours, and twelve minutes, and Cooper Anderson has already melted the hearts of all of Blaine's friends, not to mention his boyfriend. This is madness. Quite frankly, Blaine almost wishes his brother didn't come home this week. Cooper's just here to have all the attention on him when Blaine blows out the seventeen candles on his cake after Cooper loudly and melodically sings him "Happy Birthday". It'll be fake though, because Cooper never did and never will actually care if Blaine has a happy birthday or not.
Okay, fine, maybe that's not true. Really, there's no reason to not feel happy for Blaine on his birthday, because Cooper is almost ten years older and he is more successful than Blaine will ever be. His parents know it, his classmates know it, and even Kurt probably knows it by now. Everyone wondered why Blaine was keeping Cooper a secret (how could he?), but really, it was to keep Blaine's feelings hidden. He doesn't want his friends, especially Kurt, to see how he acts when his brother's around. He admittedly becomes detached from the group and has to play the part of the dumb little brother while Cooper takes the spotlight. It's just what happens, what has always happened. There are other reasons for feeling this way, but Blaine doesn't feel like thinking about them right now.
Blaine should be proud of Cooper--and he is, truly--but Cooper left Ohio when Blaine still needed him and showed little interest in how Blaine was adjusting in junior high, at Dalton, at McKinley, at love... When Blaine got the part as Tony for West Side Story, Blaine's mother just told him that Cooper said "that's great!" on the phone when she mentioned it to him.
Yeah, it was really great, Coop. You wouldn't have known it, though.
Cooper isn't the worst brother in history, far from it, but no, Blaine thinks, you should have made time to talk to me, returned my calls at least to say that you were too busy to talk this week. Why don't I mean something to you anymore?
~*~
By Blaine's 13th birthday, Cooper had managed to land a role in a commercial and was even a B List actresses' boyfriend for two episodes on a semi-decent show. He was also that one attractive guy you saw for that split second on Law & Order that was murdered for sleeping with the rich guy's wife. Cooper Anderson wasn't at the top yet, but he was somewhere in the minds of enough people to make Cooper act like the star at every party.
When Blaine was still in the closet in junior high, he had a friend named Andy that liked music almost as much as Blaine did. Of course, Andy listened to a lot more hip hop and rock than Blaine cared for, but Andy thought it was funny that Blaine liked musicals, and funny was a lot better than getting threatened by the jocks for liking such things as innocent show tunes. Andy had (still has, Blaine guesses) blonde hair and blue eyes, and he actually enjoyed coming over to Blaine's house every now and then to play video games (Blaine's dad thought one year that getting Blaine an Xbox for Christmas was a good idea).
They were, in terms of the definition, friends. However, Blaine couldn't help but having a small crush on his new friend. There was no ignoring that Andy would become extremely attractive as soon as he got his braces off, and even with them on, Blaine thought they made him look cuter. There was even this one time when Andy had started singing a Kid Rock song that Blaine unfortunately knew because it was so popular that year, that Andy complimented him when Blaine started singing along. He thought Blaine had a great voice and even talked about them maybe forming a band together. Things were great.
So, when Blaine had Andy over for his birthday dinner along with his parents and his brother, who had come to visit for the weekend as promised, there was a feeling that he could finally, finally relax. Cooper couldn't make Blaine feel inferior anymore, because this time, Blaine had an awesome friend who would like him better than his brother.
Of course, this birthday party had a predictable ending, one Blaine should have known all along.
As soon as Cooper started talking about California and the stars he was slowly meeting, Andy became way more interested and impressed with what Cooper was saying than when Blaine tried telling Cooper about the band they might start. The look in Andy's eyes was the same that everyone else had always had--Cooper Anderson was extremely charming and attractive, appealing to those that didn't even like the idea of getting up close and personal with male genitalia. Everyone would always fall for Cooper's techniques, everyone that wasn't Blaine. Cooper had convinced Andy that fame was everything, that Cooper was probably everything too, and now, Andy would only want to be his friend to get to Cooper.
Blaine went to his room the second after Andy left, and he stayed there until his parents had gone to bed. There was no point in ever coming out again, it's not like his parents wanted to see him on his birthday, not when there was Cooper around.
A little after ten, Cooper knocked on Blaine's door. There was no movement from inside of the room to open it, so Cooper opened the unlocked door on his own. While Blaine averted his eyes from the doorway, Cooper shut the door behind him and stared at him for a few minutes without saying a word. One thing that Blaine hated was that Cooper could read facial expressions really well; it was a wasted gift, because Cooper Anderson rarely asked how you were feeling that day.
"You know, he's not that cute." Cooper said quietly, aware that Blaine's parents could easily hear what he was saying from behind the next wall if he talked any louder. "And he's not that smart. You can do better than a straight boy with bad music taste, Blaine."
Blaine glared, knowing that if he chose to look up at Cooper now, he'd feel even more frustration and anger towards him. Cooper had been playing this game since he found a Ken doll in Blaine's room, since Blaine wasn't even old enough to spell sexuality. So, what Blaine actually just heard was, 'You can do better than a boy, Blaine.'
"...Well, he was good enough for me, and now, all he's going to see is you. Sorry he's not star quality."
Sensing the stubbornness in Blaine's tone, Cooper sighed. "You know, Blaine, I don't get it. I come to see you for your birthday, and you can't look at me? Why? You only want to talk when I'm busy and not here. Talk to me now. I'm listening."
"You're not going to listen, though. You're going to hear me complaining and think that I'm just your kid brother with normal teenage problems, and then not talk to me for months, because you're too busy with your life, a-and I just hate it, because you don't see me in your life anymore, Coop. You know, even some of the most famous people in the world still make time for their family members, but I don't think you will. So, I hate it when all my friends--okay, the one friend I've had in a whole year--looks at you like you're the best, when really, you're just a selfish actor that is a terrible homophobic brother."
Right after Blaine said it, he regretted it. He didn't disagree with what he thought, but he regretted letting Cooper know it after seeing the look on his older brother's face.
"...I was just trying to help."
"I-I'm sorry, Coop. I'm just really upset about the Andy thing... It just sucks having everyone love you more, a-and then you're not even here to talk to..."
"What do you want me to do about it? Leave home, Blaine? Leave Ohio?"
~*~
Right now, it's two days before Blaine's birthday, and Blaine is almost four years older than he was the day he said those things to Cooper. He's had experiences, he's more mature, but he can't take back the things he said. After that weekend, Cooper only came back for Christmas in 2009, the Christmas before Blaine met Kurt.
Blaine's mother insisted Cooper come to Ohio for Blaine's 17th birthday, because she knows Cooper isn't going to be working on any roles until the beginning of May, and even though Blaine's parents did a bang up job at ignoring their second son, it means a lot to them that their sons at least spend time with each other. To Blaine's dismay, Cooper agreed to come, and after spending not even an hour in the choir room acting like prince charming for the rest of the glee club, all of Blaine's friends like his older brother more than him now, too. It's okay, at least Blaine has Nick and Jeff to dislike his brother with him upstairs in his room while Kurt finishes talking to Cooper downstairs about auditioning for roles.
Blaine sits on the bed across from Jeff, trying to study for his AP English test that he has next Monday. Nick smirks, turning around in Blaine's computer chair to face the other two boys.
"Hey, Blaine, guess what?"
"What, Nick?"
"Your brother," Nick starts.
"Is hot." Jeff finishes automatically.
Blaine sighs.
On cue, Kurt walks in smiling until he sees the look on Blaine's face and his smile translates to one of immediate sympathy, having heard what Nick and Jeff said as he walked in. "Don't listen to them, babe. They're just trying to make me think your brother is cuter than you, so they can have you all to themselves."
Nick pretends to gag in protest, and Jeff smiles over at Blaine. "Aw, I'd totally kiss you, Blaine... If I wasn't always busy kissing Nick's d--"
"--Can we please stop talking about my brother!" Blaine interrupts, getting off his bed and going out into the hall to not start saying things to Nick and Jeff he doesn't mean. It's not them he's mad at, not really.
Kurt follows, putting his hand on Blaine's arm to make him stop walking away. "Blaine! Blaine... Why are you so upset? This isn't like you."
Kurt is so great. He doesn't even know it. Blaine makes a mental note to take him to some place better than Breadstix for dinner soon, because Kurt deserves it. For now though, Blaine knows he's acting like a brat, but he can't help it. He waits for Kurt to say whatever else he looks like he's going to say with the concerned expression on his face for Blaine.
"He's just come to visit for a few more days... For your birthday."
Kurt comes around and hugs him from behind, making Blaine sway calmly with him from side to side.
Blaine sighs, leaning back against the only torso that can make him feel better right now. "I just wish everyone would stop talking about Cooper Anderson."
Smiling, Kurt kisses his neck and continues to sway their bodies back and forth gently. "Me, too. I want to talk more about this mysterious Blaine Anderson character."
Blaine blushes and presses further back, turning around in Kurt's arms to lean up and kiss him. It's a simple peck, but it will always mean the world to both of them. It's simply love.
"Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever." Blaine whispers, feeling the butterflies that his school boy crush on Kurt gave him when they were first starting to date.
Kurt shakes his head and hugs him closer, matching Blaine's whisper. "Just think about how much fun your birthday will be. You'll never believe what I got you."
You'll never believe how much I need you to hold me like this.
"Is it a dildo?" Nick says from Blaine's doorway, interrupting Blaine's happy place. They hear Jeff giggle.
Sighing, Blaine comes back to reality. Back to square one.
~*~
Brunch at the Anderson's never sounded like a good idea to Blaine, and of course, he was very right. Cooper isn't necessarily interrogating Kurt as they sit across from each other at the table, but asking question after question is--yeah, no, he's interrogating him.
"So, Kurt, how did you meet Blaine? Did you go to Dalton originally?"
The way Cooper asks his questions makes Blaine feel like he thinks this whole thing is funny, like him having to ask a boy these questions in the interest of his little brother is a joke. Maybe Cooper's really good at masking his true feelings, or maybe Kurt's just good at dealing with these kinds of things. Unfortunately, Blaine thinks it's the latter.
Kurt smiles politely. "No--well, for a little while I did, so yes, we met there."
Cooper laughs at Kurt's light confusion. "Yeah, Dalton's a good school."
"Were you a Warbler ever?"
He observes Cooper glancing at Blaine with either embarrassment or sympathy; Kurt can't tell his expressions very well, the guy is a little mysterious like Blaine said. Kurt wonders why.
"No, uh, I graduated from Stevenson. I was never as good of a student as Blaine here to go to a prestigious private school like Dalton."
"...Or harrased enough by almost the entire student body." Blaine adds, not trying to sound polite.
"Er, yes. ...High school was easier back then. Sucks for you guys."
How would it have been easier for me, Coop?
Blaine sees Kurt looking concerned for Blaine, but he's still trying to win the Andersons over with his charm and table manners. It makes Blaine feel a little better to look over at Kurt every few moments.
With the silence in place, Cooper decides to change the subject. "So, Kurt, you're graduating this year, right? What's Blaine going to do without you?"
Blaine starts shaking his head to himself. The same as I did when you left, only he'll still recognize my voice on the phone.
Kurt smiles politely. "Well, we've worked out a nice schedule, I think. There's still the end of the school year and summer to get through. I'm trying not to think about it."
Cooper smiles back and then turns to Blaine, giving him a wink.
Is that you approving of him? I don't want or need it. You don't even know me, and you sure as hell don't care about getting to know him.
Why can't I have my birthday on a different planet?
~*~
Kurt is busy with finishing the icing on Blaine's cake with the help of Rachel and Mrs. Anderson, and in the mean time, a few friends come over to Blaine to give him presents as they're all outside playing volleyball and sitting around waiting for the cake on this glorious day of birth for the youngest Anderson brother.
Mike gives Blaine a coupon for "If you ever need me in your dance numbers for a talent show or a glee club performance next year, I'm there, buddy".
Finn gets him socks.
Tina and Mercedes get him some bowties with microphones on them.
Puck sneaks him a fifth of whiskey that Blaine doubts he'll ever drink. Somehow, he's thinking Puck will ask him for it back later on tonight.
As everyone starts a new game of volleyball, Nick and Jeff gift Blaine with tickets to the last Warbler concert of the year and an apple pie, "because you're so sweet and smart, Blaine. Apples are smart."
"Jeff's mom made it." Nick adds.
"Yeah, and Sebastian wanted to come, but we said no."
When is Kurt going to come out here?
Nick nods, wrapping an arm around Jeff's waist because it feels only natural to do so. "He actually didn't say anything, but when Jeff told him we were going to your birthday party..."
Jeff happily continues Nick's sentence for him. "...He was all 'sad face', and then I was like, "sorry, don't throw toxic slushies at people', even though Nick was totally prepared to see Kurt get slushied that day."
Blaine isn't able to get a word in.
Seriously, Kurt, where are you?
Nick sighs. "I was--peer pressure, okay? I admit my wrong doings, can we move on? ...Blaine, I'm still so sorry about that, you have no idea."
Kurt's coming out with the cake. This also means that Cooper's also coming out with the cake.
Why are you here still?
"It's all in the past, Nick."
Blaine makes a beeline for the wooden table on his patio where Mrs. Anderson and Kurt are setting the cake down on. The cake is white with rainbow candy bow ties decorated around it, and what can only be Kurt's neat handwriting is Happy birthday, Blaine! written in green frosting. It's gorgeous. Kurt is gorgeous. Blaine is about to forget about any problems he might have with enjoying his own birthday every year, but then he sees Cooper come out of the house, and of course, everything is now back to normal.
Cooper's trying to smile just like Blaine is, but Blaine figures that Cooper is also remembering the last time Cooper was near Blaine's birthday cake. He's probably remembering all the times where he pretended to not hear Blaine crying. Will you just stop pretending to care about me? Why waste the money flying here?
Blaine's just Cooper Anderson's little brother. What's his name again? Brian? Blake?
Blaine sees all the girls plus Puck and Mike staring at Cooper with the same eyes that Andy had when Blaine was thirteen. Mike, you're a traitor. At least Brittany has the decency to be looking more interested in the cake.
When it's time to make a wish on his candles, Blaine can't think of anything positive he wants to wish for, so he just pretends to. Cooper and everyone else seem satisfied enough with his fake grin, and he's hoping to god that Kurt isn't paying attention or else he'll know Blaine's not happy.
I would wish for you to have been there earlier, but we can't go back.
I would wish for you to be a close brother, but we can't have that.
I would wish for all of Kurt's wishes to come true, so that's what I'll do instead.
The highlight of the night is when Kurt sneaks Blaine to the front of the yard to kiss him and finally gives Blaine his present.
"Kurt... What is it?"
Smiling, Kurt waits for Blaine to unwrap the wrapping paper from around a leather bound photo album that has been bedazzled with plastic diamonds--Blaine's birth stone. He opens it up to find all of the pictures from his Facebook of Kurt and Blaine together, of Blaine in the Warblers, of New Directions at competitions and messing around in the choir room, of Kurt and Blaine's coffee cups touching on a table in the Lima Bean... Every picture that has been taken from the time Blaine has met Kurt to the other day where Kurt insisted they take a picture of their hands laced together is in the photo album. There are still numerous pages empty, but Blaine already has an idea what he's going to fill them with. He is speechless. How did Kurt know this is what he needed?
"I wanted to remind you that no matter how famous your brother gets or how bad he might make you feel sometimes... that he can't take away these memories or take away your happiness."
When Blaine doesn't say a word but just continues staring down at his new gift, Kurt continues.
"...For example, this picture of you and Mike napping on the floor after dance rehearsal is priceless. And of course, I had to remind you of how photogenic I am even when you pull a camera out of nowhere. ...Blaine, you should say something, so I don't feel like I did the wrong thing in staying up until six yesterday morning to finish this."
"Kurt... How did you know?"
Kurt's calm smile comes back and he gently removes the photo album from Blaine's grasp in order to hug him close. He kisses the side of Blaine's hair, and then tilts his chin down to whisper in Blaine's ear. "Because I know you, and I have an idea of how you're feeling about your brother being here and me graduating, and I want you to know that you mean the world to me, Blaine. And all these memories are here to help prove it to you."
They kiss in the front yard until everyone starts wondering where they went, and as soon as Tina finds them lying on the grass and hugging, Blaine hears her shout back to those still in the backyard "They're not in the front yard! Let's check inside!"
Thank you for the extra five minutes, Tina.
Blaine smiles and leans into Kurt's side, sliding his hand down Kurt's torso before stopping at his navel. "Kurt?"
"Hm?"
"I love you."
"Glad to hear."
"Kurt..." Blaine punishes him by digging his nose into Kurt's arm.
"I love you more, Blaine."
More nose digging as punishment for saying such untruths, according to Blaine.
Would it be cheesy if Blaine were to say that having Kurt hug him like this made him feel infinite?
Tonight is the cheesiest of all cheese filled things then.
However, every good ending has to turn around and punch you in the face before the night's actually over. As soon as Kurt leaves a little after midnight along with everyone else, Cooper is knocking on Blaine's door and entering the room without permission, because Blaine forgets to lock doors.
"Blaine?"
Cooper looks tired, probably from entertaining all of Blaine's friends today.
"What?"
Blaine stays sitting on the edge of his bed, not bothering to look over at Cooper who's coming further as Blaine stares down at his brand new photo album. Cooper's voice settles for something that sounds as equally tired as his face, but surprisingly, he sounds sincere in what he says for once.
"Did you have a good birthday?"
Blaine shrugs, but then he remembers the last thirty minutes of it, and he thinks yes. "Yeah, it was nice." He decides it's probably time to look at Cooper now. "What's up? You look really tired, Coop." You don't deserve that nickname anymore. Why can't I stop using it?
Cooper laughs slightly, nodding his head as he makes his way over to sit on Blaine's bed. Reluctantly, Blaine scoots over to let Cooper sit.
"That's because I am pretty tired. ...You know, it kind of sucked earlier."
Blaine's eyes tear away from a photo of Kurt and Blaine at prom together after Kurt won prom queen. "What?"
Glancing down at the same photo, Cooper smiles, but then the smile fades to a sad one when he looks back at Blaine. "All of your friends I talked to today told me the same thing--that you're the best singer in the group, that you and your boyfriend are the cutest couple at McKinley... That Rachel girl said that you're thinking about moving to New York with her and Kurt... And the entire time, I knew that these kids that haven't even known you for three years already know my own brother better than me. That really sucks, Blaine."
Blaine doesn't know what to say. He saw Cooper talking to a lot of his friends today, but he didn't think it was to get to know Blaine. Hearing Cooper say the words 'you and your boyfriend are the cutest couple' does more than make Blaine want to cry. It sparks something in him that he didn't know needed to be sparked.
But is Cooper mad that Blaine hasn't made the effort to talk to him more? I tried forever ago, Coop, but you stopped calling me back...
"Th-that's not true, Coop. They only know the guy that is in love with Kurt and sings solos--Kurt's brother just started liking me at Sectionals. I'm nothing special, really. ...You know that." He can't help but chew on his bottom lip now, waiting for Cooper to say something back. Maybe Blaine doesn't respect his brother as much as he used to--did I ever really?--but he doesn't want what happened at his thirteenth birthday to repeat. He doesn't want Cooper to feel bad for not knowing him. Why would it be important to get to know Blaine now? It's not like Cooper needs him.
However, what Blaine says causes Cooper to look even worse. Blaine's not sure what to do. If Cooper's not faking a smile or acting condescending, Blaine's pretty much at loss for words. He looks like he's about to cry, just like Blaine.
"Blaine, how could you even say that? Nothing special? Are you serious?"
Blaine shrugs. He's serious enough. Kurt's the only person in the entire world that might think otherwise, that might know better, but Blaine doesn't expect Cooper to believe it. If he thought Blaine was worth holding onto, he would have thought so along time ago. He would have at least called Blaine while he was in the hospital after the Sadie Hawkin's dance. Why are you still here, Cooper? No one's around for you to pretend to act brotherly towards me.
Cooper holds in his eyes but barely. Blaine's kind of freaking out on the inside.
"I screwed up so bad with you, didn't I?"
It wasn't all your fault. I'm sure I could name a few letterman jackets before I named you as the person that screwed me up the most.
"Blaine, I'm so sorry..."
Blaine frowns. "For what?"
Cooper sighs, and to Blaine's surprise, he wipes a tear before it falls down his cheek. "For not... being there. Being here. I--so what if you're gay?--God, I was so stupid, Blaine--I am so stupid. I should have been there for you, and I wasn't, and I'm sorry. You're amazing, and I ignored you all this time."
Since he's stunned, Blaine can only try to lighten the situation. "Hey, if it helps, all these years, I attributed your ignoring me to your selfish desire to be a famous actor and not as much for your homophobia. ...It's not like you ever told you that I was wrong."
"Yes, but someone your age, you need to be constantly reminded that you are right, that who you love doesn't matter... Because if no one tells you these things, then you start to believe that you don't matter, and that can never happen. Do you hear me? You mean so much to me, Blaine, even if I can rarely say it."
When Cooper takes Blaine's hand in his, Blaine can't hold it back any longer. He starts to cry.
"Blaine, I love you. I should have been guiding you and listening to you, but instead, I pushed you away and didn't give you the chance to pull me back. I'm so sorry, little brother."
They stay sitting close like this for however many minutes go by, Blaine doesn't know and he doesn't care. Time be damned; Cooper Anderson loves him again and that's all that matters.
When they silently decide to stop holding hands, Blaine picks up the photo album Kurt made him and smiles, handing it out to Cooper. "Well, here, if you want to get to know me, here's your opportunity."
Cooper smiles and takes the photo album from Blaine, and they spend the next hour going through the photos, Blaine explaining to him who is who and when things were taken. For the first time, this doesn't feel like Blaine just wishing for Cooper to act like his older brother; Cooper is curiously asking questions about Blaine's life and genuinely smiling and being nice. However, there's still that awkward tension between them, because there's no denying the fact that they've been absent from each others' lives for a few years. Absence didn't make the heart grow fonder in Blaine's case, but he thinks that can change, and that's what matters right now.
It gets to be that time of night where Cooper should be heading off to his old room that still has posters of actresses and athletes from the 90's with an old bed comforter, but before he shuts Blaine's door for him, he turns back and smiles.
"Happy birthday, Cooper Anderson's little brother."
As he shuts the door and leaves, Blaine can't help but roll his eyes at Cooper's desire to say his own name out loud at any chance he can get, but for the first time, hearing Blaine be called something of Cooper's is just fine with him. In a few months, he might even be proud to be Cooper Anderson's little brother. Most importantly, they'll be brothers again.
It's a new sort of happiness.
---
So, this was my first attempt at Anderbros. I am aware of the cheese and terribleness, yes. Just wanted to post this before the episode airs tonight, because my headcanon of Cooper will be changing in a few hours most likely. Happy Glee Day!
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4,660
Spoilers: 3x15 (only if you have not seen the promo)
Warnings/Pairings: Klaine, Niff, Blangst (I had to, okay?), cheese, Klaine fluffity, more cheese
Summary: Someone from Blaine's past comes home on vacation from LA for Blaine's 17th birthday, and Blaine isn't too happy about it.
A/N: Written for the lovely star55 for her birthday. Sorry I couldn't get this done on time! Also, I generally view Blaine as a February or September baby, but I wanted to stay within Glee's timeline of sorts. Not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. I also want to thank coiffedandcurly and briadru4 for the birthday gift ideas. <3
It's been two days, fourteen hours, and twelve minutes, and Cooper Anderson has already melted the hearts of all of Blaine's friends, not to mention his boyfriend. This is madness. Quite frankly, Blaine almost wishes his brother didn't come home this week. Cooper's just here to have all the attention on him when Blaine blows out the seventeen candles on his cake after Cooper loudly and melodically sings him "Happy Birthday". It'll be fake though, because Cooper never did and never will actually care if Blaine has a happy birthday or not.
Okay, fine, maybe that's not true. Really, there's no reason to not feel happy for Blaine on his birthday, because Cooper is almost ten years older and he is more successful than Blaine will ever be. His parents know it, his classmates know it, and even Kurt probably knows it by now. Everyone wondered why Blaine was keeping Cooper a secret (how could he?), but really, it was to keep Blaine's feelings hidden. He doesn't want his friends, especially Kurt, to see how he acts when his brother's around. He admittedly becomes detached from the group and has to play the part of the dumb little brother while Cooper takes the spotlight. It's just what happens, what has always happened. There are other reasons for feeling this way, but Blaine doesn't feel like thinking about them right now.
Blaine should be proud of Cooper--and he is, truly--but Cooper left Ohio when Blaine still needed him and showed little interest in how Blaine was adjusting in junior high, at Dalton, at McKinley, at love... When Blaine got the part as Tony for West Side Story, Blaine's mother just told him that Cooper said "that's great!" on the phone when she mentioned it to him.
Yeah, it was really great, Coop. You wouldn't have known it, though.
Cooper isn't the worst brother in history, far from it, but no, Blaine thinks, you should have made time to talk to me, returned my calls at least to say that you were too busy to talk this week. Why don't I mean something to you anymore?
~*~
By Blaine's 13th birthday, Cooper had managed to land a role in a commercial and was even a B List actresses' boyfriend for two episodes on a semi-decent show. He was also that one attractive guy you saw for that split second on Law & Order that was murdered for sleeping with the rich guy's wife. Cooper Anderson wasn't at the top yet, but he was somewhere in the minds of enough people to make Cooper act like the star at every party.
When Blaine was still in the closet in junior high, he had a friend named Andy that liked music almost as much as Blaine did. Of course, Andy listened to a lot more hip hop and rock than Blaine cared for, but Andy thought it was funny that Blaine liked musicals, and funny was a lot better than getting threatened by the jocks for liking such things as innocent show tunes. Andy had (still has, Blaine guesses) blonde hair and blue eyes, and he actually enjoyed coming over to Blaine's house every now and then to play video games (Blaine's dad thought one year that getting Blaine an Xbox for Christmas was a good idea).
They were, in terms of the definition, friends. However, Blaine couldn't help but having a small crush on his new friend. There was no ignoring that Andy would become extremely attractive as soon as he got his braces off, and even with them on, Blaine thought they made him look cuter. There was even this one time when Andy had started singing a Kid Rock song that Blaine unfortunately knew because it was so popular that year, that Andy complimented him when Blaine started singing along. He thought Blaine had a great voice and even talked about them maybe forming a band together. Things were great.
So, when Blaine had Andy over for his birthday dinner along with his parents and his brother, who had come to visit for the weekend as promised, there was a feeling that he could finally, finally relax. Cooper couldn't make Blaine feel inferior anymore, because this time, Blaine had an awesome friend who would like him better than his brother.
Of course, this birthday party had a predictable ending, one Blaine should have known all along.
As soon as Cooper started talking about California and the stars he was slowly meeting, Andy became way more interested and impressed with what Cooper was saying than when Blaine tried telling Cooper about the band they might start. The look in Andy's eyes was the same that everyone else had always had--Cooper Anderson was extremely charming and attractive, appealing to those that didn't even like the idea of getting up close and personal with male genitalia. Everyone would always fall for Cooper's techniques, everyone that wasn't Blaine. Cooper had convinced Andy that fame was everything, that Cooper was probably everything too, and now, Andy would only want to be his friend to get to Cooper.
Blaine went to his room the second after Andy left, and he stayed there until his parents had gone to bed. There was no point in ever coming out again, it's not like his parents wanted to see him on his birthday, not when there was Cooper around.
A little after ten, Cooper knocked on Blaine's door. There was no movement from inside of the room to open it, so Cooper opened the unlocked door on his own. While Blaine averted his eyes from the doorway, Cooper shut the door behind him and stared at him for a few minutes without saying a word. One thing that Blaine hated was that Cooper could read facial expressions really well; it was a wasted gift, because Cooper Anderson rarely asked how you were feeling that day.
"You know, he's not that cute." Cooper said quietly, aware that Blaine's parents could easily hear what he was saying from behind the next wall if he talked any louder. "And he's not that smart. You can do better than a straight boy with bad music taste, Blaine."
Blaine glared, knowing that if he chose to look up at Cooper now, he'd feel even more frustration and anger towards him. Cooper had been playing this game since he found a Ken doll in Blaine's room, since Blaine wasn't even old enough to spell sexuality. So, what Blaine actually just heard was, 'You can do better than a boy, Blaine.'
"...Well, he was good enough for me, and now, all he's going to see is you. Sorry he's not star quality."
Sensing the stubbornness in Blaine's tone, Cooper sighed. "You know, Blaine, I don't get it. I come to see you for your birthday, and you can't look at me? Why? You only want to talk when I'm busy and not here. Talk to me now. I'm listening."
"You're not going to listen, though. You're going to hear me complaining and think that I'm just your kid brother with normal teenage problems, and then not talk to me for months, because you're too busy with your life, a-and I just hate it, because you don't see me in your life anymore, Coop. You know, even some of the most famous people in the world still make time for their family members, but I don't think you will. So, I hate it when all my friends--okay, the one friend I've had in a whole year--looks at you like you're the best, when really, you're just a selfish actor that is a terrible homophobic brother."
Right after Blaine said it, he regretted it. He didn't disagree with what he thought, but he regretted letting Cooper know it after seeing the look on his older brother's face.
"...I was just trying to help."
"I-I'm sorry, Coop. I'm just really upset about the Andy thing... It just sucks having everyone love you more, a-and then you're not even here to talk to..."
"What do you want me to do about it? Leave home, Blaine? Leave Ohio?"
~*~
Right now, it's two days before Blaine's birthday, and Blaine is almost four years older than he was the day he said those things to Cooper. He's had experiences, he's more mature, but he can't take back the things he said. After that weekend, Cooper only came back for Christmas in 2009, the Christmas before Blaine met Kurt.
Blaine's mother insisted Cooper come to Ohio for Blaine's 17th birthday, because she knows Cooper isn't going to be working on any roles until the beginning of May, and even though Blaine's parents did a bang up job at ignoring their second son, it means a lot to them that their sons at least spend time with each other. To Blaine's dismay, Cooper agreed to come, and after spending not even an hour in the choir room acting like prince charming for the rest of the glee club, all of Blaine's friends like his older brother more than him now, too. It's okay, at least Blaine has Nick and Jeff to dislike his brother with him upstairs in his room while Kurt finishes talking to Cooper downstairs about auditioning for roles.
Blaine sits on the bed across from Jeff, trying to study for his AP English test that he has next Monday. Nick smirks, turning around in Blaine's computer chair to face the other two boys.
"Hey, Blaine, guess what?"
"What, Nick?"
"Your brother," Nick starts.
"Is hot." Jeff finishes automatically.
Blaine sighs.
On cue, Kurt walks in smiling until he sees the look on Blaine's face and his smile translates to one of immediate sympathy, having heard what Nick and Jeff said as he walked in. "Don't listen to them, babe. They're just trying to make me think your brother is cuter than you, so they can have you all to themselves."
Nick pretends to gag in protest, and Jeff smiles over at Blaine. "Aw, I'd totally kiss you, Blaine... If I wasn't always busy kissing Nick's d--"
"--Can we please stop talking about my brother!" Blaine interrupts, getting off his bed and going out into the hall to not start saying things to Nick and Jeff he doesn't mean. It's not them he's mad at, not really.
Kurt follows, putting his hand on Blaine's arm to make him stop walking away. "Blaine! Blaine... Why are you so upset? This isn't like you."
Kurt is so great. He doesn't even know it. Blaine makes a mental note to take him to some place better than Breadstix for dinner soon, because Kurt deserves it. For now though, Blaine knows he's acting like a brat, but he can't help it. He waits for Kurt to say whatever else he looks like he's going to say with the concerned expression on his face for Blaine.
"He's just come to visit for a few more days... For your birthday."
Kurt comes around and hugs him from behind, making Blaine sway calmly with him from side to side.
Blaine sighs, leaning back against the only torso that can make him feel better right now. "I just wish everyone would stop talking about Cooper Anderson."
Smiling, Kurt kisses his neck and continues to sway their bodies back and forth gently. "Me, too. I want to talk more about this mysterious Blaine Anderson character."
Blaine blushes and presses further back, turning around in Kurt's arms to lean up and kiss him. It's a simple peck, but it will always mean the world to both of them. It's simply love.
"Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever." Blaine whispers, feeling the butterflies that his school boy crush on Kurt gave him when they were first starting to date.
Kurt shakes his head and hugs him closer, matching Blaine's whisper. "Just think about how much fun your birthday will be. You'll never believe what I got you."
You'll never believe how much I need you to hold me like this.
"Is it a dildo?" Nick says from Blaine's doorway, interrupting Blaine's happy place. They hear Jeff giggle.
Sighing, Blaine comes back to reality. Back to square one.
~*~
Brunch at the Anderson's never sounded like a good idea to Blaine, and of course, he was very right. Cooper isn't necessarily interrogating Kurt as they sit across from each other at the table, but asking question after question is--yeah, no, he's interrogating him.
"So, Kurt, how did you meet Blaine? Did you go to Dalton originally?"
The way Cooper asks his questions makes Blaine feel like he thinks this whole thing is funny, like him having to ask a boy these questions in the interest of his little brother is a joke. Maybe Cooper's really good at masking his true feelings, or maybe Kurt's just good at dealing with these kinds of things. Unfortunately, Blaine thinks it's the latter.
Kurt smiles politely. "No--well, for a little while I did, so yes, we met there."
Cooper laughs at Kurt's light confusion. "Yeah, Dalton's a good school."
"Were you a Warbler ever?"
He observes Cooper glancing at Blaine with either embarrassment or sympathy; Kurt can't tell his expressions very well, the guy is a little mysterious like Blaine said. Kurt wonders why.
"No, uh, I graduated from Stevenson. I was never as good of a student as Blaine here to go to a prestigious private school like Dalton."
"...Or harrased enough by almost the entire student body." Blaine adds, not trying to sound polite.
"Er, yes. ...High school was easier back then. Sucks for you guys."
How would it have been easier for me, Coop?
Blaine sees Kurt looking concerned for Blaine, but he's still trying to win the Andersons over with his charm and table manners. It makes Blaine feel a little better to look over at Kurt every few moments.
With the silence in place, Cooper decides to change the subject. "So, Kurt, you're graduating this year, right? What's Blaine going to do without you?"
Blaine starts shaking his head to himself. The same as I did when you left, only he'll still recognize my voice on the phone.
Kurt smiles politely. "Well, we've worked out a nice schedule, I think. There's still the end of the school year and summer to get through. I'm trying not to think about it."
Cooper smiles back and then turns to Blaine, giving him a wink.
Is that you approving of him? I don't want or need it. You don't even know me, and you sure as hell don't care about getting to know him.
Why can't I have my birthday on a different planet?
~*~
Kurt is busy with finishing the icing on Blaine's cake with the help of Rachel and Mrs. Anderson, and in the mean time, a few friends come over to Blaine to give him presents as they're all outside playing volleyball and sitting around waiting for the cake on this glorious day of birth for the youngest Anderson brother.
Mike gives Blaine a coupon for "If you ever need me in your dance numbers for a talent show or a glee club performance next year, I'm there, buddy".
Finn gets him socks.
Tina and Mercedes get him some bowties with microphones on them.
Puck sneaks him a fifth of whiskey that Blaine doubts he'll ever drink. Somehow, he's thinking Puck will ask him for it back later on tonight.
As everyone starts a new game of volleyball, Nick and Jeff gift Blaine with tickets to the last Warbler concert of the year and an apple pie, "because you're so sweet and smart, Blaine. Apples are smart."
"Jeff's mom made it." Nick adds.
"Yeah, and Sebastian wanted to come, but we said no."
When is Kurt going to come out here?
Nick nods, wrapping an arm around Jeff's waist because it feels only natural to do so. "He actually didn't say anything, but when Jeff told him we were going to your birthday party..."
Jeff happily continues Nick's sentence for him. "...He was all 'sad face', and then I was like, "sorry, don't throw toxic slushies at people', even though Nick was totally prepared to see Kurt get slushied that day."
Blaine isn't able to get a word in.
Seriously, Kurt, where are you?
Nick sighs. "I was--peer pressure, okay? I admit my wrong doings, can we move on? ...Blaine, I'm still so sorry about that, you have no idea."
Kurt's coming out with the cake. This also means that Cooper's also coming out with the cake.
Why are you here still?
"It's all in the past, Nick."
Blaine makes a beeline for the wooden table on his patio where Mrs. Anderson and Kurt are setting the cake down on. The cake is white with rainbow candy bow ties decorated around it, and what can only be Kurt's neat handwriting is Happy birthday, Blaine! written in green frosting. It's gorgeous. Kurt is gorgeous. Blaine is about to forget about any problems he might have with enjoying his own birthday every year, but then he sees Cooper come out of the house, and of course, everything is now back to normal.
Cooper's trying to smile just like Blaine is, but Blaine figures that Cooper is also remembering the last time Cooper was near Blaine's birthday cake. He's probably remembering all the times where he pretended to not hear Blaine crying. Will you just stop pretending to care about me? Why waste the money flying here?
Blaine's just Cooper Anderson's little brother. What's his name again? Brian? Blake?
Blaine sees all the girls plus Puck and Mike staring at Cooper with the same eyes that Andy had when Blaine was thirteen. Mike, you're a traitor. At least Brittany has the decency to be looking more interested in the cake.
When it's time to make a wish on his candles, Blaine can't think of anything positive he wants to wish for, so he just pretends to. Cooper and everyone else seem satisfied enough with his fake grin, and he's hoping to god that Kurt isn't paying attention or else he'll know Blaine's not happy.
I would wish for you to have been there earlier, but we can't go back.
I would wish for you to be a close brother, but we can't have that.
I would wish for all of Kurt's wishes to come true, so that's what I'll do instead.
The highlight of the night is when Kurt sneaks Blaine to the front of the yard to kiss him and finally gives Blaine his present.
"Kurt... What is it?"
Smiling, Kurt waits for Blaine to unwrap the wrapping paper from around a leather bound photo album that has been bedazzled with plastic diamonds--Blaine's birth stone. He opens it up to find all of the pictures from his Facebook of Kurt and Blaine together, of Blaine in the Warblers, of New Directions at competitions and messing around in the choir room, of Kurt and Blaine's coffee cups touching on a table in the Lima Bean... Every picture that has been taken from the time Blaine has met Kurt to the other day where Kurt insisted they take a picture of their hands laced together is in the photo album. There are still numerous pages empty, but Blaine already has an idea what he's going to fill them with. He is speechless. How did Kurt know this is what he needed?
"I wanted to remind you that no matter how famous your brother gets or how bad he might make you feel sometimes... that he can't take away these memories or take away your happiness."
When Blaine doesn't say a word but just continues staring down at his new gift, Kurt continues.
"...For example, this picture of you and Mike napping on the floor after dance rehearsal is priceless. And of course, I had to remind you of how photogenic I am even when you pull a camera out of nowhere. ...Blaine, you should say something, so I don't feel like I did the wrong thing in staying up until six yesterday morning to finish this."
"Kurt... How did you know?"
Kurt's calm smile comes back and he gently removes the photo album from Blaine's grasp in order to hug him close. He kisses the side of Blaine's hair, and then tilts his chin down to whisper in Blaine's ear. "Because I know you, and I have an idea of how you're feeling about your brother being here and me graduating, and I want you to know that you mean the world to me, Blaine. And all these memories are here to help prove it to you."
They kiss in the front yard until everyone starts wondering where they went, and as soon as Tina finds them lying on the grass and hugging, Blaine hears her shout back to those still in the backyard "They're not in the front yard! Let's check inside!"
Thank you for the extra five minutes, Tina.
Blaine smiles and leans into Kurt's side, sliding his hand down Kurt's torso before stopping at his navel. "Kurt?"
"Hm?"
"I love you."
"Glad to hear."
"Kurt..." Blaine punishes him by digging his nose into Kurt's arm.
"I love you more, Blaine."
More nose digging as punishment for saying such untruths, according to Blaine.
Would it be cheesy if Blaine were to say that having Kurt hug him like this made him feel infinite?
Tonight is the cheesiest of all cheese filled things then.
However, every good ending has to turn around and punch you in the face before the night's actually over. As soon as Kurt leaves a little after midnight along with everyone else, Cooper is knocking on Blaine's door and entering the room without permission, because Blaine forgets to lock doors.
"Blaine?"
Cooper looks tired, probably from entertaining all of Blaine's friends today.
"What?"
Blaine stays sitting on the edge of his bed, not bothering to look over at Cooper who's coming further as Blaine stares down at his brand new photo album. Cooper's voice settles for something that sounds as equally tired as his face, but surprisingly, he sounds sincere in what he says for once.
"Did you have a good birthday?"
Blaine shrugs, but then he remembers the last thirty minutes of it, and he thinks yes. "Yeah, it was nice." He decides it's probably time to look at Cooper now. "What's up? You look really tired, Coop." You don't deserve that nickname anymore. Why can't I stop using it?
Cooper laughs slightly, nodding his head as he makes his way over to sit on Blaine's bed. Reluctantly, Blaine scoots over to let Cooper sit.
"That's because I am pretty tired. ...You know, it kind of sucked earlier."
Blaine's eyes tear away from a photo of Kurt and Blaine at prom together after Kurt won prom queen. "What?"
Glancing down at the same photo, Cooper smiles, but then the smile fades to a sad one when he looks back at Blaine. "All of your friends I talked to today told me the same thing--that you're the best singer in the group, that you and your boyfriend are the cutest couple at McKinley... That Rachel girl said that you're thinking about moving to New York with her and Kurt... And the entire time, I knew that these kids that haven't even known you for three years already know my own brother better than me. That really sucks, Blaine."
Blaine doesn't know what to say. He saw Cooper talking to a lot of his friends today, but he didn't think it was to get to know Blaine. Hearing Cooper say the words 'you and your boyfriend are the cutest couple' does more than make Blaine want to cry. It sparks something in him that he didn't know needed to be sparked.
But is Cooper mad that Blaine hasn't made the effort to talk to him more? I tried forever ago, Coop, but you stopped calling me back...
"Th-that's not true, Coop. They only know the guy that is in love with Kurt and sings solos--Kurt's brother just started liking me at Sectionals. I'm nothing special, really. ...You know that." He can't help but chew on his bottom lip now, waiting for Cooper to say something back. Maybe Blaine doesn't respect his brother as much as he used to--did I ever really?--but he doesn't want what happened at his thirteenth birthday to repeat. He doesn't want Cooper to feel bad for not knowing him. Why would it be important to get to know Blaine now? It's not like Cooper needs him.
However, what Blaine says causes Cooper to look even worse. Blaine's not sure what to do. If Cooper's not faking a smile or acting condescending, Blaine's pretty much at loss for words. He looks like he's about to cry, just like Blaine.
"Blaine, how could you even say that? Nothing special? Are you serious?"
Blaine shrugs. He's serious enough. Kurt's the only person in the entire world that might think otherwise, that might know better, but Blaine doesn't expect Cooper to believe it. If he thought Blaine was worth holding onto, he would have thought so along time ago. He would have at least called Blaine while he was in the hospital after the Sadie Hawkin's dance. Why are you still here, Cooper? No one's around for you to pretend to act brotherly towards me.
Cooper holds in his eyes but barely. Blaine's kind of freaking out on the inside.
"I screwed up so bad with you, didn't I?"
It wasn't all your fault. I'm sure I could name a few letterman jackets before I named you as the person that screwed me up the most.
"Blaine, I'm so sorry..."
Blaine frowns. "For what?"
Cooper sighs, and to Blaine's surprise, he wipes a tear before it falls down his cheek. "For not... being there. Being here. I--so what if you're gay?--God, I was so stupid, Blaine--I am so stupid. I should have been there for you, and I wasn't, and I'm sorry. You're amazing, and I ignored you all this time."
Since he's stunned, Blaine can only try to lighten the situation. "Hey, if it helps, all these years, I attributed your ignoring me to your selfish desire to be a famous actor and not as much for your homophobia. ...It's not like you ever told you that I was wrong."
"Yes, but someone your age, you need to be constantly reminded that you are right, that who you love doesn't matter... Because if no one tells you these things, then you start to believe that you don't matter, and that can never happen. Do you hear me? You mean so much to me, Blaine, even if I can rarely say it."
When Cooper takes Blaine's hand in his, Blaine can't hold it back any longer. He starts to cry.
"Blaine, I love you. I should have been guiding you and listening to you, but instead, I pushed you away and didn't give you the chance to pull me back. I'm so sorry, little brother."
They stay sitting close like this for however many minutes go by, Blaine doesn't know and he doesn't care. Time be damned; Cooper Anderson loves him again and that's all that matters.
When they silently decide to stop holding hands, Blaine picks up the photo album Kurt made him and smiles, handing it out to Cooper. "Well, here, if you want to get to know me, here's your opportunity."
Cooper smiles and takes the photo album from Blaine, and they spend the next hour going through the photos, Blaine explaining to him who is who and when things were taken. For the first time, this doesn't feel like Blaine just wishing for Cooper to act like his older brother; Cooper is curiously asking questions about Blaine's life and genuinely smiling and being nice. However, there's still that awkward tension between them, because there's no denying the fact that they've been absent from each others' lives for a few years. Absence didn't make the heart grow fonder in Blaine's case, but he thinks that can change, and that's what matters right now.
It gets to be that time of night where Cooper should be heading off to his old room that still has posters of actresses and athletes from the 90's with an old bed comforter, but before he shuts Blaine's door for him, he turns back and smiles.
"Happy birthday, Cooper Anderson's little brother."
As he shuts the door and leaves, Blaine can't help but roll his eyes at Cooper's desire to say his own name out loud at any chance he can get, but for the first time, hearing Blaine be called something of Cooper's is just fine with him. In a few months, he might even be proud to be Cooper Anderson's little brother. Most importantly, they'll be brothers again.
It's a new sort of happiness.
---
So, this was my first attempt at Anderbros. I am aware of the cheese and terribleness, yes. Just wanted to post this before the episode airs tonight, because my headcanon of Cooper will be changing in a few hours most likely. Happy Glee Day!